What a week this has been!! This week with all the learners bringing in their pictures to the Studio. The learners felt that they had their families right there with them when they needed comfort. And the joy they feel when they show off their family members to the Discovery studio learners or other guides is just heart-warming!
When the learners were outside on Wednesday after rain, the learners showed leadership skills when trying to brainstorm how to take off the tarp over the sandbox which was filled with water. All the learners took turns implementing ideas on what to do and what will work and eventually they figured it out themselves.
On Wednesday in the afternoon circle, Gaya took over the circle and was reading a story to the learners and they were all listening! It was really amazing to see how she had everyone’s attention for the entire 10 minutes!
We have been slowly moving into getting busy! All the learners are beginning to understand the routines and are learning to work things out among themselves, occasionally having emotional outbursts, as well as disagreements and also starting to understand how to express their feelings to take care of themselves while also taking care of others feelings. And we are at the end of our first month together!
The learners have also been showing longer periods of concentration, a complete 5-20 minutes being unaware of their surroundings and the distractions in the environment.
There’s also been a burst of reading, writing and math in the Studio. One of the things that they have also started working on is writing stories. They draw pictures and depending on their capabilities, write stories.
Today we read about Mahatma Gandhi on his birthday. Some of the questions to ask the learners: What was his birthplace? What is Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday called? What did he learn from his mother? Why was he sent to prison? Was he a peacemaker or troublemaker?
Now that the learners have established themselves in the Studio, they will have busier days and weeks ahead.
