Our school-year program

Blazing Star is a learning center that supports self-directed learning for children ages 4-12. We aim to balance individual autonomy with building relationships as a learning community. Blazing Star offers an alternative to traditional school, with full- and part-time options.

Because our program is built around self-directed learning, each day will look different from the one before and for each student. We will start with a flexible structure to the day in order to balance the needs of the group with each students’ individual interests. Read on for some examples of what self-directed learning in community looks like!

Sample daily schedule:

8:30 -9:30 Optional before care.

9:30 -10:00 Flexible arrival time. Breakfast if desired, free play.

10:00 - 10:30 Morning circle. The group will come together, sing a song or read a poem chosen with student input, and discuss any special events of the day/week. This will help build a sense of community and give a flow to the day/week.

10:30 - 11:30 Children dive into their interests. On nice days, this might mean bringing books, toys, and games outside or to the park. Once a week, a trip to the library. Adult guides will have a standing weekly check-in during this block of time with each child to build rapport, find out more about their interests, help them with any goals or desires they have, and generally build relationships and provide support.

11:30 - 12:00 Outdoor break (if not already outside) or indoor movement break (in cases of severe weather - however we will aim to be outside almost every day, and students should bring rain gear and warm layers appropriate for the weather.

12:00 - 12:30 Lunch time. Students can eat outside of this period of time, however this is an opportunity to sit down for a meal together as a community. Again on nice days, we may bring lunches with us outside or on an outing.

12:30 - 1:00 Read aloud. Students and staff will work together to pick a variety of stories that we will read out loud as a group.

1:00 - 2:00 Quiet time. Students can choose a quiet activity to do, such as reading independently or listening to an audiobook, playing online games or using learning apps, making art, doing a puzzle, simply rest and think, take a nap, or...?

2:00 - 3:00 Project time. Children can decide to work together on a project, explore a special interest on their own, ask staff for more guided learning options such as a sewing class, or…?

3:00 - 3:30 Clean up and closing circle. Children can share reflections on their day, reminders of upcoming events or needs.

3:30 - 4:30 Optional after care. Free play until children are picked up.

So what will the kids actually do?

Our program is child-led, with adults and children being able to offer ideas for activities based on our collective skills and interests.  Our program will include ample time at our wonderful local public parks, public library, and make use of traditional and nontraditional learning tools.

Here are some examples of how this could work: one of our students is very into geography, especially flags of the world.  Perhaps that student could tell the rest of our group about some favorite flags from different countries, and then students could design their own flag for an imaginary country.  We could pick a different country each week or month to learn about, and dive into the geography, history, and culture of that country.  One of our students is very into crochet and embroidery, so we could look at textile traditions from that culture, and possibly learn some new embroidery techniques or patterns inspired by what we learn.  We could pick a recipe from that region and cook it together.  Some of our students are very excited about transportation and math, so we could calculate and compare how long it would take us to get to that country by different methods of travel.  

There’s a community garden near the location we hope to use, that raises veggies and honey for a local food pantry.  Some of our students are very excited to learn more about plants and animals, so we can learn first hand about how plants grow, and how bees make honey through volunteering at the garden, along with practicing community engagement and giving back to the local community.  

We could raise caterpillars or tadpoles as a group project.  

We can bring pocket magnifiers with us on nature walks, or go visit local nature centers and the forest preserves to learn more about our local ecosystem. 

We can create our own slides to use with a microscope to learn even more about the world around us.  We can learn about germs by making petri dishes of sneezes, spit, our hands, the floor, the trash can, the bathroom sink.

We can play games like Wildcraft or Ecologies to learn more about the role specific plants and animals play in the ecosystem, or human uses for specific plants.  One of our students is interested in weather.  We could crochet a temperature scarf or make a weather tree to track the weather throughout the year.  We could learn how a barometer works.  We could make our own barometers.  

Some of our students (and staff!) love theater and literature.  We can have a book club. We can learn about history and culture through literature or nonfiction reading.  We can read stories out loud as a group.  We can write a student newspaper or zine to pass out to our families.  We can write letters to the editor of local publications about issues we care about.  We can write stories for our friends.  

We can read plays and pick one to put on as a performance.  We could write our own play.

Some of our students love math and building.  We can use measuring and geometry (along with practical life skills like using a measuring tape and hammer) to build sets.  We can sew costumes and make our own props.  

We can also use geometry and symmetry to make art.  We can play card or board games that explicitly and implicitly reinforce number sense: reading and matching numbers, creating number lines by arranging cards in number order in one’s hand, to adding two and three digit numbers to keep score, and practicing deductive reasoning. We can skip count while jumping rope at the park.  We can learn about money by playing shopkeeper, as well as through interacting with the real world.   We can participate in budgeting for projects or field trips.  We can measure volume and weight using a variety of tools as we bake or do science experiments.  

Some of our students love learning about real life people; we can learn about famous artists, scientists, explorers, and community leaders.  

We can learn about physics and engineering through playing on a teeter totter and grouping ourselves in as many combinations as possible.  We can build trebuchets and other inventions using simple machines.

We could make a stop motion video.  We can paint and draw and make music.  We can make our own instruments.  We can learn about how sound travels in order to make instruments that follow a scale.

Along the way, students will learn critical 21st century skills through having ownership of their own learning and time; negotiating with each other and having time to work through conflicts (supported by staff); solving problems; creating and following timelines; and participating in hands-on activities.  

Learning is all around us, and Blazing Star Students will get to learn in the ways that make the most sense for them, on the timeline that makes the most sense for them, hopefully having fun with their friends every day along the way.  What a gift!