9:45am Farm School/animal chores
10:10 Community time (snack, clean up from barn, story/poem, sharing time)
10:30 Study Group 1: Arts meets Sciences
Objective and Outline: Human Anatomy/Intro to Body Systems and Cellular Biology meet ART
Students will learn all about the magic of how bodies work taking a hands-on approach through creating a sketch book of art!
Using projected power point lessons, books, and actual microscope slides, students will get a close look at the body and create their own versions using their preferred medium of art, crayon and pen, markers, water color, colored pencil, it's up to them!
Students will gain a greater understanding of how bodies work, what they are like inside, and what happens (and why) when they are injured, sick, healing, exercising, resting, eating etc.
This is meant to be a fun, engaging hour that is interesting and relaxing as they create their projects in their unique way and ask questions to further their insights. Students are welcome to submit questions in the next week to inspire topics for their anatomy lessons as well. (Like, why start to see double when I am tired?) Their sketch/art books and supplies can be left at the co-op and stored for safe keeping from week to week unless a student very much wants to work on their book at home to finish a picture.
11:20 Study Group 2: History
Objective and Outline: This History study will transform events in history in a personal experience that examines perspective and helps students challenge the usual narrative. Each of the 12 weeks will be set on a Day in History. Events will not be chronological order, and will be from all different eras and parts of the world. Each student will come into the class having been assigned a different person and/or perspective and be prepared to try on the shoes of someone as if they were really there.
Note: Some preparation will be expected and enhance the discussion. The leader and assistant will be there to facilitate and guide the activities and lessons and will have plenty of their own research to present and be part of each lesson themselves, but we hope this chance to act out sometimes, debate sometimes, share, will open the students' eyes to context and experiences and possible reasons why events happened the way they did, why people responded as they did and why it is important to us today. Students may be encouraged to bring in notes, quotes, they've prepared on their person's role in that Day in History, perhaps some weeks bringing in a costume or item to make it more real.
When studying history we want to challenge students to question the "good guy bad guy" dichotomy and start to engage in a more complex and hopefully compassionate view of how events transpired how they changed those that were there and the generations after them.
Examples of important Days in History:
The day Christopher Columbus landed on Hispanola
The day of the first sit in at a "white counter only" Woolworths in Greensboro, NC 1960
The day King Louis XVI of France was beheaded by guillotine
The day Frieda Kahlo was injured in a bus accident
The day American bombed Hiroshima
The day of the Battle of Culloden in (English and Scotland)
The day Johnson v. McIntosh Supreme Court decision (This case involved the validity of land sold by tribal chiefs to private persons in 1773)
Rest assured, not all days/events will involve battles or violence, though it is a fact that events that changed the course of history or have a high impact often involved extreme actions, sometimes violent ones.
Each student will be invited to come as a person there, and get ready to talk about how their perspective affected the other people there, what happened, why they feel or think what they think, what happened afterwards, how their "character" was changed by the event and get to know the future events set in motion by that day. While students may have prepared some overlapping information and perspective, it is vital to our community all their efforts in the discussion are felt valuable and welcome and important.
The leaders for each of the weeks will send out links, resources, ideas to help the students so they will have guidance in researching their character for the day. Perfection is not necessary, a willing open mind and heart is.
Here is where YOU come in! We would love feedback from our Saplings on events in history that they would be excited about studying. They welcome to email me (Hi Saplings!) or have you email with events that interest them. I can't promise we will do everyone's but we really would love to hear if there is an event (or short time period) in history they are passionate about or curious. staci.hopkin24@gmail.com
12:20 Lunch Break/free play
1:00pm 3rd Study hour: Literary Group
Objectives and Outline: students will learn to conduct and lead their own book group!
They will have one meeting at the beginning of semester to present a book or two they'd like the propose for the group. They will prepare to "sell" it by telling a little about it (without spoilers!) talking about online reviews they've read, or why they recommend it or like the author. It can be a book they've already read or one on their "to read" list.
After the pitch meeting, students will vote online for which books they'd like to read together. The three (or four depending on how fast they read) books with the most votes will be assigned for the 12 week semester. The students will sign up to take turns leading the discussion each week.
As leaders (with support from me and other adult leaders) they will come up a combination of sharing their observations, things they are liking, aspects of character development or plot they are enjoying or are not, confused or entertained. They will be encouraged to prepare by researching fun facts about the time period, location or the author to add context to the discussion. They will be encouraged to bring in questions to ask the group "what do you think about...?" "Does anyone want this character to just go for it and do xyz?" "why do you think the author keeps describing xyz this way?" If the book contains any new or challenging vocabulary, students can keep track of words they had to look up and learn and compare notes, etc.
Discussions will go well if they keep up with the reading and manage to stay around the same place. Not always easy and there may be a learning curve but each week will have a guideline to help them know how much to talk about (chapters 1-8, next week chapters 9-14, etc)
*I understand parents sometimes have different ideas about age-appropriate content and we do have a range of ages in the group. As head adult leader of the literary group I will have a close eye on the books the students propose and will show the list to the parents with any content warnings. I am very open to the students reading what they want to read but want everyone to feel comfortable as well.
While students will not be expected to write about the books, they will be encouraged to make note of quotes that stood out to them to share with each other.
The goal is to help the students learn to discuss and analyze what they are reading, and to share verbally why they feel a certain way about the writing. Passion for literature and sharing it with friends can be a lifelong tool and this group is meant to cultivate critical thinking and love of good books. (What makes a book "good?" will be a running question through both semesters!)
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