A Spooky Celebration

(Year 5, Week 7)

Measurements

Quest this session is tough and fun. The heroes have really shown what they are capable of and are determined to showcase some world class blueprints. There is quite a bit of competition too, friendly competition but they are definitely feeling the heat. On Monday, they were faced with the challenge of measurement and precision. The heroes had to draft their perfect school to scale. Easier said than done.

While it is a draft, they had to meet the requirements of drawing to scale and learning how to use the rulers and divide different measurements. This took a lot of trial and error. Many of the heroes are just learning the concepts of measurement and basic math. For the most part, the younger heroes have been leaning on the older heroes in the studio to help with conversions and understanding.

It has been quite the experience to watch them look to the older heroes, especially some of the older heroes who haven’t thought of themselves as leaders before. It has been a big confidence boost and a learning curve. Watching the 7–8 year olds push through their failures, while the 9–11 year olds stand by and assist.

Book Reviews

The heroes are challenged to read different books throughout the year to earn their badge in reading. For whatever reason, there has been a huge push for heroes to hit their goals early. Every day the guide checks off one or two heroes looking to read a new badge book. This week alone, fifteen heroes gave their badge book review!

The process for reading is as follows:

1. Hero picks a book that is in their challenge zone.
2. They read a page to the guide and the guide checks them off.
3. They sign up their name on the badge book tracker.
4. Once finished, they give their synopsis of the book they are reading in front of their fellow heroes.
5. The heroes ask a series of questions based on the book.
6. They submit their badge to the guide for the guide to check off.

We deeply believe in the value of reading and developing a love of reading. Every child is different and every child is going to be interested in different books. At this age, it isn’t so much about excelling super fast in reading. It is all about finding a book that they love. A book that opens up their eyes to new possibilities and a book that lights a fire in them and keeps them reaching for more! A great Socratic question to ask a child is;

“What type of book genre, if you had to choose, would you be most interested in reading?”

Then, list out different genres. Heroes are much more inclined to pick something when the genres and definitions are presented to them. Remember to, even if it takes a hero a little bit longer to choose a challenging book, them reading any book is what is most important.

Civ

The heroes started Civ this session and it has been quite the positive experience. The world that they are learning about is the life of Lewis, Clark, Sacajawea and the war that was brought on between the Indigenous community and Americans.

Civ is showcased at launch on Wednesday mornings. Usually a launch is around 15 minutes, the Civ discussions however, can run to almost 40 minutes. There is something deeply interesting to the heroes about the history of the America’s and what life looked like back then.

Throughout the next few weeks, the heroes will be asked to put themselves in the shoes of Thomas Jefferson, Lewis, Clark, Sacajawea, The Shoshone tribe, the people on the Oregon trail and everyone else in-between. They will be asked many in-depth questions from,

“What would you do if you were in Sacajawea’s position?”

“What would be the hardest part of the Oregon Trail journey?”

“As a Native American, would you have signed this treaty with the new world?”

Watching their eyes light up at the questions and listening to their very heated debates is almost like being transported back in time to when people were truly making the decisions they had to make. What is right? What is wrong? Was there a better way to go about it? Were contracts broken or upheld? How important are contracts?

Every Wednesday, it would be a fun topic to have around the dinner table with your hero. The history of the America’s touch them deeply and really make them think about all the sacrifice on both sides and puts them in the shoes of multiple heroes. Who knows? Maybe around the dinner table your hero will share their own ideas of what a proper treaty should entail.

Reading Buddies

Reading buddies are back in business! Heroes were so excited to start up reading buddies again. Every Thursday for fifteen minutes, the Discovery heroes head over into the Spark studio and they take turn reading with their designated buddy.

The Discovery heroes were so excited to hear about the different needs of some of the Spark and get to choose who they were able to help. They picked their reading buddy and headed over, elated to watch their buddy take on the big challenge of reading.

On Thursday, everything went off without a hitch! The Discovery heroes had their buddies read to them first. Then they went and chose a second book and read to their buddy. they said that it was really fun to be able to help the Spark heroes continue their reading journey.

Halloween Party

The grand finale! What we have all been waiting for! The heroes came storming into the studio on Friday morning ready to boogie down in their costumes. They kicked off the day listening to a spooky story about a haunted house and then they were challenged to write their very own scary story.

After that, the heroes got about 20 minutes down of intentional core skills. To be expected on such a high energy day. They moved onto town hall and then had their very own costume contest. However, the real fun began after lunch!

The middle schoolers put together a fun little Halloween carnival for the heroes. They started out by touring a haunted house. They had turned the library and the kitchen into a full fledge spooky show! Equipped with jump scares and twinkling lights. After that the heroes headed out to the carnival to play games and get their face painted. It was evident the middle schoolers put a lot of time and effort into creating a fun experience for the Discovery heroes.

The day ended with the parents, grandparents and guardians showing up and showcasing their trunks for trunk or treat. It was a fun day filled with lots of laughter and games. It was nice to see all of the families come together too to pull off something so fun.

Wrap-Up

The heroes had their week filled with learning how to measure rooms and doorways for their quest. They were put in the shoes of Frank Lloyd Wright and had a ton of questions in terms of how to get their measurements exact. They excelled in the reading department and there were a total of 15 badge book reviews during the week! They even started their much loved reading buddy meet-up on Thursday. The heroes ended the week with their annual Halloween bash and are sure to be headed home tired with bellies full of candy.