Celebrating the Winter Solstice

We wanted to kick off our winter break with a celebration, and as we always do at HMLC, we asked our learners to plan it. Our planning committee (which consisted of a third and fifth grader) decided it would be best to celebrate the Winter Solstice since the date of our party was closer to that than to Christmas. After getting input from other learners, it was decided we needed a Yule Log that would be stuffed with candy and hidden for the others to find in a learner-created scavenger hunt. 

While the traditional yule log celebration asks for people to throw sprigs into the fire to represent what they wish to leave behind in the new year, our learners decided that we were not going to actually burn our yule log (it was handcrafted by a parent/facilitator and her learner and was too beautiful to burn). Instead, they asked each other to say what they were proudest of in 2023 when they threw their sprigs onto the log.

My co-facilitator and I fought back tears as we listened to our learners share their accomplishments. One reflected on her ability to attend school every day, now that she attends HMLC. Another shared that he was proud his attitude towards school had changed and that now he sees it as an opportunity for learning as opposed to a chore he is required to do. Others shared how proud they were of what they’d learned - their new love of reading or writing, the books they’d written so far, the projects they’d taken on, the new challenges they’d faced. Another shared how proud she was of how she could help our learning community and feel that she belonged at our school. 

For a day full of candy and winter-break excitement, the Yule Log ceremony was surprisingly quiet and reverent as the learners listened to each other, hugged each other, and chimed in on what they were proud of all around. 

Listening to them I found myself making my own reflections - I am proud of this group and proud of the work I’ve done with them. Starting a micro-school was not what any of us thought we were going to do when we went into 2023. There is a constant questioning among the adults - of ourselves and our mode - wondering if we are doing the right thing and if this is in fact what’s best for our children. Yet, listening to the pride our learners were able to share around their own progress was an overwhelming reminder that we are on the right path. We’ve made mistakes and will continue to because that’s the nature of a journey, but this is a path worth taking. I’m excited to see where these learners will take us in 2024.