A good stretch feels great. It’s important for our muscles, too — to keep them limber, pliable and firing at their best. At Almond Acres Charter Academy (AACA), we embrace recreation, the use of our bodies, and exercise as vitally important to our whole selves. We also stretch our kids into their education! In this case, we do not mean helping them touch their toes. Here’s five things we do mean and believe about stretching our kids at school:
Stretching is as important for minds as it is for muscles. For our K-8 students, we encourage stretching as it enables our kids to overcome academic obstacles, recognize areas of personal growth and pursue meaningful goals.
By using strengths to stretch into struggling areas, we help our kids learn the things they need to learn, and to be better versions of themselves. It’s part of a simple three-tiered approach we use to think about educating children and even parenting them; affirm first, then stretch, then celebrate!
To affirm — we ask questions like what are their strengths? And what are their struggles? We give our AACA kids a sense of confidence that they can learn — with their strengths AND with their struggles. Once we affirm this — we can stretch them. Stretching every AACA K-8 student so they learn and grow is a gift. We are honored to help them discover their whole self!
Our students are big fans of stretching, too. Here’s what an AACA middle schooler has to say,
“I think AACA has such a unique middle school environment. Not only are students taught to be considerate leaders, but students are given many opportunities to show their initiative skills. Leadership and citizenship is exceedingly highlighted. And most of all Almond Acres stretches and educates students as a whole child: heart, mind, body, and soul. Growing great kids day-after-day!”
And after this all important stretching; we celebrate. We give our students a high five. We eat cake. We announce our celebrations in our school wide morning meeting. We celebrate the awakening of creativity and of their holistic success.
When we affirm, stretch and celebrate — we create kids that are intelligent, confident, successful, creative, happy, and caring. They become leaders in our community.
About Almond Acres
Almond Acres is relocating to Paso Robles. Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employs credentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families in northern SLO County an additional choice in public education. Open to all students in all communities, the school is currently located in San Miguel and moving to Paso Robles for the 2021-22 school year. AACA’s mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We grow great kids!
We’re all enjoying a two week spring break this year. No time like the present to slow down, review and reflect on all that has transpired in our lives in the four months of 2021. Metacognition is our habit of the week sometimes, because it is just this. It’s the idea of thinking about what we’re thinking about. We’re assessing what’s important and what we do everyday.
At Almond Acres Charter Academy (AACA) we take it a bit further for our students. We help our students and families to think about what they’re thinking about. Our kids are capable of metacognition, too and reflecting on what they are and like to think about.
Thoughts to Destiny
Attributed to multiple authors is the idea that thoughts become our destiny. Here’s the idea:
Sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.
First and foremost, kids and adults alike — do the things we want to do. This influences what we think about — or ‘sows’ our thoughts. Our thoughts become actions, and these actions become habits. Our habits inform our character — which ultimately drives our destiny. Destiny is key to who we are. In order to be and become the best versions of ourselves, we should slow down and reflect. What are we thinking about? Is this important to me?
As AACA faculty, staff and administrators and as parents, we can model a thoughtful process for our kids. By detailing how we own our thoughts and ultimately our destiny, we take back some control of our lives. This can be very powerful for kids.
Sharpen the Saw
Metacognition also bleeds into our ‘sharpen the saw’ learning. We encourage our kids to sharpen their saw — in all ways that include their heart, mind, body, & soul. In order to stay sharp — we will all inevitably encounter obstacles. When we use self-discipline to make it through these decisive and sharp moments, we reap great rewards. These difficult, pivotal moments include such everyday things as:
Getting up on time (“mind over mattress”)
Controlling our tempers and not saying the unkind thing
Disciplining ourselves to eat healthy foods
Sticking to our reading regimen when we are busy
Ways to Practice
Heart – Spend some carefree timelessness with family and friends.
Mind – Tell your brain what you want to do. Skip the “try” word. Use “will”!
Body – Say yes to a good walk, meal, and night sleep.
Soul – Enter the classroom of silence and have a nice chat with yourself.
Did you know our middle schoolers have a 1:28 student to teacher ratio? Every great kid is known for who they are in grades six to eight. Join our small, caring school and enroll today!
About Almond Acres
Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employs credentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families in northern SLO County an additional choice in public education. The school is located inSan Miguel and is open to all students in all communities. AACA’s mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We grow great kids!
Feelings about technology are complex right now. 2020 changed our perspectives and our reality in so many ways. Technology is one such reality shift. As it pertains to our Almond Acres K-8 students, we use technology as a means for exploration, for research, and for responsibility.
All AACA middle school students, grades 6-8, enjoy their own personal laptop, or school provided Chromebook, and the responsibility that comes along with it. Our youngest K-5 students enjoy iPads or Chromebooks and are experienced using them in class and with online learning. Some Almond Acres students are members of our AHA! — Almond Acres At-Home Academy. They’re using technology in many ways, everyday. Chromebooks are used across all curriculum areas. We, as a faculty team, use Google Classroom to manage school work.
We want to minimize the use of technology, because we heartily desire kids talking to each other…and to us, their adults. We want our K-8 students reading books. We like to see our kids working and playing outside. We also enjoy our students building things with their hands. We hope our students carve out time and employ space for creativity, for recreation, for thinking. Our students deserve unstructured downtime, as an end result in and of itself.
So we’ll use technology as is appropriate and effective for teaching and learning, and we’re champions of getting kids doing things outside and off of screens, too. Our digital mission statement sums up and truly captures our thinking:
Almond Acres Charter Academy will promote and model positive uses of digital spaces in every classroom. We will build a culture of digital health across our school by incorporating character building into our digital citizenship instruction.
We realize that our children will be shaping the world of tomorrow through their online identity and digital footprint. It is our job as educators and parents to make sure they are prepared to share their voice with confidence and without regrets.
We will ensure this happens by demonstrating the value of technology in enhancing achievement, improving students’ attitudes about themselves, and promoting the value of citizenship in the 21st century digital world.
We’re a Common Sense School
From the Common Sense Schools website, “Earning the Common Sense School badge is a symbol of a school’s dedication to helping students think critically and use technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.”
Cory Houdyshell, Second Grade Teacher at Almond Acres, spearheads our Common Sense School initiative. He says:
“Being a digital citizen starts in kindergarten here at AACA. It is all about using technology responsibly and respectfully. This is especially important in the younger grades as our students begin to be exposed to different types of media and start to explore the world wide web.
The earlier students can be taught about their “digital footprint” the safer they will be as they create their online identity. Common Sense Media’s “citizenship” lessons scaffold up each year with repetition of key concepts and core ideas. The grade level appropriate structure to these “digital citizenship” lessons will lead to lifelong habits by the time our students reach 8th grade.”
About Almond Acres
Almond Acres is relocating to Paso Robles. Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employs credentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families in northern SLO County an additional choice in public education. Open to all students in all communities, the school is currently located in San Miguel and moving to Paso Robles for the 2021-22 school year. AACA’s mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We grow great kids!
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