Carriage House

Happy Spring, Barn Owl families!

We’ve got a few irons in the fire at the moment, and it feels like there is never enough time in the day for us to tend to all of them. Good thing our Barn Owls are growing into such capable, independent, enthusiastic young thinkers and doers - they plan on accomplishing so much in the coming weeks!

First of all, we’ve rekindled our pen pal relationships with the COBURWAS school in the Kyangwali Refugee settlement in Uganda!  The Barn Owls were delighted to receive a fresh batch of letters, and are working hard on their responses, engaging in self and peer editing to make sure they send out their best work!  We have another Zoom meeting coming up on Monday morning and we look forward to seeing our friends!

Meanwhile, our Creek Project is underway!  Tis’ the season for cooling off in Hunter Creek.  However, this time around, we have been asking questions about the environmental conditions in and around our beloved swimming hole. Is it safe to swim in? Why is there so much garbage around the creek?  Using a student inquiry protocol, QFT (the Question Formulation Technique), we decided these questions were worth investigating, and taking action to address. Since then, we have formed small groups, planned next steps, and engaged in a critique process to ensure that we have practical, actionable steps to take towards accomplishing our goals.  As the weeks progress, the kids will be responsible for determining their course of action within their small groups, logging their activity, and reflecting on their progress.  We look forward to presenting the culmination of this work at the end of the year, wherever it leads us! 

It was a busy and joyful week back at Randolph with your kids. We made the most of the beautiful weather and transitioned back to the lean-to as our home base. Kids are showing a lot of responsibility and flexibility as they work to adjust our routines to different spaces.

We’ve been focusing a lot on independence this week. At this developmental stage, kids begin to crave more space to make their own decisions and need opportunities to do so in safe and supportive environments. This week, kids began to practice upholding our agreements and values when I am not around. This includes coming to get help when they need it and owning up to mistakes. It’s important that kids know that we are asking them to be honest about their choices or ask for help when a peer is being unkind or unsafe so that we can offer support. If students fear punishment, they are less likely to be forthcoming, making the process of supportive reflection and behavior change all the more difficult.

When I first introduced this new structure, kids reacted differently than I had expected. “We’re not mature enough!” “What if in the absence of adults, one kid wants to boss everyone else all around?!” “What if we have a disagreement?” Helping kids navigate these fears, and often real behaviors, is as integral a part of learning and childhood development as the other things we focus on. Often, we adults can try to avoid these outcomes through controlling behaviors. However, this doesn’t help kids learn to choose those behaviors on their own. By creating supportive environments where kids can practice and reflect, kids can learn effective and respectful ways for navigating situations, even when an adult is not present.

Right now, we are just focusing on short bursts of independence at choice time. On Tuesday, we made a list of behaviors that align to our values and agreements. Kids chose one thing they usually feel successful with and one thing they thought could be a challenge. Then, they brainstormed ways they could be successful with those challenges and ways to support each other. At the beginning of choice time each day this week, kids reflected on if they have upheld our agreements throughout the day and feel ready to work in a space with less supervision. After checking in, we made a plan and the kids went off to work. After choice, we reflected on how things went and made a plan for the following day.

I’ve been very proud of the effort students are putting into upholding our norms and also the honesty that they are bringing to their reflections. We continue to give eachother shout outs during Closing Circle, with a new focus on these behaviors. This afternoon, students were recognizing each other for asking for help, giving kind reminders, solving conflicts respectfully, keeping track of their belongings and cleaning up after themselves. I look forward to sharing the growth that this community-minded independence brings over the next few months!