The Experience
Each day at Xploration Centre is cultivated with the students in mind.
Our educators use the following tools to consciously guide our students:
Mindfulness moments
to cultivate life skills of self-reflection and self-regulation.
Welcoming and closing rituals
to honour our learning environment, community and time together.
Anchored routines
to provide a safe, consistent and stable learning environment.
Flexibility
to tune in to the needs of the individual students, the group and the season/cycle.
Connection rituals
such as tea time to foster relationships, team building and community bonding.
Focused learning
with practice time to cultivate confidence in literacy and numeracy.
Spaciousness
to allow learning to integrate into the child’s psyche, so the students do not feel rushed through lessons, but guided and led by their own exploration.
Balanced child-led/ teacher-led time
to encourage and support student inquiry and curiosity while allowing the educators to ensure BC curriculum guidelines are met.
Indoor and Outdoor classroom time
to engage the children in activities specifically designed by the teachers to foster inquiry, develop skills and experience the wisdom that comes from listening, experimenting and learning in a loving environment.
Extended free-play and Sky Time
to support the children’s natural sense of wonder, play and creativity, while cultivating social skills such as conflict resolution. This will nurture a sense of freedom and deepen nature connection.
A day at Xploration Centre
9:00 - 9:15am | Daily Welcome
We welcome the day with mindful outside connection. This could include yoga, stretches, dance, breathing and nature walks.
9:15 - 9:45 am | Morning Circle
Gathering in circle, we design the day by tuning into the needs of each individual students, the group and the day/season/cycle.
9:45 - 10:30 | Math
Through inquiry based teaching and learning, students cultivate confidence and practical skills. A combination of hands on and conceptual learning is explored.
10:30 - 10:50 | Snack
10:50 - 11:30 | Morning Outdoor Free Play
Students are given extended free play time, improving focus and overall performance. Research shows that an hour long break enables children to have greater creativity, social-emotional development, and physical regulation. Sky Time supports children’s natural sense of wonder and play, cultivates social skills and regulation of self, and nurtures a healthy relationship with the outdoors.
11:30 - 12:10 | Language Arts
Language Arts begins with Self-Time, which allows space for transition after exploring the outdoors through silent reading, journaling, drawing and meditation. Communication and literacy skills are deepened through inquiry, singing, story telling, writing and honoring every voice. We encourage the exploration of creativity to spark imagination and wonder.
12:10 - 12:40 | Lunch
Lunches are used as a gathering time to co-create connections and rituals.
12:40 - 1:30 | Afternoon Outdoor Free Play
1:30 - 2:00 | Practice Time/Focused Learning
This time is designed for introducing and exploring new concepts. It is also an intentional time for focused practise and mastery.
2:00 - 3:15 | Xploration Time
Outdoor group Xploration time is based on the current season/cycle. An opportunity for children to be guided by their own inquiry while being supported by loving facilitators. The school day ends with a closing ritual to honour the community, day’s successes and time together.
Photo’s curtesy of Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt, co-author of Inquiry Mindset.