Slightly over one week into the new year, it seems that the two physically separated Abrome operating cells are having quite different experiences. Some of the more recent highlights from the operating cell I am not a part of includes continual investigation of stream beds, the building of various types of structures, debates over inventions, and play related injuries. It seems to be an active cell that moves around a lot, and that may be influenced by the younger ages of the Learners (on average), as well as the unique personalities and interested of the Learners. Meanwhile, the cell that I am part of seems to be settling into places that allow us to sit and enjoy our surroundings, near where we we can dip our feet in or jump into the lake.
Yesterday after a brief morning meeting, where the highlight was getting two Learners to join the Facilitators in an activity called flocking, we wasted no time moving to a familiar spot near the water. Three of us pulled out our foldable chairs, while a couple others laid out towels to sit on. I then noticed that the puddles where we saw so many tadpoles the other day had almost completely dried up, and the tadpoles were all struggling to survive in the limited water that was left. So four of us jumped into action and began refilling the puddles with water from the lake, cup by cup. I then prepared for my morning check-in with the remote Learners while it seemed to me that most of the other Learners were focused inward.
After finishing the remote check-ins I engaged with a Learner who is normally pretty talkative, but was not for some reason at that moment. I don’t always engage with Learners who seem distracted or lost in their thoughts, as they often need the time and space to process what they’re feeling. But this Learner just joined our community last week and I wanted to create an avenue for him to communicate. At the same time, I did not want to pry, so I asked if he would like to go on another hike. He said yes and we asked the other Learners if they’d be willing to go. One of the other Learners said they would like to go so the three of us set out on our hike. The hike up the hill (that is getting familiar to me and to the older Learner) was a great way to get some movement and exercise in in the morning. When we arrived at the top we took in the view, especially the Learner who made the trek for the first time.
While we were enjoying the view we noticed a lot of smoke billowing up over the next ridgeline. We debated whether it was a forest fire, a controlled fire, or something else. We did not come up with the answer, but the lack of emergency sirens led us to believe that it was not an uncontrolled forest fire. We then began a descent that would take us by a bunch of cairns and to the stream with the small waterfalls for the Learner who was new to this hike. At the stream we attempted to save yet another tadpole that seemed destined for a premature death, and then marveled at some of the other creatures (e.g., tiny snails, larvae of some sort, bees) we found in and around the ponds that were carved out of the rock of the riverbed. We then stopped to refill our water bottles and joined the rest of the cell.
The first thing I did when we returned was jump in the lake to cool down, and then I sat down to eat a late lunch. Facilitator Lauren and some of the younger Learners had collected some clay from the bed of the lake and began the process of making pottery. And essential to the process is fire. Having already shaped their creations and collected fire making materials, they were trying their best to light the fire. They eventually got it going and did their best to heat up the clay.
After they had finished with their attempts to make pottery, everything seemed to slow down. I pulled out a crossword puzzle and invited others to help me try to solve it. Solving the crossword puzzle would have been difficult on any day for the three of us who tried, but doing it while physically distancing made it even harder. We did not quite finish it but we should finish it on day seven.
With the sun coming out and beating down on us we all got some added color to our faces and arms, and dehydration may have started to kick in for those who were not drinking enough water. Facilitator Lauren decided to jump in the lake for the first time, and two Learners chose to sit on the dock and dangle their feet in the water. We are hoping that the Learners will take advantage of the water on hot days, but thus far none of them have been willing to wade into the cold water, much less jump into it. One of the Learners who brought out some binoculars ventured over to the lakeside so that they could check out the people on the boats that were boating up and down the river (our lake is really just a river). We then invited all the others to join us and we had our afternoon roundup on the dock. We reflected on our day with rose-bud-thorn, and we played another game of two truths and a lie as a get-to-know-you activity. Interesting fact: one of us doesn’t like unicorns (because she LOVES them!).
As we wrapped up for the day I asked if we thought the tadpoles would make it through the night with the water we added to the puddles. There was some doubt, so we added a bit more water, but we couldn’t add too much as we had to get moving to the pickup spot. We will find out on day seven if we added enough. One benefit of being able to come back to the same outdoor spot each day in a cycle is being able to observe how it slowly changes. I guess we could do this in indoor spaces as well, but nature tends to be less sterile and much more dynamic. It’s also a joy to be with this group of Learners, and to enjoy experiencing how they choose to practice Self-Directed Education with the other Abrome members of this operating cell, in this outdoor location, for these three weeks. And it has been interesting watching these Learners slowly changing in this new way of being together, and it will be fascinating to see how they respond differently when we mix it up the cells and the cell locations in three weeks.