Our winter sessions finished at Thomas Jefferson ES in Falls Church, Forestville ES in Great Falls, and Charles Barrett ES in Alexandria with some of the clearest evidence yet that focusing on life skills leads to emotional and academic success. A parent of a 4th grader shared that her son had gotten better grades than usual on a test. When she asked him why he thought he saw improvement in his scores, he answered that iSchool had taught him to “aim for more.” We believe this is directly connected to our 21st Century Life Skills curriculum. This shows that by focusing on skills development, children can use their smarts, intelligence, and inner genius to their full advantage.

“What I learned at iSchool” (Thomas Jefferson ES Winter Program Student Reflections):

“What I learned at iSchool” (Charles Barrett Winter Program Student Reflections):

In post-class reflections, students showed emotional growth, saying such things as:

- I learned to “Never Quit”

- “NEVER give up when I’m doing a craft”

- “I learned so many things about believing in myself”

- I learned “To have a Growth Mindset”

- “I can grow my mind”

- “I learned that I can be helpful”

- “If I say YET I can do it”

- “I can get better always”

- “I can do anything if I put my mind to it”

Our Winter Sessions at all three schools layered life skills, such as the 4Cs and Growth Mindset, both to mimic real life and to progress older students on their learning paths.

Forestville Highlights:

 

March 2016: Our March classes were positively “magnetic!” We kicked off our March afterschool class with a tour of magnets. Students learned about the basics of magnets and toured the playground, working in teams to identify things that were magnetic. Children had fun using a word search to expand their Growth Mindset vocabulary. They also thought a bit more about ways to stay focused and what makes them happy as part of exploring their own Identity. In the second class students continued learning about Growth Mindset – and had a lot of fun dancing to a “Power of Yet” song.  Students played a game to compare Growth versus Fixed Mindset using real-world scenarios that they had to analyze individually and as a group. They also started working on electromagnetic trains and tracks by working in teams to make wire coils. It was a great example of collaborative project-based learning!

 

In our last two classes students continued working on trains and focused on the role of Empathy in Growth Mindset. Children learned about iSchool’s 4-step process for showing Empathy: Recognize, Remember, Share, Care. They then brainstormed ways that electromagnetic engines could be used to help others.  In the next class, children connected Empathy to having a Growth Mindset, including being kind to themselves as a way of Embracing Failure.