Studiousness Studiositas
Keeping your attention on what's worth learning instead of drifting to distractions.
37 moments from Aim’s letters home, newest first. Each letter opens with the part that shows studiousness highlighted.
What's actually happening inside the Lamentum Institute
And every time they interview a guide character like Professor Eudora to crack a mystery, they're practicing one of the most underrated academic skills of all: asking a better question than the one they started with.
Read the letter →Heroes Aren't Just For Stories
This is why you'll see your child intentionally choosing hard things. The Spark who asks for harder books to read because the ones on the shelf no longer challenge them, the ES hero who doesn't give up on building their hammock even after many failed attempts, the Upper Studio Eagle who gives of their time to help a fellow traveler complete a Quest challenge.
Read the letter →Work hard, play hard. The new motto for ES.
But for newcomers who are uneasy with a lot of change in a short amount of time, let me share a secret: it's all about empowering our learners to take ownership of their learning journey, love coming to school every day, love learning (yes, those two are very different) and to embrace the hero's journey that will lead them through a very severe road of trials on the way to finding a calling and changing the world.
Read the letter →A Tapestry of Lessons: Chess, Cooking, and Art
This adventure also provided them the opportunity to dive deep into experimentation, time management, project management, and overall just drove the love of learning through the roof :)
Read the letter →The Importance of Change
I've been blown away by the goals they are setting and achieving with their newly assigned flow buddies.
Read the letter →The symphony of Flow and the hardships of the road.
Each of the Eagles were completely in flow - not one of them noticed the symphony around them. Later when asked, not one of them remembered hearing or even making any of the mentioned noises. What generated such focus and flow: Goals and self-motivation!
Read the letter →Change is hard when it involves the ones we love
It was more like a checklist that they were attempting to race through, rather than truly trying to master and study the works at their own pace. It also wasn’t cultivating independent learners the way we had hoped it would. So, we pivoted and decided to pull badges and the title of quests from the Spark studio.
Read the letter →Expanding your mind is exhausting work
You can literally see the exertion on their faces as they try to formulate the words to express new thoughts, make new connections, and force that fattening brain of theirs to establish new neural pathways.
Read the letter →Spark Studio Session 6 Update! (5/23/22)
Core Skills is like an active beehive in the morning. It is not rare to have a waiting list of two or three that want lessons on new works.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 4 (1/22/22)
In this Quest it is virtually impossible for them to develop any habits of thinking inside the box, because there are no boundaries! They are thinking and playing without limits!
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 2 (11/5/21)
After realizing that multi-tasking and working with distractions is less effective than working in the zone or in flow, the eagles decided to implement silent core skills time for the first 90 minutes of work time every day.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 2 (10/23/21)
As one eagle does an experiment, others get curious about it. As another shares something they read in a book, others get curious about it. The curiosity and engagement feed off each other in a wonderful upward spiral to create the best learning environment ever.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 1 (9/18/21)
The Studio is really getting into an impressive flow. Core Skills time has become silent, meaningful and focused.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 1 (9/11/21)
The Spark studio has been abuzz with creativity and self motivated learning this week! We’ve been diving into all kinds of Montessori lessons, and we set a goal to earn at least 5 stickers a day.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 1 (8/23/21)
Add to that the fact that our model really demands active participation and learning--aka a continuous high level of engagement and focus (as opposed to some models which are fully compatible with being a passive learner in an environment that may only require a few moments of periodic concentration) and you get a recipe for growth.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 7 (6/20/21)
It's been fascinating over the last few weeks to see how many of the Eagles choose to engage in Quest on Fridays instead of swimming in the pool. They are dedicated to completing their challenges and learning the skills.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 6 (4/30/21)
Several Eagles are also finding joy in the Quick Writes for the Writing Badge. Quick Writes are where they are encouraged to write at least a paragraph answer to any of over 300 writing prompts.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 6 (4/25/21)
Core Skills has been fairly quiet with plenty of focused work and most reaching Soaring for their Freedom Level.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 5 (3/26/21)
When Eagles are curious and have perseverance when faced with challenges, they become learners (and not just students).
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 5 (3/19/21)
I hear that the studio was humming nicely with Eagles engaged and working. Evidence that children are capable of knowing what to do, how to do it and are self-motivated to learn.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 5 (3/8/21)
Again this week, many eagles reaped the reward of diligent work with a Free Choice Friday. There were a few Eagles who did not make it to their Free Choice Friday activities and felt the consequence of not choosing diligence in their Core Skills work during the week. Learning diligence and time management skills can be a messy process.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 5 (2/26/21)
Being new to Aim Academy, I wasn't sure what to expect as far as work habits upon returning from a week break. Every eagle showcased the value of this education model. They acknowledged the changes within the studio and then quickly dove back into their core skills. Self-directed learning at its best.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 4 (2/12/21)
Every Eagle rose to the challenge this week— each one attaining Soaring status EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! We cannot put into words how proud we are of them.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 4 (1/29/21)
The Eagles are focused. Focused on maximizing their Core Skills time. Focused on designing an excellent game. And focused on having fun.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 4 (1/22/21)
No matter if the rest of the studio goes out in the backyard to take on a high energy physical game design challenge, or whether someone invites her to play a new game in the Play Lab, she has stayed focused on using every minute of Quest Time to design her game.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 4 (1/8/21)
What separates the Play Lab from a fun playdate, and where the deep learning comes into play, is in the Game Rubric that the Eagles complete afterwards. In filling out the rubric, the Eagles rate the game using a 1–3 scale among several key areas— rules, appearances/aesthetics, challenge/balance, audience, length and purpose.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 3 (12/4/20)
It was so neat to see an Eagle painting, two others making Christmas bracelets using pipe cleaners, another making a crown and four learning how to code— all at the same time! The energy surrounding Electives cannot be overstated. The Eagles absolutely love the creative freedom!
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 3 (12/11/20)
In doing so, the Eagles have demonstrated their ability to focus and reach their Daily and Weekly Khan Goals. Several Eagles are proud of the progress they have made in this area.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 2 (11/20/20)
Last week at Town Hall, the Eagles recommitted to uphold the promise to be diligent in their work. This week, there was a noticeable difference in intentionality during Core Skills time. To cite an objective measure— the Yacker Tracker only went off a couple times per day. This is down from it going off 19 times in one day last week. The Eagles again demonstrate their ability to get back up after a setback in their Hero’s Journey.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 2 (11/6/20)
As the old adage says— with great power, comes great responsibility. And the Eagles did not take this responsibility lightly. During Core Skills this week— you could see an Eagle writing a novel about a wizard, a group of Eagles holding a Socratic Discussion about the Ancient Cities of India, an Eagle steadily solving math equations on their whiteboard and a Montessori Eagle calculating the cube of 6 using the Cube Chains. All at the same time!
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 2 (10/30/20)
The Eagles grappled with whether they would rather live in a free city-state that was self-managed but did not progress because it was constantly fighting other city-states, or live under a dictator like Sargon who conquered and was ruling your city-state from afar, but put a stop to the fighting.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 2 (10/23/20)
The Eagles absolutely loved this and the energy carried into drafting their own haikus. Once they finished, they gathered around and nearly every Eagle shared their haiku. It was so neat to see the Eagles buzzing with excitement about poetry!
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 2 (10/16/20)
Chess, Chess, Chess! The Studio has Chess fever. Over the course of the week, the Eagles completed several chess challenges that familiarized them with each piece. The Pawn Game and Queen vs. Pawns were both Studio favorites! They have also dived into chesskids.com to complete Chess lessons, puzzles and games.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 1 (10/02/20)
As we observed— it looked and felt like the Eagles were in flow this week. Not easily distracted. Focused on their work. Coming in early from Brain Break to get back to work.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 1 (9/25/20)
The Eagles took to this challenge and there was a noticeable increase in productivity. All Eagles were “Flying” this week, so they were given the freedom to choose what they wanted to do during Core Skills.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 1 (9/18/20)
Badges indicate when an Eagle has mastered a topic or goal. To earn a Badge, Eagles present evidence of their “excellent” work to peers and Guides for approval.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 1 (9/11/20)
For each Island they visit and put forth their best effort (self-assessed), they receive a sticker which is equal to 10 points. Freedom Levels help to motivate Eagles to stay focused and earn as many points during Core Skills time as possible.
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