ACORNS pod - pilot day

ABOUT THE ACORNS PILOT DAY

The intention of tha day is for you all to get to know the Annette-Sebastian-team in action, and for us to get a feel for the kids. After the 2 hours of engagement, there will be an opportunity to ask questions and to sign up for the pod.

Anette and I have a rough plan for the program of our pilot day, but prefer not to share it beforehand - to preserve the element of surprise! (-:

Here are the ingredients we intend to "cook" with: humor, play, lightheartedness, care, flow, safety, movement, listening, creativity, joy, and most importantly: FUN!

ABOUT THE ACORNS POD

Philosophy 

Kids are naturally curious, and hungry for discovering and learning about their environment.Like an acorn simply needs the right soil, sun and water to grow into a mighty oak tree, what our children need first and foremost is an environment that allows their curiosity to guide their inquiry, that lets them engage with their world in play, that responds to their individual needs. They will do the learning - it’s in their nature. 

Format 

In the “Acorns” learning pod, a set group of children will spend two days per week together, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10am through 3pm, during the months of September, October and November. The pod will meet in a number of different outdoor locations in the Pacifica, San Bruno, Daly City, South San Francisco area - such as Mussel Rock, San Bruno Mountain State Park, Linda Mar, Mori Point, etc. Additional field trips to special locations (monuments, museums, playgrounds, etc.) will be part of the program. 

Curriculum and structure 

The pod will emphasize fundamentals like immersion in nature (absorbing the nurturing intelligence of Mother Nature) and creative free play (supervised for safety, but unguided) to let them discover and develop their agency, initiative, negotiation skills, creativity, and their executive functioning skills like adaptable thinking, planning, self-monitoring, self-control, working memory, time management, and organization. Values like humility, care, conscious communication, co-evolution, integrity and integrated cooperation will be introduced, discussed, modeled, and lived throughout all our interactions. Conflicts arising from triggered emotions will be used as “grist for the mill” (teaching moments) to grow self-awareness, compassion, and develop skills like pausing, presencing and mutual support (self-regulation and co-regulation), moving beyond “consequences” and “punishments” that leave kids even more helpless and reactive than before the altercation. Stories will be used to expand their intellectual horizon, be it to teach about history and its leaders, the natural, emotional and social world, science, wisdom traditions, etc., ensuing discussions will allow them to integrate new information and to practice social skills like inquiry and active listening. Individual or collective projects, either in the form of a challenge of the day (treasure hunt, builder challenge, riddle, etc.) or a “homework” project, will playfully invite them to apply critical and logical thinking, creative experimentation using the scientific method, math, research skills, and all of their social skills in a demanding, engaging and expanding task. Direct instruction and teaching for example around math will happen in the context of problems they will run into, as a form of support of their own drive to succeed, with a tangible connection to what they’re interested in. Last but not least we will cultivate the ability to be in solitude through activities like reading, sketching, etc. Healthy somatic practices like Martial Arts, Yoga or Meditation could round out a day.