Learn to learn, learn to do, learn to be. This is a common Acton phrase and a tagline we have framed on the wall that learners pass by every day. During a Guide squad meeting this past Tuesday this Acton phrase came up. One Guide shared “I always forget the order and want to say do first.” I shared that remembering will be easy once you understand the connection of the words. I’d like to share this thought with you too in case you’ve wondered the why behind this tagline.

“Good intentions are like magic.” —butterflies rising

Monday morning I practiced my favorite activity: observing learners. I set my computer and notebook in front of me and while rarely touching them I tracked the habits of Discovery learners. It was the first Monday after an adventurous break and therefore the habits and productivity of the studio were incredibly low. Left and right learners were abusing their guardrails, taking excessive breaks, collaborating with friends without purpose, and many were actively distracting. The energy was a buzz for sure and for a handful it was purposeful but for many it was like a bee swarm of goofiness.

17, November 1560

Dearest Parental Readers,

There is a noble lady from another kingdom named Lady O who every year is abundantly generous and offers lavish treasures to members for no effort at all. Her past gifting in this wizard clip was most extravagant and although generous in action goes against our Acton kingdom’s values. In the kingdom of Acton members value hard work and practice honoring the journey above all, regardless of outcome. An Acton hero only finds treasure when they find themselves whether that be the lesson of learning to be a hero that pushes through a challenge or a hero who was not ready for the journey this time.

10, November 1560

Dearest Parental Readers,

Just like the turn of the tide the Acton kingdom has made a considerable turn in attitude these last few weeks of Fall. I am excited to report that gone are the ways of the grumbling peasants and in their place are now craftspeople and nobles exuding pleasure and passionate work ethic. Looking back to the first days of the Acton kingdom I recall many peasants expressing their feelings of enslavement, punishment, and their plans to rebel against the entire Renaissance process. Do you remember hearing through the ton or at your quiet home village the words of “I can’t believe we have to clean! We are peasants and they don’t even call us by our name! Noble Guides are so mean, they make us do everything! When will this abuse stop?” How quickly a few days changed the tune of each peasant and now nearly at the finish of our RenQuest festival the words of the learners were this: “I can’t wait for tomorrow, I can’t wait to work on my crafts and become a noble!” “My favorite days are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday because I love Quest days!” “It’s so much fun being a lady and talking in an English accent.”

3, November 1560

Dearest Parental Readers,

The Acton kingdom is swirling with excitement of the young playwright William Shakespeare and his variety of theatrical works. His recent tragic story of Prince Hamlet has inspired both action and thought in the Discovery and Spark households. Shakespeare’s soliloquy states “To be, or not to be, that is the question.” This question poses the idea of how to live. Just as Shakespeare’s words beg the question of life I urge you, my most honorable parental readers, to consider this question: To be or not to be involved? What does parental involvement, true engagement in being look and feel like?

Dearest Parental Readers,

As your Lady of Communication of the Acton kingdom happenings I would like to share with you a question posed by her honorable Queen that most perplexed the members of the House of Spark and Discovery this week. The Queen sent an owl post with the sentiment of “Do you posture yourself as serious or silly?” Her royal majesty declared that there was far too much seriousness in her kingdom and she wished to be entertained. She desired dance and a joyful display of merriment for her amusement and thus the houses were tested.

On this day of the 20th of October of 1560 in the Acton kingdom there is much news to report about the noble household happenings. I as your Lady of Communication would like to provide you, our regular parental readers, with some astute insight into my recent tours of the households of Spark and Discovery. Both households recently experienced a hiring of new peasant staff and as they began their positions of house operation this week there were many gems of peasant productivity and a twinge of rebellion!

The words “I promise” are powerful. These words have honest intention, hope, and most importantly they are a pact between people. Promises often followed by a pinky, handshake, hug, or serious wide-eyed nod seal the commitment to a specific dream for yourself and to others, to follow through.

At Acton every first session of the year learners create their contract of promises. Promises are different than rules and language at Acton is important, there are no studio rules only promises.

Every time I share our unique Acton school model of child-led governance with adults I typically get a raised eye brow and this comment, “How is that possible? They can’t run school by themselves.” This doubt is our Acton fuel! YES, they can do hard things! Children when encouraged and equipped to work as a team with kindness and grit can 100% govern and lead the charge of their education. This session is proof as every day learners are stepping up and rising as heroes by leading discussions, managing jobs, and inspiring one another to make mindful changes for their school community.

My son loves treasure, he is like a dragon that is attracted to small shiny objects and he can’t resist the pull of the precious. He always has a coin, rock, or something curious in his pockets and often we find his stash under his pillow at bedtime or more often than not in our washing machine. Treasure is this magical thing. It doesn’t matter if it’s a pile of coins, a pack of gum, or a book that we love, treasure is anything greatly valued or highly prized.

Have you ever witnessed a pack of runners? A few years ago I was picking up my kids at daycare and I saw them—the pack running with energetic strides, palpable rhythm, oozing joy. As I sat in my car I witnessed 15 UW Oshkosh runners in a variety of yellowish gold and black clothing run. As I watched I was mesmerized and I’m sure my thought was “look at them go!". This memory is stuck in my brain as a slow-mo moment where time shifted. I remember watching leaders show the way and I’ll never forget the encouragement the middle crew showed to the runners in the rear. As I watched for probably way too long the pack shifted and although the front leaders forged on the group as a whole organically morphed and changed as if their movements were choreographed.

“The most fantastic magical things can happen, and it all starts with a wish.” —Pinocchio

The first day of school, the nerves, the excitement, the fear, the thrill is memorable. Maybe you don’t remember every detail such as the taco socks you wore or the name fact you shared but you definitely remember the feeling, that “first” feeling. This first week there were so many emotions that crossed the Acton threshold for learners, Guides, and even myself however at the end of the first day one feeling had a palpable consensus, the feeling of joy.

Think back to September, think back to the challenges, the goals, and the style of your learner. Now think of your learner today. How have they stayed the same and how have they changed? Think of yourself and your family. How have you stayed the same, how have you changed? As I look back on this past year I am filled to the brim with surprise and awe. For some reason the year 3 that I envisioned developed to be a year of transformation that I never could have predicted. In the words of an overwhelming majority of parents the growth this year at Acton is overflowing, blossoming! The “G” word is all encompassing.

During this Wednesday’s final Parent Lunch Meeting of the year I posed a session theme question: What is the difference between passion and interest? One father passionately answered “passion is love.” His passion caught the parent community on fire and honestly his words and the emotion behind his words are now beautifully cemented in my being. After hearing his simple yet poignant definition many parents passionately agreed and with great conversation quickly posed intricacies and connections of how passion and interest are different and orderly. One mom helped us all reframe “Interest is a great way to start and then when your interest grows then hopefully passion develops.” When I asked learners this same question one wise learner shared “passion is the thing that you love doing that is you, interest is something you like but don’t have to do, it’s just ok.”

When you turn on a light everything is illuminated, you can see clearly. As an educator I have always hungered to turn a learner’s light on with ideas, knowledge, and AHA’s. Watching the light turn on in a learner’s eyes is what nourishes my creative drive for education. Recently I had my own light bulb moment at Acton when I realized the need for sharing a colored light metaphor to connect emotional identification and promote emotional regulation.

For the last few months at Acton we’ve been running a traffic light experiment.

There are 14 days left of school. Learners are excited but it’s not for the reason you may think. Yes, we all love a great vacation and although that sounds fun learners are more excited about the work they can accomplish by the last day. Can they meet their deadline, achieve their goal by the last day, surpass the goals they set? Time will tell! Officially learners are experiencing the FINAL PUSH and right now, especially during Core Skills, the buzz is palpable.

Really, we aren’t kidding, learners at Acton LOVE learning and we absolutely love being witness to the domino experience of mastery checks and badge earnings. Here’s an example of the latest Discovery Studio ripple effect. A learner pushed herself to complete the Math 2 badge which includes Khan Academy’s 2nd grade level. Her deadline was to complete this badge before the last day of school. She not only reached her goal but she reached it a few weeks early.

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” —Albert Einstein

How curious are you? Do you ask lots of questions? Do you actively try new foods, hobbies, explore new places? Do you wonder about life out loud and share your curious questions with your family?

Curiosity may have killed the cat but our curiosity meter here at Acton is certainly alive and well! This session’s Quest explores the process of being curious as learners try a smorgasbord of passions and learn from their peers as they discover who they are and what they love with vigorous and curious passion. The only requirement is give it a good try!

This session learners and Guides have caught the water pun wave. We’ve all enjoyed the challenge and the giggle of puns but most of all learners this week enjoyed reflecting on their water journey. Of-fish-ially I’d like to share their ex-squid-site thoughts on this session’s adventures.

This week splashed with a multitude of connections! The highlight was yesterday’s first Acton field trip to Menominee Park, Zoo, and The Waters Yacht Club to experience and spark a passion for marine life and sailing. Not only was the day beautiful but it was beautifully full of learners experiencing their community and connecting their studio learning to real life!

Acton has given me endless learning moments but the one golden nugget that repeatedly proves true is that children thrive when equipped and empowered to lead their peers. Throughout Acton these last few sessions and especially this sixth Session learners are stepping up more and more to the challenge of self governance. Slowly Guides and I have been equipping learners to manage and meddle with their systems, systems that they have master minded from the start, and learners are eager to take the reins and run!