Weekly Updates
Week 2 started out strong with the Eagles excited to get into the week ahead, but it was cut short by the Movement Control Order. Undeterred, the Eagles made a commitment to take their relevant work materials and equipment home and continue their Sprint away from the Studio and each other … but still connected and strong.
Preschool / Spark Studio (PS) Update
Stay Home Activities
The stay-at-home period is a good chance for the PS Eagles to create their own flow by setting up their own schedules and deciding on activities that they want to do. The Eagles and their parents customized their home schedules to include their work points and reflection boards, which took a bit of reshuffling and adjusting, but by the second day things started to flow a little better.
The PS Eagles owned their work-from-home experience. Some decided to paint while others did science experiments. Others explored other nations, geography and some just decided to play.
Elementary Studio (ES) Update
Preparation for a Different Kind of Learning
This was a good chance for the ES Eagles to test the waters of true self-guided learning. The Guides very quickly and efficiently prepared take-home packs including any worksheets that were part of the 2-week plan, as well as the seed starter packs for the Eagles to start germinating their plants at home. The ES Eagles came in to pick the packs up on Tuesday. Thank you Guides for your efficiency and detailed guidance!
Within their groups, the Eagles decided who would bring their group caterpillars home to care for them throughout the 2 weeks away from school. The plan was to update everyone on their progress, especially when they cocooned, and hatched! (Incidentally, 2 butterflies have already emerged since this the activity started!)
The plan was to implement the Studio flow as much as possible at home, following the daily schedule. To this end, the Guides sent daily timetables and guidance of what to do for the project or Writer’s Workshop. Some of the Eagles took to work time naturally, sticking to the schedule, while others devised their own schedules – as long as they achieved all of the daily tasks within the day. Self-guided learning in practice!
Sow What?
Finding the why in doing something is part of what Acton is about. Filling out the Sow What questionnaire had the Eagles thinking about what kind of garden they wanted to create and why. Questions like, “Would you rather grow what you want to eat, or what other people want to eat and sell it?” helped to focus the Eagles on the why of planting, something they normally wouldn’t think about.
Some Eagles said they wanted to grow what they want to eat, while others leveraged their entrepreneurial spirit and said they wanted to sell what they grew.
My Garden Journal
The ES Eagles were excited to plant their seeds and really loved the little planting pellets, especially watching them expand! Questions of, “What’s peat?” and “How did the peat grow?” prompted them to do some further research into peat pellets.
After planting their seeds, the Eagles filled up their Garden Journals. They will continue to keep track of their little seeds’ growth and the daily weather conditions in their journals. This also serves as a reminder to water their seeds!
Think Out of the Box Thursday!
Think Out of the Box Thursday is a fun way to trigger the ES Eagles’ minds through association. Nothing is right, nothing is wrong, it’s just what they associate with a squiggle or a dot. This week, parents got a treat to do the activity together with the Eagles … the results were thought-provoking and hilarious!
Dancing to Fitness
Dance is a great way to have fun and exercise at the same time! This week the Eagles did it in their own living rooms using whichever dance video they chose. How many parents joined in? Be honest!
Writer’s Workshop – My Journal
Journalling is a great way to work through your thoughts and feelings and also to record highlights and low points in your life to remember and learn from. This Sprint the ES Eagles are looking into journaling techniques. This week they thought about what they would do if they had one day in which they could do anything at all.
Photosynthesis
The ES Eagles were asked the questions: How do we know if something is alive? How do we know that plants are alive? What do plants need to live? From Week 1, the Eagles knew that plants absorbed water through their capillaries, but where do they get their food? This week the topic of photosynthesis was analysed. What experiments can the Eagles do to see photosynthesis in action?
Middle Studio (MS) Update
Wednesday Morning Launch
Wednesday was the first day that the MS Eagles worked from home. The Guide kept the Launch short, just greeting everyone and checking if everyone was able to meet over Google Hangouts 3 times a day. Only 6 Eagles were present for this Launch, but the Eagles were very open and honest about their status – Andre reported that he had just woken up at the time of the Launch.
The Guide requested that everyone pace themselves to get work done at a speed that is good for them, “I know that everyone is working in their own time and the motivation to work at home in these conditions are different.” He recognised that just by making to effort to show up was heroic in itself.
Midday Launch on Google Hangouts – “Text Only Launch”
After the Morning Launch, Evan suggested, “I think we should experiment with a text-only Launch. There would be less lag and people could have more creative answers.”
So the MS Studio experimented with a text-only Launch to experience it for themselves. Would it be an improvement on the video chat format?
The whole Launch, which was supposed to last only 15 minutes dragged on to 20 minutes and everyone only managed to cover less than half of the discussion. It was a challenge because everything had to be typed out and everyone scrambled to say something or was interrupted (or interrupted) and it got very messy.
Ra’ees provided typed feedback at the end of the Launch: “Honestly, I think it should be a call. Way easier and more simpler. Gets the message over quickly. Or people won’t even read the messages. As for a call, you know who is in and listening.”
Friday Morning Launch – Online Socratic Discussion
To facilitate the visual element of a Socratic Discussion, a video chat was set up amongst the MS Eagles. The Guide prepared a tally sheet, made visible to everyone via video to tally votes during the discussion.
This was the fourth Launch done over Google Hangout, so the Rules of Engagement have improved. Everyone was on voice only mode, so before they gave their points / views they just had to say, “Can I go first?” or “I would like to say something.” The only ROE call out was when Ra’ees played a sound recording in the background, disrupting the discussion for a few moments. He was asked to, “take a step back,” by Haidan.
The MS Studio continues to evolve and function differently during the MCO period – a good chance for the Eagles to experiment carrying on in different circumstances and making things work regardless.
During the Friday Huddle, Dhanya and Ra’ees each expressed how easily sidetracked they got at home as compared to in situ in ActonKL. Evan expressed how his energy level was down and how he tried to keep himself going with ice cream and video games. The Guide sends Character Call Outs to all the MS Eagles who were vulnerable and honest about what they have been facing for the past 3 days.
Here’s a Character Call Out to everyone for standing strong and staying in to beat this thing! See you in a week!