Heroes Chronicle Archive

6/22-6/24 As we finish our first year at CHOICE, we end where we started; high energy, enthusiasm, and fun. But added to that were deep friendships and a year of personal growth. As they return to the "Ordinary World" for the summer, the Fire Studio reflected on their...

6/15-6/21 From the Spark Studio From Miss Anna After a year together, our heroes have grown to be great friends! They find so much joy in spending time together. We are lucky to be in an environment where we tailor our schedule to the heroes interests. Our interest...

7/8-7/14 From the Spark Studio From Miss Anna Throughout the school year, I’ve been curious as I’ve watched our young heroes explore the idea of goal setting and mastery. It’s been interesting to see the heroes interact with their mastery books - there’s been an ebb...

6/1-6/7 There are more books, podcasts, classes and websites focused on teaching adults how to set and accomplish goals than one could access in a lifetime. Our young heroes practice these skills every day. Developing the capacity to set and achieve goals is one of my...

5/25-5/31 This may be our last session, but there is "newness" all around! From the Spark Studio From Miss Anna Our final quest of the year in the Spark Studio is “Think Like a Scientist!” After just 3 days, our heroes are already catching the vision! We started the...

5/11-5/17 A learner driven studio is messy, challenging, ever-evolving and beautiful! From the Spark Studio: Last week in the Spark studio we observed a great desire to do language combined with a great challenge of distraction. We decided to offer the heroes the tool...

5/4-5/10 Bees!! Tuesday during lunch Dwane Kisby brought his demonstration hive. Heroes of all ages (and the adults) were fascinated watching and asking questions about the unique way the hive functions. Seeing how long heroes stayed engaged and listening to their...

4/27-5/3 Both studios made lasting memories this week. While the Spark heroes' memories were made with laughter and joy, the Fire heroes' memories were forged with tears and frustration. From the Spark Studio: Thursday felt like the warmest day of Spring yet. What a...

4/20-4/26 Spring in Utah is beautiful and unpredictable! In our weather, our studies, and our behavior - the beauty and inconsistency of Spring arrived at CHOICE this week! From the Spark Studio From Miss Anna Weeds and their roots haven’t been a source of much joy...

4/13-4/19 From the Spark Studio From Miss Anna We had many beautiful moments of allyship and teamwork this week. Often young children can be stereotyped as being self-centered or oblivious to the needs of others around them. While this can be true sometimes, our...

4/6-4/12 Both studios began new quests this week with a focus on botany. Studying the growth of plants and flowers is exciting; watching the growth of heroes is exhilarating! From the Spark Studio From Miss Anna I can’t believe we are already in our sixth session! The...

3/23-3/29 The last week of a session is full of high energy, excitement, frustration and reflection. From the Spark Studio The spark studio enjoyed their space quest up to the very last day. Building their spaceship was a monumental feat. It was awesome to watch them...

3/16 - 3/22 From the Spark Studio From Miss Anna I’m often pleasantly surprised at how learning experiences unfold in our learner-driven environment. I’ve found that meaningful learning is usually unplanned and initiated by the heroes.  One example of this happened...

3/9-3/15 There are a lot of moving parts to CHOICE (and all Acton Academies). Sometimes it can feel overwhelming. And yet, there are some basics that we are wise to reflect on again and again. These are the basic processes of self-governance and self-management:...

3/2-3/8 From the Spark Studio From Miss Anna This week we explored different avenues for increasing intrinsic motivation to do core skills. It’s so important to me that our heroes learn young that reading, writing and math is fun and meaningful! We are working with a...