Spark Studio
Ages 4.5 – 6
Spark studio is designed for entry level Acton Heroes. The spark studio has learners ages 4.5 to 6 years old. The students focus on academics, cooperative learning and developing independent skills. The Spark studio is intended for students wanting to pursue their education at Acton Academy.
The purpose of the Learning Design in Spark is to empower and equip young learners in a happy and safe environment. Each choice made in preparing this studio is a result of asking, “How can we better equip and empower the learners while honoring their natural curiosity and joy?”
From choosing the Montessori philosophy as the base, leading to independence and responsibility, to creating Spark Play, leading to collaboration and self-regulation, to preparing a physical environment designed for the learners, the Learning Design that makes a Spark studio is simple yet powerful. There is no need for complex systems or many extrinsic rewards in a Spark studio because of the intuitive nature of each piece and the developmental stage of the young learners. The learning design is intrinsically motivating. For this reason, a Spark studio is kept simple without the more involved systems found in other studios in the Acton model.
Day in the life of a Spark Studio student.
8:00 AM
Morning Launch
Spark student start their day off with morning launch where they greet their friends and participate in a short Socratic discussion.
9:00 AM
Core Skills
The Morning time is focused on Core skills. Core skills include reading, writing, and math. Core skills are presented through a variety of modalities. STMath, Lexia, Montessori math montessori and montessori reading all encompass the way our Spark heroes learn.
Every child learns on their own timeline. Students progress through their core skills at their own pace focusing on mastering every skill before moving on to the next skill.
11:00 AM
Lunch & Play
Time to take a break and step outside (weather permitting).
1:00 PM
Project Based Learning
Afternoons are spent in learning through play and project based learning. Spark Studio focuses on teaching students to be independent and be responsible for their own actions.
3:30PM
Pickup
Time to go home and share what they learned that day!
Spark Studio Philosophy