Celebrating Courage, Creativity, and Community Across Our Studios

spark studio

Friendsgiving in the Spark Studio

Our third annual Friendsgiving in the Spark Studio was a beautiful reminder of what can happen when a community comes together with intention, creativity, and gratitude. Preparing for this celebration took many skills—learners thoughtfully designed a warm environment, decorated the Studio with fall colors, prepped food, and took charge of clean-up. Each task invited collaboration, responsibility, and pride in their shared work.

We also took time to celebrate our accomplishments at our Badge Ceremony. Learners are discovering that earning a badge takes practice, patience, and perseverance—and the joy on their faces reminded us that hard work truly pays off.

A heartfelt thank-you to all of our parents for your generous contributions. Your support helped fill our tables—and our day—with joy, connection, and abundance.

Because Thursdays are for Thankfulness, our reflection circle was the perfect way to close the celebration. Learners offered thoughtful reflections:

“I’m thankful for my family” – Liam
“I’m thankful I am alive” – Kendrick
“I am thankful for my friends” – Alyse
“I’m thankful for the environment” – Claira
“I’m thankful for my little sister Emilia” – Mia B.
“I am thankful for the whole entire universe” – Abel
“I’m thankful for us” – Rowan T
“I’m thankful for the Guides” – Sammy
“I’m grateful for the Spark Studio being good” – Aspen
“I’m thankful for my family and my mom and dad” – Mia M
“I’m thankful for God making me and everyone else” – Charleigh
“I’m thankful for three things actually—trees, my friends, and my family” – Mecca
“I’m thankful for friends and family” – Fletcher
“I’m thankful for living in a safe place” – Ms. Ivana

Hearing their words reminded us why we gather: to appreciate the people, moments, and experiences that shape us. We look forward to learning more about us as we explore who we are next session. Please take a moment to sign up for your family share.

May you find rest, joy, and gratitude in the week ahead. Happy Friendsgiving from all of us in the Spark Studio!

lower elementary studio

Thank You to Our Parent Experts & Our Amazing Studio!

This session was a beautiful reminder of what happens when a community comes together to invest in our learners. We want to offer a BIG thank-you to every parent who joined us to help launch our Living Library and share your expertise with the Studio. Your presence, your stories, and your willingness to pour into our heroes added depth, excitement, and real-world connection to this session’s journey!

We also want to extend a huge congratulations to our heroes! Not only did they prepare for and pull off a great Exhibition, they also led the Studio today!

Today, the Guides stepped back into full “observation mode,” and the heroes took the lead—managing the schedule, supporting one another, and keeping the Studio running smoothly. They rose to the challenge with maturity, teamwork, and confidence.

Watching them take ownership of their day was a powerful moment. It showed not only how much they’ve grown this year, but also the leadership skills they’re developing through every challenge, Quest, and Exhibition preparation. Thank you for being a part of helping them grow into these incredible young leaders and teammates!

upper elementary studio

What an incredible week in Upper Elementary!
Our Studio was buzzing with excitement as we hosted our Session 3 Exhibition, and we want to extend a heartfelt thank-you to all the families who came out to support our heroes.

This year’s Exhibition centered around water quality and access, and the learners truly rose to the challenge.

Four heroes—Roman, Ana, Bear, and London—pitched their water filtration proposal directly to The Forest School leadership team. They fielded tough, thoughtful questions about their research, their process, and their conclusions. Their willingness to think deeply and defend their ideas set a new standard for analysis in our Studio.

The rest of the learners created an immersive, hands-on experience for parents, guiding them through a series of interactive stations:

A blind taste test comparing tap, filtered, and bottled water
Water testing demonstrations using samples from both tap water and local pond water
A global water access station highlighting real stories around the world
A natural filter-building challenge using sand, gravel, rocks, and charcoal

The confidence, teamwork, and communication our heroes demonstrated made this Exhibition one of our strongest yet.

Beyond Exhibition, we spent the rest of the week tying a bow on the session:

In Civilization, heroes finalized their historical maps.
Everyone completed their Dream Team emails, which means next session we’ll be ready to start assembling their official networks of mentors and supporters.
Story Arts continued with great momentum as learners made progress on their comics and world-building.

We also ended the week with a big celebration—our first Badge Ceremony of the year! It was a wonderful moment to recognize learners who have completed badges across our Core Skills platforms. Heroes cheered each other on and celebrated one another’s hard work and perseverance.

Our Studio is already looking ahead with excitement—future sessions have a lot in store, and the momentum from this week will carry us forward.

Wishing all our families a warm and joyful Thanksgiving break!

middle school studio

A Week of Curiosity, Courage, and Community in Middle School

This week in Middle School was packed with growth, meaningful feedback, and opportunities for our heroes to step into real-world roles with confidence.

We began the week by welcoming an expert who provided thoughtful, targeted feedback on each group’s Exhibition work. Heroes refined their prototypes, branding, pitch language, and unit economics using insights from someone who has seen hundreds of youth businesses. Their willingness to listen, revise, and try again showed real maturity.

We also held two “New Havens,” which served as Exhibition dress rehearsals. Heroes practiced setting up their booths, delivering their pitches, and responding to questions from a visiting guest. These sessions helped them refine their presentation skills and make final adjustments before Exhibition day.

In Civilization, heroes completed their final challenge of the session. They reflected on the different forms of government in the Medieval world and analyzed what people valued most in their leaders. They then studied two cases of “early democracy”—the election of Gopala I and the creation of the Icelandic Althing—exploring why historians highlight these events and debating which aspects were truly democratic and which would be unacceptable today. Their conversations were thoughtful, evidence-based, and reflective of how much their analytical skills have grown this session.

We closed the week with a vibrant Exhibition featuring visiting judges, including past and present coordinators of the Children’s Business Fair. Heroes stepped confidently into their roles as CFOs, head chemists, and marketing directors as they pitched their products to families and judges. The energy in the room was motivating and proud—our heroes showed creativity, professionalism, and joy in sharing what they built.

It was a week that captured the heart of self-directed learning: curiosity, courage, and community.

high school studio

Wrap Up: A Season of Courage, Culture, and Creativity

As we close another unforgettable session at The Forest School, we’re celebrating a whirlwind of growth, challenge, creativity—and yes, a whole lot of fun. This week marked the completion of our student-built haunted house, Carnival of the Cursed, and we’re thrilled to share that not only was it a tremendous success… we turned a profit!

But the real gains weren’t financial.
They were human.

Through weeks of planning, building, rehearsing, designing, testing, and revising, our heroes leveled up in:

Communication
Collaboration
Leadership
Empathy
Endurance & follow-through
Work ethic and accountability

Watching them coordinate across departments—Actors, Technology, Set Design, Makeup, Finance, Marketing, and more—was a powerful testament to what young people can do when they own their learning.

Exploring the World Through Civilization

This session’s Civilization unit brought something extraordinary: true perspective-taking.

We were honored to host visitors from around the world—Oman, Dubai, Hong Kong, Jerusalem, Indonesia & Malaysia, and Spain—who generously shared:

their culture
their traditions
the worldview shaped by their countries
and, courageously, the stereotypes they hold about Americans

This sparked deeply honest conversations about identity, bias, humility, and understanding.

“Eye-opening” doesn’t begin to describe it. Our heroes walked away changed—more thoughtful, more aware, and more globally minded.

Closing With Creativity: The Haunted House Soundtrack

To end the session on a lighter and incredibly fun note, our heroes dove into songwriting—but, of course, with a Story Arts twist.

Heroes paired up to write and produce original songs inspired by our haunted house. They evaluated their work using checklists based on Grammy-winning song structure, refined their lyrics, practiced delivery, created beats, and ultimately produced a full Carnival of the Cursed soundtrack—an album made entirely by them.

Their creativity and courage to experiment were inspiring.

Check-Ins & Badge Progress

We also successfully completed check-ins for all heroes attending this session.
Everyone now knows whether they are:

behind,
on track, or
ahead

in their Badge Plan. This gives each hero clarity on what they can work on over the break if they choose.

A Well-Earned Break

We’re ending this session proud, grateful, and energized by the growth we’ve witnessed.

To all our heroes and families:
Happy Thanksgiving!
Eat well, rest deeply, and find moments to reflect with gratitude.

Session 3: Year 8, WeeK 14 In Review