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Genuinely loved the exhibition on Friday. So nice to see their projects and kids running around playing so freely.

This is the first exhibition where my learner has been truly excited about exhibition day. I sense a lot of collective learning from all year has come together this session more than the ones previously. The amount of baths per week is definitely going up at home! I love to see evidence of adventures outside, and my learner was very eager to learn how to use a car vacuum this week to help remove some straw building up in the carpet. It is lovely to hear about the friendships that are developing. Older and younger students interact in a way that makes both better off from the interaction. I made a comment at home about thumb tacks being sharp, and my learner gently reminded me that they use them all the time at school. At home I have also observed more ownership taken of tasks on the weekend, which is a lovely thing to see, and a reminder that the little years are coming to an end! This year is going by so fast and I imagine that the Summer will seem so long as we excitedly wait for the next year to begin.

I would like to kindly suggest some policies being established about bringing personal devices to school. Being in contact with other Acton parents, we are aware of other Acton centres policies and personal devices being banned in the school grounds. Throwing it here, for the possibility of considering establishing some boundaries and/or discussions around it.

The expectation for students in the handbook is to bring a healthy lunch and healthy snacks. Candy being used as currency in the studios and and regular junk food being brought on campus is in direct opposition to what is expected of Heros at Acton. My child has a condition that will result in the inability to walk and the lack of use of their arms if specific precautions are not taken. These precautions include eating healthy foods that are not full of high sugar content. I felt good about choosing this school because of the expectations for healthy lunches and snacks. I am concerned that the environment on campus is not what is expected of an Acton campus and is becoming unsafe for my child.

Was a rough week coming off a pretty good week. The extremes seem to be exaggerated when they are “owned”, harder to sit back, coach, watch, and hope for the best then it is to reach in an help. Hard week.

Both of my learners are engaged and excited about their work. I am curious what strategies the studio as a whole will come up with to navigate the distractions of chippy strikes and choices about what to fuel their bodies with.

Thank you for a great week! Such a nice change to have a kiddo that is up, ready, and wanting to go to school!

School has been going very well. I love to hear about the exciting developments at in the studio! Even with the additions of more children, it seems the lovely closeness of the community continues, which so nice to see.

We feel our learner is adjusting fairly well. We love that he came home dirty! We also love that he has decided to “learn the ways of a chicken” so he can catch one. He is definitely happier at Acton and we already see significant improvement with his computer skills and typing. We are trying to sort out the point/badge/level system still, but have decided to let him sort that out on his own.

Kids were excited and had a good week back at the studio

Energy level is really high. My learners are excited for this session. It’s nice to see grit and some planning by my older learner! I’m pleased to see and hear about new learners and their excitement about starting their own Journey.

Self Rating 4/5

“Definitely a muddy week, literally speaking, and figuratively. SOOO many great things coming from the mud, the castle and these real life experiences. I have loved hearing the stories of the day both from the fun happening during free time as well as the quest and the investigations they are working through on this quest. Having real life FBI come and talk to them was fantastic. Early in the week she was in her socks at pick up and carrying her shoes which had dry mud on them. This lead us into a discussion on the way home about how this came to be and then I asked, “what do you think you can do differently to ensure mud isn’t coming into the car?” The response was, “put my shoes in a plastic bag. This week our learner took spare clothing and shoes to school just in case she got muddy and I think she took a plastic bag as well for any muddy items she needed to bring back home.”

Self Rating 3/5

“I struggled to step back as our learner didn’t care about the natural consequences of immersing his body in mud. Doing a load of laundry start to finish every day after school? No problem! Cleaning out the car? Done!

I feel like I could do a better job explaining the ‘why’ behind some of my frustration. “

Self Rating 4/5

“Continuing to learn to support my learners in any way I can within interfering. Noticing at least one of my learners is taking deeper interests in things around him and growing curiosity and creativity along the way. Still working to fit the methods of Acton into our overall family structure. “

Self Rating 4/5

“What worked was setting limits on what clothes are “studio clothes.” Next time I would ask more questions. “

Self Rating 5/5

“So these first few weeks have been a huge learning experience for us as we get more involved and learn more about Acton and the benefits for our entire family. And while, yes, there was lots of mud and sand in our house and car this week (backpack and even lunchbox lol), my son is EXCITED for school. We did refrain from reacting and instead asked questions about the mud and why he was coming home sans shoes and the consequence was he went to school with no shoes on the next day, so now he comes home with his shoes and doesn’t have to go shoeless. We still work on how important it is he attends each day but this is the first time he has come to me and said I want to go to school. I think this week is a huge win for us and our son. We want to thank everyone at Acton for being patient with us and helping us work through this learning curve.”

“This morning my child got up, got dressed, and said I’m ready for school! But its Saturday little one. 🙂 The comment says it all. Hard lessons and fun lessons they want to go back.”

“Our learner has really stepped up her game with this last quest/session. She was really motivated and dug her heels in to hit and exceed her goals. She even earned a badge and thought the 3D printed badge was so cool. She had a blast at the AZ Science Center and is also glad to be on break. The week long breaks that happen after each quest, really are great for her to rest, reset and “charge” her own battery. She found herself to be surprised by how well the days went without a guide the previous week and felt they all did great working together and stepping up where necessary. Acton is such a great fit for her in this season of her life/journey.”

“Another great session complete. It is so much of a relief to come to school without looking for accomplishments and achievements but instead to get caught up in the excitement and experience a little part of their community for the afternoon. The greatest learning happens in the plateaus.”

“Great seeing the kids begin to get closer to others in the community and show interest in the general theme/lesson. Still having internal doubts on if they are “learning enough” each week as their feedback is very minimal…though my 4 year old is definitely getting way ahead! 7 year old…a bit concerned. “

“Our learner is enjoying school and really enjoying learning about bugs! It seems like he is feeling more confident and independent.”

“Kids had a great week. Thanks for the parents dinner. Enjoyed the discussion.”

“Our first week. We are Thankful for this new community and that Shari spent so much time listening and talking to us as we were navigating this transition. Everyone we met from guides to learners were very welcoming. We are excited to see evolution of our Hero’s Journey. “

“Lots of downs and a couple ups. Summed up by my learner saying, “determination makes a great learner!” Thus the roller-coaster of Acton “

“Thank you for a lovely first 6 weeks. The moment we were home mine asked for her penmanship book. And then proceeded to color the dinosaurs inside, cus that’s the best part of course! I loved seeing all her work at school and being able to hear her share all she has been doing. Thank you to the older girls for being special friends with the little girls. So excited for what the next 6 weeks will bring. “

“As school gets back and routines start to become habit again, the excitement of being back is definitely there with our learner. There were wifi challenges this week making core skills a challenge,but it seems this time was taken to find their groove as a community again and there is value in that. The technology challenge this week helped our learner see things don’t always go as planned and there are things that are not within our control. We are looking forward to Core skills ramping up again as she set goals before school started and is eager to working towards those. With this technology challenge she wanted to change her goals, feeling as though she won’t meet them on the deadline she gave herself. This opened up an opportunity for great conversation about “shifting the sails” to ensure she still hits her goals and ways to do this vs. changing her goals or giving up on them all together. Our learner has enjoyed working on cursive again and honing that skill set. “

“This week my child proudly declared: “I am a learner!” How do you know you’re a learner? “I go to Acton Academy, everyone at Acton Academy is a learner!” This weekend she has told everyone she has two days off and then she gets to go back to school. She can’t wait.”

“Kessler and Adrasia seem to be getting the hang of things, both really look forward to school, a change for Kessler from his previous “standard” school in K and first grade. Adrasia still seems to be having issues with adjusting to social interaction, but it seems to improve some days and generally overall. Hopefully she is not causing problems with other learners. “

“High energy from my learners this week. They are excited about going’s on in the studio and I’m hoping that carries over! Shout out to all the guides for helping create a positive environment for all our learners!!”

“Our young learners seem to be adjusting to Acton and working toward the heroes journey… Not without confusion. “

“Zayven’s time at East Valley Acton Academy has been such an intriguing experience so far! It is so satisfying to pick him up and vividly observe his excitement for all he got to experience in his day. He is animated, engaged and expressive about what he did with his day, and it makes us so happy to know he genuinely enjoys Acton. He LOVES reading time during DEAR and especially enjoys it when Ms. Shari and Ms. Jill share the stories. He also enjoys the freedom of exploring the outside. We know he is proud of the work he is experiencing at Acton, as he constantly mentions his excitement about the Exhibition Day and for the moment we get to see all that he has been working on. :)”

“The lack of homework pressure and not having things come home everyday has been great! I hear regularly about new special friends. A class photo would help me keep all the names straight. Though my child has them memorized of course! “

“The kids loved their first week back at Acton!”

“Lots of excitement in kicking off a new year. Guides are bringing a contagious energy. My learners are taking responsibility at home to be on time to the studio! Baby steps and we’ll take it!!”

“Alethia shared many new things with us this week. Songs, and names of new friends, and advice for how to avoid chicken bites. She is excited to go back each morning and eager to share with us each afternoon.”

Are you ready to know what your learner thinks you should know about life at Acton?

“Acton is a great place to learn.”

“Parents’ need to know that I work harder than you think.”

“Acton is my favorite place.”

“What a great couple of months at East Valley Acton. We are so glad that we transitioned our learner here the tail end of 20/21 school year vs. waiting until 21/22 school year. As a parent it is easy to get caught up in providing solutions to help resolve situations, but Acton is helping me to ask questions to put the ball back in our learner’s court to think through how the situation of discussion could be resolved. It is such a different learning model and our learner is enjoying working at the pace that works best for her and the accountability that comes along with that. We look forward to a great year next year and watching our learner step up her game to continue to do HER best and the outcomes of her journey!”

“I’m looking forward to the male guide next year.”

-Acton Roadrunner

“Our learner would like more of a challenge with Core Skills”

“Communication has been great and it has been lovely to watch our learner blossom and take a leader role”

“More communication from guide”

-Acton Roadrunner

“Some parts of communication could be improved.”

“We are so thankful for the Acton journey. I see the struggle with our hero wanting to rise up and be a leader and the challenge of getting others to rally and uphold the standards at the same time. But that’s the challenge of life, trying to find others that are on the same journey issue even though pursuing different goals!”

“I’ve struggled this week as a parent to ask questions instead of offering solutions. Enjoying the journey we are on with our entire family!”

“My learner keeps learning life lessons. He is applying himself, thinking critically and struggling with tribe dynamics. Good to learn this at 9 and be better equipped at 19 to handle situations with other “adults”

“Love hearing about their days and what excites them.”

“We are kept up to speed each day from our learner on the happenings of the day. The exhibition was so lovely. I enjoyed the tour and hearing about all the great things the learners have been working on . The chickens, the Chrysalis, the garden etc. Way to go East Valley Acton Learners!”