I’m on the edge of my seat, magically wide-eyed and trying not to blink I wonder “how is this going to go?” This is the process I have when I watch an amazing and unpredictable movie, my favorite kind. The kind where the writing diverts from the formula and instead throws you a curve ball full of magic. This movie watching process is often like a school year at Acton. This 24-25 school year was full of highs, lows, dramatic characters, magical chickens, and a mess—a beautiful messy process that threw us many curve balls and in the end always led to magic.

As the plane of the end of the year is about to land and learners hustle to complete projects and earn final badges I think this is the perfect time to remind ourselves about the BIG F word, failure. The word failure often has a negative connotation and today I’d like to invite you to redefine and embrace this word with fresh eyes. Education hero Carol Dweck shared “failure is information—we label it failure, but it’s more like, ‘This didn’t work, I’m a problem solver, and I’ll try something else.’” If failure is information then it isn’t bad or good, it simply is a tool.

A few months ago my daughter was puddling, complaining and wallowing in the tears of difficulty, and I as a parent was struggling. She was having difficulty with simply getting started, trying, and it seemed like at every corner she was faced with a tough moment for her to reject. My son was following her lead and although I had hoped he would be a simpler number 2 he was adding to my tumultuous feeling of: this is hard. I wanted my children to try, to have the growth mindset which I try desperately to model and adamantly preach however it wasn’t happening. I knew I couldn’t force them, I had to invite them.

It’s amazing how a single button can hold so much meaning. The button materials are mere pennies to purchase yet the button becomes invaluable because of the journey each learner takes to turn a button into a badge of honor. Badges are the tangible component of our Acton system and it is incredibly easy to compare and obsess over the worry of “did my child earn or not earn enough” badges. I’ve heard countless stories of parents pushing for the badge because we parents feel good when our child earns a token of treasure. I’d like to invite you to view the badge with a different lens.

What is joy? This was the keynote question of the Acton Academy Founders Conference I attended last weekend and this was the question Acton co-founder Laura Sandefer posed and shared. If you’ve never heard Laura speak it is a wonder as she is a gorgeous storyteller and an immensely thoughtful human. As I listened to her speech my eyes filled with tears of joy, gratitude, and inspiration. She was who I looked to for inspiration when I began the journey as your Founding Director and she is who I look to whenever I need a boost or when I am in the dip.

The beauty of being an Acton school is the sharing of experiences, information, and wise learners from Acton schools all over the world. A friend and Director of Acton Academy NW Indy, JD Collar, wrote an article for his school parents and shared it with our network during a discussion. JD’s article is a shared perspective of Acton Oshkosh and across the network and I’d like to share his words with you today.

Last week I shared a long document about varying roles adults play with children. This week our Guide team used this document for a deep dive conversation about roles at Acton and the growth we want in ourselves. The natural next step was preparing a Launch for learners to get an honest although vulnerable account of how Guides are perceived. This week and next we’ll find out the results. Here are our questions for learners:

Pickle Problem Pathways, say that 5 times fast! Sometimes life gives us pickles, sour moments that at times are hard to bite and give us strong feelings. In these moments it is imperative that we and our joyous learners know the pathway to pickle problem solving.

It’s that warm feeling, the happy tears, the moment you hold your breath and then exhale with appreciation, this is the feeling of gratitude. Being thankful and being thanked matter. The exchange of acknowledgement are the magical moments that we all remember. Acton co-founders Jeff and Laura Sandefer started it all fifteen years ago in Austin, Texas. They started a small non traditional school with only a handful of children and a big hope for change. Today, there are over 300 Acton’s across the globe and counting and at the end of this month I will venture to Austin, Texas to honor Jeff and Laura and witness them close their chapter and pass the leadership baton to another Acton leader. I, like many Acton founders, Guides, learners, and parents am immensely grateful for their inspiration and bravery.

A ritual is something special worth repeating, worth feeling, worth remembering. It may be an annual event, daily activity, or special practice every now and then tied to the season, action, or an event. In the words of American author Starhawk “Ritual affirms the common patterns, the values, the shared joys, risks, sorrows and changes that bind a community together. Ritual links together our ancestors and descendants, those who went before with those who will come after us.”

The final weeks of a session can be thrilling, nerve-wracking, and full of last minute to-do’s! Highs and lows equally abound and it’s this mix of emotions and actions that I believe make the journey of Acton for our heroes truly worth it. Learners are feeling their push towards ending the session and their need to complete a Core Skills badge for the Productivity Pizza challenge, master a material, or to get the star badge for Quest Excellence. Each child has their list of to-dos and it’s our parental job to check in, not to push, but simply love. This can be hard! The week and always night before an exhibition can be pretty intense for many parents (myself included) as we support our heroes. As much as our children are feeling the whirlwind we too experience the emotional rollercoaster. As we move into these final days I’d like to remind you why it matters how we parents choose to respond.

Although we live in the dairy state of Wisconsin bursting with farms full of livestock, corn, and more, many of us are not all too familiar with the process of herding sheep. Sure, I may think about sheep as I count these caricatures in bed or sing Old McDonald but other than these ideas of farm animals I personally don’t think about sheep often. Sheep and their helpers, sheepdogs, are an important concept when growing a community at Acton. This concept is so important that the sheepdog reference is a key part of the Acton network lingo of choice words. Just as we’ve become accustomed to using the word learner rather than student or reference the role of Captain or Pirate in the studio, the word sheepdog is a recent addition to our daily Acton lingo.

Sometimes reinventing the wheel is silly and today I’d like to honor and highlight the words of Laura Sandefer, co-founder and Chief Encourager of Acton Academy. She wrote a regular blog to support parents much like our newsletter and today I’d like to share her thoughts with you here. The title of her post dated June 22, 2017 is What Authority Do Parents Have At Acton Academy? Simply replace Eagles with our Owls and relate your journey to many families before you. Laura brilliantly writes:

“The monsters were never under my bed. Because the monsters were inside my head. I fear no monsters, for no monsters I see. Because all this time the monster has been me.” This poem by Nikita Gill highlights the revelation that every hero must experience. Monsters are mysterious, scary, and are created by feeding on our deepest fears. At Acton we’ve identified key monsters that tend to emerge for both learners and Guides. Naming the monster is the first step to knowing how to battle. Words matter.

The boom of the drum has sounded. As the drum’s resonance echos it makes room for sounds of the whistle of the wind, chirping of the birds, distant owl hoot, and your heart beat. This is what learners heard this Tuesday at the start of the Indigenous People Quest. Although the drum is merely an instrument its symbolic power is much like the drum we feel when adventure calls. The call to adventure is the first step for every hero. Before going on a great journey finding travelers, dragons, and treasure the hero must first feel the pull of the drum’s invitation, a resounding question “Do I want to find out, do I want to try?”

This week at Acton has been messy. Literally the floor has been full of food wrappers, papers, binders, ribbon, game pieces, and even iPads. In the past I and our Guides have reminded, helped, picked up the slack, but this week we have been committed to embracing the mess. How will learners learn to appreciate their materials, their studio, their work, and their freedoms if adults steal their responsibility? If we adults at Acton clean up after learners and consistently poke them with reminders, are learners truly learning? Is the final product or the process most important?

“I throw wishes into the night and wait for the stars to catch them.” – Christy Ann Martine

When you look above at the vast sky full of stars and a jubilant moon what do you feel, what do you think, what do you wish? Most nights whether I am stargazing with my children or whether I am alone I take a moment and stand in awe. The big beautiful sky is full of uncertainty and great beauty. I breathe in and simply gaze. This week learners stargazed while inside the Barlow Planetarium however did you know that besides a field trip adventure you too can stargaze any time day or night? It’s true. There are these magical stars full of great energy and depth that move and change daily. These stars are bright with a great light, they are our genius children!

“Why does Discovery have more freedom? It isn’t fair that they can choose to be inside during recess and we can’t.” These were the wise words of a 5 year old Spark learner early on this session. This 5 year old saw and felt great inequity and deeply desired freedom for themselves. At the start of Session 4 Discovery learners were extended the opportunity to freely choose where and when to lunch and where and when to play outside or inside during the hour and a half of the mid day period. Naturally, this new freedom was observed and coveted by Spark learners. After a week of difference between studios and a chance for Discovery to experiment, Spark learners had their chance to feel freedom. For these last 3 weeks there has been a palpable change that is undeniable. By offering the flow of freedom learners appear more joyful, more regulated, and are buzzing with creative energy.

I’ve had a variety of jobs in my past: librarian, teacher, professor, musician, camp bus driver, event planner, retail sales associate, administrator, security guard, usher. Of all the jobs of my past I currently have one job that has demanding hours, challenging customers, ongoing professional development, physical, mental, and emotional stress, and although exhausting this job has been the most fulfilling. This isn’t my role as Acton’s Director it’s my job as parent and Mom. The role of a parent is both laborious and glorious and the toughest job I’ve ever had the privilege to hold.

The journey of an Acton parent is equalling rewarding and challenging. One of the most treasured parts of our community is our parent network and their stories of experience. Stories are absolute treasure that pave the way for new families and echo learning from fellow traveler parents. Knowing that someone else is on the same arduous journey as you is a magical mirror and support system. Last week I received the following email letter from a brave Spark learner Mom named Kelly. Her family’s Acton journey began last Fall 2022 and has been rich with learning. When I received her email I had tears in my eyes and felt the value of her contribution. With her permission, I’d like to share her story with you today as perhaps you’ve been wondering if creating space for your learner to follow their own journey without your push is worth it.