Well, for starters, it helps to go out into the world beyond the schoolhouse and try different "callings" on for size.
Next week, heroes will begin their first ever apprenticeships. Some of them will spend the full week at a media company, IT department, or aqua…
Read MoreThis week saw the swearing in of a new Studio Council. Three Heroes, elected from among their peers, immediately jumped into ways to improve Studio culture and systems. Among the changes: 1. A more robust Badge…
Read MoreIn most traditional schools, the teacher is the primary (if not only) provider of feedback to learners. Did your project meet the requirements of the assignment? How did your essay compare to the rubric? Did you follow the correct process in finding the value of x? The Forest School is different in many ways…
Read MoreOne of the beautiful benefits of working with children is observing what happens organically between them. The heroes are given the opportunity to create individually most days, however, on several occasions…
Read MoreFrom late February through March 2019, our elementary school learners are taking on the following Quest: How might we serve immigrant children as they transition to life in the United States?
Read MoreHard work, Dedication, Focus
According to Fernando Bryant (Amber's husband), former NFL player for the Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Pittsburgh Steelers, there are three things it takes to get to the finish line when it really counts - hard work, dedication and focus. This week…
Read MoreLearning To Live Together
This session the heroes were granted a freedom they had longed for since day one: the ability to choose their own Quest groups. They had the following parameters to follow: 1) your group must be a mix of boys and girls; 2) you must represent…
Read MoreJoin us this Friday, February 15, 2019, at The Forest School for our Session 4 Exhibition, which focuses on composting and access to healthcare.
Read MoreCreation is hard work
The Hero’s Journey is a path that is anything but predictable. We don’t know when we’ll be called to leave the ordinary world, who our mentors will be or what trials we’ll face. We’ll meet many people along the way—some for a reason, some for a season, and perhaps, some for a lifetime. This week we said goodbye…
Read MoreFrom early January through mid February, 2019, our middle schoolers are taking on the following real-world Quest: How might we improve access to healthcare for rural Georgians? Our learners will play the roles of healthcare advocates and investigative journalists.
Read MoreWhat is school for?
That was the question scribbled on the whiteboard as a Hero led our afternoon launch. Anyone who knows or has ever been a school-aged kid is familiar with the question: Why do we…
Read MoreOne of the trickiest pieces of any democracy is the hand-off of leadership. Heroes prepared for this transition period in a couple of ways:
First, inspired by the communal "house" structure of Hogwarts in Harry Potter…
Read MoreWhat is learning? At The Forest School, it's baked into everything we do. We categorize "learning" into the following four areas…
Read MoreIn December the heroes were invited to create a holiday window display, as you might see in stores during the season. We talked briefly about why stores create engaging displays, and the role of a display designer...the heroes had the opportunity to create a display that both represented the school and caused others to be curious about what (who) was inside…
Read MoreWhat is learning? At The Forest School, it's baked into everything we do. We categorize "learning" into the following four areas…
Read MoreJoin us this Thursday, December 20, 2018, from 4:45-5:45pm at The Forest School for our Session 3 Exhibition, which focuses on our city of Fayetteville, GA! The event will be completely learner-driven.
Read MoreThis week, Heroes took another big step in Studio governance. They saw a need for more accountability to the principles they put forward in the Studio Contract earlier in the year. They needed a code to live by and a clear consequence progression for violating it.
Read MoreThis session is fairly short—Four weeks from beginning to end. As we approach the halfway point, Heroes are starting to feel the "pinch" of time more and more. On a wall in our Studio, they've posted their goals for the session—a certain percentage of Khan Academy, a completed Deep Book Badge, a milestone on their Grammar Badge. These "self-paced" goals are held in tension with our session badges—Quest, Storytelling, and Civilization. How do Heroes manage such a full plate?
Read MoreToday’s Children’s Business Fair from 12-4pm will be located in the Pinewood Studios Production Center’s gymnasium! The address is 461 Sandy Creek Road, Fayetteville. It is across from the north end of Pinewood Forest—at the second roundabout where Sandy Creek intersects with Veterans Parkway.
Read MoreHow is science taught at The Forest School? Heroes are wrapping up week 1 of our Biology Quest, which is set up as an "intensive" deep dive into biology basics. This week, our focus has been on cells. But how do we do this without a "teacher?" Why not make it a game?
Read More
