From Cressa, our writer whose daughter thrives at Acton: I had a very interesting conversation with my Eagle this week. Amidst all the planning, practising and preparations, she shared that lunch was shorter one day and she didn’t have time to finish her food because the Eagles hadn’t kept track of their time. I asked her if she was aware that she wouldn’t have time to finish lunch and she said yes, she knew that she only had 15 minutes to eat and that it wouldn’t be enough. I then asked her if her other friends had faced the same problem, to which she also said yes. So I asked her if she or any of the Eagles had done something about the short lunchtime. She said no, nobody did anything. Upon being asked what could have been done to solve this particular problem, she replied, “Asked for a longer lunch break?” She then immediately said, “But we can’t … it’s Writer’s Workshop after that.” I asked her, “But why can’t you? Who can try to change things if they’re not working for you?”
The reason I probed deeper into this issue is because last Sprint there was a general outcry in the ES studio about how the Guides were stepping in too much. I reminded her about that incident and asked her why she thought this was so? Guides are meant to step back and let the Eagles lead, after all. After a while, she came to the conclusion, “Maybe it’s because we haven’t shown the Guides that we CAN be totally responsible for ourselves yet?”
This got me to thinking about the over-arching question of the year: “When Do We Submit to Authority?” In Acton, the authority of the Guides is, ideally, buried way in the background and the Eagles exercise their own authority. What if, however, the Eagles aren’t ready – or willing – to take responsibility for themselves? Are they to be left to their own devices? Or will the Guide continue to observe and guide until they see the Eagles stepping up to take the reins? What does it take to earn total autonomy? Questions to ponder for the new week.
Weekly Updates
Preschool / Spark Studio (PS) Update
Learning Through Play
The PS Eagles are all about discovery through exploration. If you had peeked into Acton’s garden during playtime this week, you might have seen them playing with umbrellas. A big no-no in most households, but at Acton it’s par for the course.
Umbrellas were turned upside down, continuously opened and shut, hung on trees and filled with water, flowers and leaves. An observing parent wondered if the umbrellas would break.
It all seemed like random play but as they played, the PS Eagles asked:
1. Are umbrellas waterproof?
2. What if we turn them upside down? Will they be able to contain water?
3. What are other umbrella usages?
Who needs books when we have the whole beautiful world around us to learn from?
Masterpiece Creation
This week the Eagles created their own masterpieces. Some took inspiration from famous paintings like Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night, Edouard Manet’s The Lemon and Paul Cezanne’s Still Life with a Peach and Two Green Pears.
The Guide encouraged the Eagles to think of original name for their paintings and they came up with interesting interpretations like The Lemon Black and The Best Starry Night.
The Eagles are very excited to display their artwork in their first ever Exhibition Day … happening next week!
Malaysian Homeschooling Network Sports Day
The PS Eagles participated in their first-ever sporting event. Happy to be outdoors after being trapped indoors for over a week, the Eagles proved to be eager participants.
It was inspiring to see the tiny but brave PS Eagles be the first to grab the Tug of War rope, all ready for battle! It’s the PS Eagles against the world!
The sporting spirit was brought home to the Acton campus as the Eagles initiated the cheering on of each and every one of their friends on Wednesday’s Ready Steady Go session!
Elementary Studio (ES) Update
The ES studio was extra lively this week as the Eagles started preparations for next week’s Exhibition. There was dancing here, self-analysis there, and team building everywhere … a typical Acton studio multiplied by 10, you could say.
Malaysian Homeschooling Network Sports Day (ES & MS)
It was on a gloriously cool and shady, yet relatively haze-free day when the ES Eagles, together with their PS and MS counterparts, represented Acton at the MHsN Sports Day. All pumped up and psyched to join in friendly competitions and get in some exercise, the Eagles raced, hopped, skipped and generally had a good time. When it came to the Tug of War against the adults, the Eagles put all their mental and physical force into it … and won!
Lip Dub On Film
Finally the time had come to put all the moves and grooves on film! The ES Eagles were very enthusiastic about filming, but they were also very honest during the feedback sessions. They held themselves up to a very high standard and continually asked themselves, “Is this our best work? Are we ready to show this version at the Exhibition?” Their reply, so far, had been, “NO! We can do better!” so back to the practice sessions it was. The result? Improvements every day towards a stellar performance. In this case, they are their own authority and they refused to let themselves down.
Exhibition Preparation / Eagle-led Planning
The Guides handed over the responsibility of leading the Exhibition planning discussion to the ES Eagles this Sprint. They reflected on the previous Exhibition and thought about how they could improve from lessons learned, showing that they were committed to excellence. They then spent quite some time delegating work amongst each other and making sure everyone had a responsibility. The decisions were voted upon and, although the whole process took a long time, they were determined to get it done. As one Eagle said, “We will stay in the circle for as long as it takes to finish discussing everything!” This was a great step towards taking responsibility for their own work and persevering to the finish line.
Team Building
The Human Caterpillar
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to form a Human Caterpillar. The objective is to work together to not ‘kill’ the caterpillar!
The Eagles accepted the challenge and watched a video showing how to form themselves into a caterpillar using only newspaper, scissors and tape. They had no other instructions except the video so they had to figure it all out themselves. All in, they rose to and enjoyed the challenge, as well as the result of having caterpillars to ‘operate’.
Next challenge – how to move together as a unit so the caterpillar’s body won’t be torn apart! One Eagle said, “Continue playing, I will continue fixing this!” Another Eagle exclaimed, “We need a doctor here! The caterpillar is breaking!” Another Eagle swooped to the rescue, “Don’t worry, I am the doctor. You stay on the caterpillar!”
Pass the Sponge
In this challenge, the Eagles had to transfer water from one bucket to another using only a sponge. The Eagles welcomed the opportunity to cool down in the hot weather! It took coordinated teamwork and focused energy to pass the heavy, wet sponge quickly down the line of Eagles without dropping it, but it was so fun (and funny!) that the Eagles had a great time. They actually developed a rhythm with their team to pass the sponge along, despite it being “so heavy”. Cries of, “We need more water!” filled the garden.
Writer’s Workshop
We gathered during Writer’s Workshop and shared our childhood story. We learned a lot about ourselves and our friends.
“I fell from the bicycle before.”
“I went to Mecca when I was 2 years old.”
“I wrote a story on my own this year.”
“I overcame my fear and rode a pony when I was 2 years old.”
“I learnt that I need to behave when I am in a big family gathering.”
Middle Studio (MS) Update
Field Trip to UiTM Sungai Buloh Campus
In line with their Biology Quest, The MS Eagles went on a field trip to UiTM’s Sungai Buloh Campus to experience 3 University-level facilities. They met with biology heroes in the DNA/RNA Lab, the Laboratory Animal Care Unit and the Anatomy Building’s Dissection Hall to discuss the work that they do and the impact it has.
DNA and RNA Lab
Seeing as the Eagles are examining cells, the first stop was at the DNA and RNA Lab where the Eagles learned more about DNA, observed a DNA extraction process and conducted their own extraction process using fake blood. An Eagle said, afterwards, “I liked how they guided us to run the DNA extraction, although it was a bit draggy.”
LACU (Laboratory Animal Care Unit)
The Eagles toured the facility where animals are tested and used for research. Among the questions that the Eagles asked were, “What is tested on the rats?”, “What happens after they die, how are the bodies disposed of?”, “Where do these animals come from?” and “Are these Malaysian mice?” The Eagles were impressed by the facilities at ‘The Animal House’, as the LACU is nicknamed. They also found out how much experiments cost to run and that experiments are funded by private and public grants. One Eagle wanted the visit to last longer: “I wish they would have allowed us to dissect a rat or something. The visit was a bit too short.”
Dissection Hall, Anatomy Building
This was the highlight of the trip! This campus of UiTM boasts one of the largest Dissection Halls in Malaysia, seating 150 students at a time. The Eagles saw dissected preserved human bodies, human bones, human organs and various body systems, but they had really hoped to see human cadavers. One Eagle shared their frustration, “I think the MS Guides over-hyped the whole Dissection Hall. I expected that there would be a real dead person on the operating table for us to see. Instead, we only got to see body parts that are preserved, without the skin. It was a bit of a letdown.”
They were impressed that UiTM had such pristine facilities, however, as were the Guides. The Eagles also appreciated that the lab staff gave their full attention in answering their questions.
DNA Experiment
The Eagles ran a series of experiments on random living things like a vegetable, a fruit and some meat. They used different detergents on the various items like dishwashing detergent, body wash and shampoo. The experiments started off slowly with some of the Eagles still having to reread the instructions and objectives, but after the first few rounds, the Eagles sped up and got results. The conclusion was that the combination of broccoli and powdered detergent soap worked the best.
And now we look ahead to the Exhibition! It’s going to be a beautiful mesh of art, creativity and science … a da Vinci dream indeed!