Detective Quest – Last two weeks and session summary
This time I have a long post for you; it includes a summary of the last two weeks of the session, a field trip, and an exhibition. I added pictures in the post itself, so you’ll have a little more feeling of the experience.
Detective Quest – Last week, the Eagles had a super cool DNA extraction activity, using a sample they found at the crime scene. This week, they mostly worked on preparing the exhibition (soon you’ll see how successful it was) and also worked on their two-minutes-misteries. This activity of writing “two minutes mystery’ is an excellent writing activity in my opinion, and I recommend trying it out without any connection to the detective quest. It required the Eagles to write a short story (a maximum of one and a half pages), which is quite a challenge in
Writer’s Workshop – For those who forgot, in this writer’s workshop, the Eagles practiced technical writing and had to write instructions for operating software, something that has to be built and something that has to be created. I admit that I was afraid that the Eagles would be less connected to the subject of technical writing, but as is often the case in Acton, I found that I was completely wrong. The Eagles actually connected to the task well, and their products were successful. I have attached one example to instructions, written by one of the younger Eagles. I followed the instructions and easily managed to make an animal with a bowl of water out of clay.
What’s it What’s it – A few weeks ago I told you that I started playing a game called “What’s it, what’s It” with the Eagles. I will not bother you again with the game instructions (you can find them in this post), but I will tell you that very typically for Acton after I brought the object twice, the Eagles asked me to let them lead the activity. So now we play the game once a week on a regular basis, and each time, a different Eagle brings an object and everyone has to guess what it is. The first girl brought an interesting
Civilization – In last week’s civilization class, we read the chapter about the Mayans. Because the weather outside was perfect, we had the class out on the grass. We read the chapter together and then I asked all the Eagles to write a short story in English and then write it again in the Mayan language using glyphs (drawings that represent words). They enjoyed this activity very much (in the photo at the beginning of the post, you can see one of the boys working on his drawing).
Core Skills – Because we are already deep within the year, the Eagles are now at peak concentration on their core skills. This hour and a half, at the beginning of the day, begins with each Eagle sharing his/her goals for that day. Afterward, everyone gets to work on the computer and they simply work quietly and with a focus for an hour and twenty minutes. It’s absolutely amazing and very inspiring to see it from the side. During the last ten minutes, we return to the circle and each Eagle tells how far she progressed according to her plan and why. Of course, going over the goals together, allows them to be much sharper, and close a very short circle of self and group feedback about what works for them more and what less.
Hero’s Visit & Field Trip – To my great delight, Alden and I decided to combine the hero’s visit with a field trip of the entire studio. We struggled a little to decide about what to do and who to bring, and eventually, we decided to bring Alden’s good friend, Sean, who works as a private investigator. We have also decided that the trip would be to my house and include a joint preparation for lunch. The Eagles were very excited about coming to my house (I was also excited!) And, of course, my sons wanted to skip school and join them, which only made everyone happier. The Eagles arrived around 12:00 (after Core Skills in the morning) and Sean talked to them for about an hour and fifteen minutes about his work as a private investigator. He explained the differences between a private investigator and a police detective and shared many facts and fascinating stories. Sean also told them about how his hero’s journey to becoming an investigator, and his daily routine. The Eagles were engaged and asked a lot of questions. After the conversation with Sean, the Eagles prepared lunch together (a super cool group activity). The menu included omelet, pasta in sauce, vegetarian sushi and brownies for dessert. To avoid any doubt, the Eagles cleaned up all the mess in the kitchen and the yard after the cooking (I can assure you it was very messy!). I only helped them with the big dishes towards the end 🙂 When the meal was over, the Eagles played together for another hour and a half, and towards five o’clock they went home tired and satisfied. Here are some photos:
End of Session Exhibition – As in every session, the Eagles decided themselves how they wanted to present the session to their parents. The exhibition began as usual with a presentation of the progress in core skills. Then they had the parents sit down in a circle and listen to their two-minute-mysteries. It was really fun to see how proud they were of their product, and how happy they were when the parents could not solve the mysteries easily! The final part was the longest and richest: The Eagles put on a show that is actually a mystery, and the parents became the detectives and had to figure out which of the suspects carried out the kidnapping and the murder. The show was spectacular, and the Eagles provided the parents with fingerprints of the suspects for examination, a shoeprint, and even prepared a crime scene with the murdered victim! For me, it was an amazing activity (and by the way, there was no chance that an adult could have prepared it with such success) and it also showed well what they had learned during the quest.
That’s it for this time 🙂 The studio is going off for a one week break, and I’m going for two and a half weeks off (in Israel!). See you in Entrepreneurship Quest!