What began as a simple question about who gets the leftover lunch turned into something much deeper. A real-time lesson in fairness, recognition, and what it means to build a true community. Voices rose, ideas clashed, and no clear answer emerged. But something more important did: the courage to listen, question, and co-create.
Read the full story of how a group of young learners in Lima turned snacks into a conversation about justice.
If someone asked me, “How has this book helped you?” I would say it helped me understand and respect my daughter’s emotions. It gave me the tools to do this better and to stop reacting when her emotions didn’t match what I expected in a given situation. I would like to share some of the ideas that clicked for me, why they resonated, the changes I implemented once I internalized them, and finally, the impact these changes have had on my relationship with her.
This time, I want to share something special: the Pumas Spark (a group of 3 to 6-year-old girls and boys) have jumped into the world of Architecture. And while that might sound like a big and complicated topic, it’s actually been a beautiful chance to reconnect with what architecture is really about: creating meaningful spaces where form, function, and meaning all work together, with each other and with the people who live in them. Just like Vitruvius, a Roman architect and engineer from the 1st century BC, once said, architecture isn’t just about technique, it’s about humanity.
Last week, we celebrated the third edition of the Children’s Business Fair, a beautiful project that we’ve embraced and brought to life since 2023. We began our very first fair with 20 ventures, most of them led by children from Tinkuy. From the start, it drew in many curious visitors, family and friends who were moved and amazed by a fair entirely run by children.
Earlier this year, drawing from my experience walking alongside Tinkuy parents since 2018, I created the Ruta Mapache, a framework to guide and support families through the parenting journey. It brings together powerful questions, practical tools, and insights from many valuable sources to strengthen the five essential roles we have identified parents will step into throughout their child’s development: Guardian, Mentor, Challenger, Ally, and Legacy.
This session we are focusing on giving us a pause, to wonder, and to try to understand what’s going on behind someone’s actions. Little by little, I've noticed how curiosity can become a useful tool. Not a tool to fix or solve immediately, but one that opens space to understand the other person. Instead of moving directly to consequences (like giving warnings or charging Hero Coins) some Pumas are beginning to try another step: asking why. This is risky because emotions tend to flare up in these conversations, and it can be uncomfortable. But at the end it feels better, more connected.
Communication in Explorer is made up of words, phrases, sounds, and gestures. All of this condenses into conversations that, from the outside, are fun to listen to but difficult to understand. You can’t always tell what they’re referring to and what they want to talk about—but clarity is not the main goal of these exchanges. So, what do we adults who accompany them do?
On our visit to Guatemala, I learned about a tool they used, called the “Learning Update” (LU). It is an account by each Puma every Friday, to their guide, parent and partners, of how their week went. We launched the tool in Tinkuy in the last week of our first session. In Ascend, this means sharing their goals and how many of them they had met, two words to describe their week, one lesson learned and one thing that helped them. What I thought would be a simple reporting tool quickly proved to be a concise, authentic narrative of challenges, breakthroughs, and self-discovery.
Starting something new always comes with a mix of excitement, curiosity… and that flutter in your stomach stirred up by uncertainty. This year, the Discovery tribe took on a challenge as bold as it was difficult: to live their Studio experience entirely in English. Full immersion—like jumping into a pool without checking the water temperature.
One of the hallmark moments at Acton Academy is the Socratic Discussion—dialogues that foster deep reflection on a particular topic. After setting some guidelines (ROEs), the discussion begins.
This time, we explored with the Spark Pumas the themes of justice and Cinderella. Here’s a glimpse into our reflection:
When I was little I loved Greek mythology, and my favorite stories were about the Trojan War and Ulysses. I loved them, and now I wanted to read La Odisea for my Libro Profundo. I did not choose The Odyssey because Greek is more similar to Spanish and I wanted to read sparkling and new words that I could maybe not read in English.
Every new year brings new faces, and with them, the opportunity to reinvent the Discovery tribe. To accompany this process, the first Quest of the year, "Build the Tribe", is designed to equip the Pumas with challenges, tools, and discussions that help them build their tribe. Here they face fundamental questions: What tribe do we want to build? How do I want to feel here?
En los inicios de Tinkuy, el studio Explorer recibía Pumas de 3 a 5 años. Luego de la pandemia, y con la fusión de Spark y Discovery, Explorer pasó a convertirse en el nuevo studio Spark (3 a 6 años). Esto, porque teníamos la ilusión de más adelante abrir un studio Explorer para Pumas más pequeños aún.
En la última reunión del año con los Mapaches líderes de nuestra comunidad, les pedí que me ayudaran a pensar cómo comunicar lo que significa la experiencia Tinkuy para los Pumas y familias que se comprometen con su propio crecimiento y con la construcción de una comunidad learner-driven. Quisiera cerrar el año compartiendo esta historia, co-creada con ellos. ¡Felices Fiestas!
