On September 8th, we'll open our new Elementary Studio (1st-5th). This school year, we’ll have not one, but two “one-room schoolhouses for the 21st century” (Spark--preschool-Kinder, and Elementary Studio). Here’s a sneak peek of the transformation in progress as we prepare for our exciting milestone.
The prepared environment of an Acton Academy Lakewood studio is crucial. Warm, free of visual clutter, orderly, dynamic...anyone who visits an Acton studio will feel a distinct vibe. It is a sacred place where life-changing growth happens. In it learners explore, learn, serve, fall down, and, most importantly, practice getting back up.
Everything the children need is in their reach and line of sight so they can function independently, and be well on their way to creating a learner-driven community.
It’s the space where learners get to have a zone of “school life,” distinctly separate from their “family life” and “private life.” The studio (school life) is a protected space where learners get the privilege of asking themselves, often unspoken, “Who will I be when my family is not around?” It’s a tiny, healthy stepping stone to growing up to be an independent man or woman. A visitor during our first year remarked, “Organized chaos. I like it!” Indeed, the energy level gets high and maybe even crazy, and when it’s time for the more orderly activities, learners know how to be where they need to be to make them happen!
Beginning in the Elementary, Dominick and I gradually delegate to learners a powerful set of ownership rights in their studio, including its setup and care. This is the space were responsibility=ownership, joy+rigor=mastery, and discipline=freedom.
Onward to a very exciting year,
Molly
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