On Tuesday I had our regular meeting with the Mapache leaders: ten moms and dads who generously give their time to serve the community, to walk alongside and encourage other Mapaches on their own journey, and to help me in the mission of supporting and equipping all our families.
The question I brought to the table was simple: What do you appreciate about Family Day, and how could we make the experience even better? The answers I got were much deeper than I expected.
We were taught that failure is something to avoid. We sense it coming and push it away. But… What if failure were actually a direct path to strength, confidence, and resilience? As counterintuitive as it may seem, letting a learner make mistakes does not mean giving up, neglecting, or being disinterested. When done intentionally, it can become a profound act of trust: the certainty that they are capable, and therefore, the conscious choice to step back so they can find their own way to success.
“Like Maria Montessori, we believe even the youngest child has important work to do, and while we might observe them reading a book, dressing up for a play, drawing a favorite animal, or engaged in loose parts play, a much deeper, core sense of self is being developed every time a child accomplishes something they set out to do. This engagement in purposeful activity, guided by the inner desire of a Spark hero, is at the core of the hero’s journey and an Acton Spark Studio.”
At Tinkuy Marka, transitions between studios mark important milestones, but they’re not the end of a journey. The bonds Pumas form with their former tribe often remain strong, showing up in surprise visits, shared advice, and quiet moments of encouragement. As they step into new roles, many become mentors, guiding others with empathy, wisdom, and the excitement of growth. One conversation recently caught my attention…
Every session in Ascend brings three key threads: a hands-on Quest, a writing Genre, and a Civilization topic for Socratic discussion. This time, the Pumas took a deep dive into ancient Greece, wrestling with timeless questions about democracy, power, justice, and truth.
They didn’t just study history. They lived it.
Through debates, myth-making, and a reenactment of Socrates’ trial, they explored the tensions between order and freedom, progress and control, the weight of moral choices, and what it truly means to be a hero.
Every time a Puma makes progress on their badge plan (learning path) and completes milestones (a key step or achievement within the badge plan), they celebrate their effort by spinning the wheel at the end of the week. This wheel contains privileges and rewards that the Pumas designed at the beginning of the year. It’s a ritual of celebration and recognition.
At some point in our lives, we’ve all been the “newbie” somewhere: at school, in a workshop, at university, at work. And sometimes, being new can feel like being an alien: everything is unfamiliar, nerves run high, and there may be fear or anxiety. In those moments, how do we know if we’re truly welcome in a place and among its people?
We talked with the Spark Tribe about the culture of Hospitality, and here I share their thoughtful reflections based on the story “Golden Land”, from Los Hermanos Paz.
Autonomy has become one of the most valued goals in recent years. From special furniture designed at a child’s height to child-friendly kitchen tools, everything seems to invite little ones to do things on their own. And yes, the environment plays a key role when we talk about fostering independence. We can’t expect autonomy from a child who’s under a meter tall if what they need is placed two meters high. But beyond creating an accessible space, what else does it mean to support a child’s journey toward autonomy? I’ll share what I think are the most important requirements for developing autonomy.
At Acton, the ultimate goal of a Socratic Guide is to become invisible: not because you’re absent, but because the learners no longer need you to lead. This year, my students asked me to step back, to speak less, to trust more. And when I did, they rose. They led launches, solved problems, gave precise feedback, and reminded me that true growth happens not when we push harder, but when we let go.
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.
