Daystar Academy

This year, our youngest learners explored a big question: What does it mean to be a thoughtful neighbor and caretaker of God's creation?

As part of their IB inquiry Caring for Birds, students investigated the important role birds play in the world and how birds, people, and habitats are deeply interconnected. They explored how birds impact their environments, how people affect birds, and what responsibilities we have as caretakers of the earth.

To bring their learning to life, students headed outdoors to gather natural materials and design nests of their own. Along the way, they thought like scientists, designers, and bird-builders, considering what birds need to survive and thrive.

Each nest was unique. Each reflected creativity, problem-solving, and a growing understanding that even the smallest creatures play an important role in God's world.

At Daystar, learning begins with wonder, grows through inquiry, and helps students discover their responsibility to care for the people, places, and living things around them.

This year, our 8th grade artists took their learning outside for a lesson in plein air drawing, creating art while immersed in the landscape itself.

Armed with sketchbooks and viewfinders, students headed to Cottontail Park to frame scenes from the city around them and translate what they saw onto paper. Along the way, they encountered a few real-world artistic challenges: gusts of wind that flipped sketchbooks shut, grass and dirt instead of classroom chairs, and the not-so-simple task of drawing Chicago's Willis Tower one window at a time.

One of the things we love about using the city as our classroom is that learning becomes a little less predictable and a lot more memorable. Sometimes creativity grows best when students step outside, embrace the challenge, and learn to see the world a little more closely.

The last day of school called for one final visit from our favorite falcon. It was a full-scale preschool love attack. Hugs and high-fives. One of the greatest joys of working with young children is that they don't hold back their excitement. When they love something, everyone knows it. A great ending to a year filled with wonder in the WonderZone. See you in the fall, little Falcons!