Sign up to receive an email notification when we publish a new blog post.
In the Spark studio, the guides take great care in making and switching out works as the seasons’ change, using Equinoxes and breaks to surprise the learners with new works on the shelf. Through the prepared environment, guides create opportunities for the children to connect with Nature and to observe and absorb the inevitable temporariness […]
“Joy, feeling one’s own value, being appreciated and loved by others, feeling useful and capable of production are all factors of enormous value for the human soul.” Maria Montessori. Social-emotional growth in relation to relationships in a studio environment is a process that we witness and guide, but not control, just as much as their […]
Rituals, processes, and traditions help define a family and community. They make our lives feel meaningful. You can probably remember something in your own life that feels so distinctive you might be able to smell, taste, or see it right now. In the lives of the children at the Spark Studio, there are a few […]
Diving into the Spark Play further in this journal entry, we introduce you to the tail end of Spark Play, when everything comes together. Clean Up- The children are notified with a bell five minutes prior to clean-up to signal them that they have 5 more minutes of playtime. The second bell then helps them […]
Spark Play at Ascent is a loose parts-play model that consists of unprescribed parts such as wooden blocks, large tubes, barrels, tires, planks, tarps, scarves, milk crates, wooden stumps, sandpit tools, sandbags, and much more. Landscaping components such as the hills, tunnels, the A-frame, the gaga ball pit, sandpit, water tank, and pumps are used […]
Observing our mix of kind helpers and keen observers on a daily is a heartwarming experience. Witnessing an older child (often a veteran) showing a younger one how to complete an activity, as the younger child is fascinated by watching his older friend accomplish what s/he can’t yet do. Older learners having a sense of […]
https://youtu.be/FlZIvJ77-g4?si=l47AxlEISQkMmytq