(A)typical Day

This is our first connection of the day. Students love to share what they did over the weekend, tell stories, or share an object they brought from home. Sometimes we revisit previously learned content, or introduce new content. Every Wednesday we visit our Culture Corner during this time.

Children enjoy a snack from home while engaging with peers and facilitators. This social time is critical for building community and developing confidence in communicating freely with their peers.

Guided discovery within interactive mini-lessons transitions children to math instruction, exploration, and independent practice. Small group instruction based on developmental readiness introduces students to new content. Students choose from natural tools to explore, manipulate and understand concepts around pattern, sorting, classifying, predicting, comparing, measuring, graphing, the concept of number, and place value, etc. This segment is often outside taking advantage of nature’s array of materials.

Captivating stories inspire lessons across content areas, including science, history, and cultural and global studies. Small group instruction with a scientifically based reading program as well as native/natural reading practices works synergistically to provide a dynamic reading experience. Emerging readers will be paired with experienced readers for another level of collaboration with our peers. Facilitators aid in multi-sensory activities to build confidence in content. Lessons provide skills and tools for the children to explore the creative beauty of writing from their own imagination and experiences.

Students and facilitators will enjoy their favorite lunch from home in the classroom or outside - weather permitting. This is another great time for us to connect with each other.

Children may play inside or outside or work on their projects during this time. A lot of students enjoy creating in the Makerspace or playing foursquare outside,

This is a time for children to rest their bodies and their minds. This helps with the regulation of emotions, increases attention span, and the ability to process information. We enjoy different blends of hot tea throughout the week. A chapter book will be read aloud by a student or facilitator or we will spend time taking inspiration from nature to create poetry. Before we enter the second half of the day, we will start with setting our intentions with affirmations and deep belly breathing exercises.

Children investigate topics of personal interest across all content areas. They develop questions for research and respond to information and discovery through a variety of resources. This is a very active part of the day, as children may be creating plays, songs, artwork, written reports, or oral presentations to support their own understanding. It is an exciting time for the children because their imaginations are unlocked, and they can personalize their work in meaningful ways. Toward the end of this segment, we share our findings and wins from the day.

Children are all assigned a responsibility on rotation. These range from vacuuming, wiping down tables, sweeping, and cleaning the bathrooms (the toilets are a favorite!).

As the day comes to an end, students are free to spend time with fellow classmates or enjoy their time outside until pick-up.