Invitation Letter– We will send an invitation letter to the kids we would like to join the ACA Explorers (those who have proved they can behave well in the outdoor class and prove their dedication to learning and the program). This will include the ACA Explorers promise and the expectations that we expect the kids to live up to. This letter will be signed the child, the parent and us. This is their admittance to the program.
Passport– Upon admittance to the Explorers, the children will receive an ACA Explorers Passport (link to Christopher article) which they will bring to the outdoor class. This passport will take them through the four levels- Scholar, Philosopher, Scientist, Explorer. The first passport they get is Level 1 and we plan to have multiple levels as we develop this program. They get a stamp/sticker for completing Explorer tasks. For example, at first, before being invited to the Exploratorium, stamps will be given for attendance in outdoor class and exceptionally good behavior or expressing ACA explorer values. These other stamps will not be easily attained. We want to make the reward of getting into the Exploratorium and moving through the different levels something that each Explorer is working hard to achieve. Stamps on the passport will always be an incentive for the Explorers as they learn with us. That is how they will move through the different levels of the program.
Path to Scholar– The path to becoming an ACA Explorers’ Scholar is also the path to gaining entrance to the Exploratorium. The Exploratorium will be a learning space for English practice, games, story time, music, playing instruments, reading, doing science experiments, and a bunch of other fun learning activities! Think of a bright, colorful, captivating place with mirrors and things to explore everywhere- you have the Exploratorium! In the Exploratorium, and continuing on our journey through the stages and levels of Explorers, we really only want with us the kids who really want to be there. The advantage of a program like this is giving access to all these great learning materials, spaces and opportunities to the kids who really want to take advantage of it. The final step on the path to becoming a Scholar will be a special project or challenge for that kid to complete to gain Scholar status.
Scholar– The Scholar will be given full access to the exploratorium. What we are planning now is to have Exploratorium hours Tuesday-Thursday from 2-4 and then heading to the outdoor class together those days. We want to see how it plays out but provide a Montessori-type environment- exploration and freedom encouraged. We want to have a variety of interesting learning tools for the kids to discover. Not everyone will be working on the same thing but we will have group activities. The Scholar’s focus is to get good INPUT and develop LOVE OF LEARNING and CURIOSITY. We will be playing a lot of music in English and playing videos/movies on the projector. Scholar is the first stage of our program. It’s about taking as much in as possible: observing, watching, learning and also doing. When the student gets their 48th stamp, they will have to do another special project/challenge to move on to the next stage.
Philosopher– when the explorers pass to the philosopher stage, we will focus on projects including asking them to analyze who they are, who they want to be, the world around them- the problems and the things they appreciate, why things are they way they are and many other questions that make us open up our minds and use HONESTY and JUDGMENT to interpret the world around us. Output will be stressed in this phase and onward. We always emphasize that our classes and spaces are “zonas sin pena” or embarrassment-free zones. We expect our explorers to want to work on their pronunciation and get more used to speaking in English. Once again a bigger project will be expected for the Explorer to earn their 48th sticker marking them as a Philosopher.
