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The Q StudioLab Philosophy (Early Years)
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​We at The Q StudioLab recognize that children are innately curious and eager learners. Respecting and nurturing each student’s interests empowers them to use their voice and take ownership of their learning. We encourage our students to gain a sense of themselves as individuals rooted in a wider community.
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Our work with the children is inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach to Early Childhood Education. We utilize this approach to develop an “emergent curriculum.” An emergent curriculum is developed by observing each child and developing activities and classroom areas based on their explorations, interests and developmental needs.
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We encourage children’s problem solving and skill development through hands-on activities that help children explore art, science, math, literacy, social and emotional expression, creativity, messiness and fun. We nurture children’s sense of wonder and hope to strengthen their self-esteem and feeling of belonging to a community.
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Our goal is to help children grow and develop a love of learning, exploration and problem-solving and to feel safe and secure to experiment and appreciate people, nature and the world around them.
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The Q StudioLab Philosophy (Elementary-Middle School)
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We believe every child needs an environment that helps them learn new ideas, test them out, and make them their own. We believe that for children to learn, they must grow their minds, hearts and bodies, and know how to think, how to have compassion and to feel confident in themselves. Every child has the capacity to develop skills - and every child has unique strengths and challenges that they bring to their learning journey. Our units and lessons focus on integrating the three points of the rigorous learning pyramid. In order for a child to successfully develop strong skills they must be challenged. This challenge comes from a balance of learning concepts, procedures and applications. These three points are explored in every studio and classroom.
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The curriculum is structured to give children the opportunity to explore and learn through hands-on activities, large and small group discussions, reflection exercises using various artistic mediums, reading and writing workshops, independent projects, large and small group collaboration projects and field trips in the community.
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Children participate in classes with professional artists, certified teachers, and other experts. Our goal is for children to be challenged in their education, to grow their skills, and to feel confident in themselves while building connections to a greater community.
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Application
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Using skills and concepts in context-real life and practical application
Rigorous Learning
Concepts​
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Learning and contemplating the theory
Procedure​
Practicing the sequence and structure of a particular skill
Our Classroom Environment and How We Learn
Habits of Learning
At the Q StudioLab, how we teach is as important as what we teach. We recognize that every student is unique and we individualize approaches to learning based on each child's challenge profile. In each grade, we offer five learning strands, each designed to support a variety of learning styles. Throughout each strand, we use multiple learning modalities, including individual table work, group interactive projects, art and music activities, individual workstations, outdoor explorations, field trips, cooking activities, and other hands-on projects.
As children mature, they need to develop the skills that grow into good habits for approaching both learning and social experiences at school. To support this growth, we have developed The Habits of Learning - a set of specific social, emotional, and learning habits that are designed to help each student become a lifelong learner who takes responsibility for their own education. The more a student takes ownership of their learning, the richer their educational experience becomes.
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Examples of our Habits of Learning and how students reflect on them include:
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I am willing to learn new topics, concepts and ideas.
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I can revise my work after receiving feedback and I am open to changing my thinking.
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I value expressing my own thoughts and feelings over imitating others.
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The habits of learning that students develop are all part of Life Skills. At the Q, these skills are embedded in every project and experience that students are a part of. As students grow in these skills, they are able to increase their capacity for creative problem-solving -- both independently and in group settings.
The following are some of the Life skills students develop:
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