Magical County Fair - Day 4 - Week 2 (Mark Day School

Thursday began with much excitement and anticipation. Our previous build session had been quite productive, and that left tinkerers (and collaborators ) with high hopes. We kept the morning circle short and got to work erecting a cave, building the remaining sections of roller coaster track, fine-tuning things, and working on our ball toss game. The problem was, many of us were tired and didn’t even realize it while under the influence of excitement. Snack breaks turned into longer snack breaks, and decorating or making magic wands became preferable to reinforcing the track or figuring out how the ball return works on the game.

In a situation like this, we try to focus on personal and interpersonal dynamics as we help kids engaged the best way they can, remembering that finishing the build is NOT our goal, but our lunch break was something we all welcomed as a time to recoup, laugh and play.

Our afternoon building session had a different energy. Almost every student found a job and focused on it until completion, many taking on tasks they hadn’t before, or helping on a part of the project they were unfamiliar with. By the time the day was over and we were debriefing in our PM circle, the sense of accomplishment was palpable (and visible!) Our track stretches 50 feet on the roller coaster, the cave is close to completion and the toss game is looking great!

Tomorrow we’ll have half a day to build and fine-tune our creations before the great unveiling! Family and friends are invited at 2pm to see our creations in person!