Last fall, our twin girls entered Kindergarten. Where we live, families have “school choice” which in reality means that you are put into a lottery and may not get to go to the school that you A.) want your children to go to, and/or B.) live close to.

We haphazardly chose a charter school when we didn’t get into our first choice elementary school and were quickly disappointed with the quality of the administration and teachers.

It was only October and we were at our wits end. Our daughter was sent home on “red” again (the school had a green-yellow-red behavior system) and we learned that she had been sent to lunch detention that day. The fact that a school would require a five-year-old to eat in isolation was beyond my comprehension.

Amongst a slew of other challenges, we knew we needed to move our children to another school.

A few days later, a message flashed across my screen from my sister. She had sent me a screenshot of a post from a local mom’s group on Facebook, sharing that a new school called Acton Academy Estero would be opening in town that uses principles from Montessori, one room schoolhouses, and the Socratic method. My interest was piqued, and over the next week I spent every spare moment I had learning about the Acton model, watching any video I could find on YouTube, and listening to Courage to Grow by Laura Sandefer – one of Acton’s founders.

Acton’s principles both challenged everything I knew to be true about education, and in the next breath, made me so excited about the possibilities for our three children’s futures.

Their founding principles were simple: They believe that every child is a genius and that every young person who enters their doors deserves to find a calling that will change the world.

I started imagining a world where failure was not frowned upon, but rather encouraged because it meant that you were learning and growing; a world where older and younger kids could co-exist in the same classroom and learn from one another; and where you learn at your own pace truly understanding the content because you are interested vs. just to simply pass the test. My mind was blown. Could this be real life?

It turns out that it is.

Flash forward through the 2023 holiday season where we applied, auditioned, and interviewed with the founders of Acton Academy Estero. The girls received the official invite to join the school a few weeks before Christmas and the course of our lives was forever changed.

Today, their days are spent outdoors, running, playing, learning from the land, and making bonds with classmates that we hope will last a lifetime.

Through some of the most top-notch tools like IXL Learning, the girls are working on core skills like math and reading. And with the help of their incredible guides who shepherd the learners towards discovering knowledge and passion, their critical thinking has expanded and they are curious and eager to learn. It’s incredible to bear witness to the pure joy and wonder that my girls display when Mittens, the class barn cat, comes strolling into the barn, or when Mr. Fuzzy, the class caterpillar, began its chrysalis. Every day brings new examples.

Let’s be real: Our kids still have their moments because they are five and are still learning to handle big feelings, how to be good sharers, and how to develop into great friends. But at Acton, they are met where they are with compassion and guidance, and given the space to grow into themselves. One of our daughters had a particularly hard day a few weeks ago and as I came to apologize for her behavior, I was assured that it wasn’t necessary, and that they would continue to focus on modeling the good behavior that was expected. I was reminded that the multi-age school room was perfect for things like this – the children learn from one another.

This school is everything I didn’t know that we needed. When we drive towards the farm every morning, we slow down and wave hi to all of the animals on the neighboring farms – including an emu that we lovingly named “Ozzy.” We discuss which cattle are cows and which are bulls, and as we pass the horses, we point out which of them are wearing pretty jackets when it’s cold outside (we are fashion-forward, after all 😊).

Life is an interesting journey. At eighteen, we’re expected to make a decision about what we’ll do for the rest of our lives. Many of us take a very expensive gamble on schooling that we may or may not use post-graduation, and then spend the rest of our lives chasing after what we think we need and will make us happy. For me personally: that has meant being devoted to a corporation, climbing the corporate ladder, aspiring to be liked and respected, and increasingly working towards an increase in lifestyle.

But maybe there’s more to life than that. Acton has made me reconsider what is important. To literally stop and smell the roses. I was helping one of my girls get ready for a bath the other night and I pulled something that resembled a bug out of her hair. I shrieked. She very calmly looked at me and said, “Don’t worry mom, it’s just a burr. They’re just seeds from the bushes.” Simply wow. Just like the multi-age classroom, moms and dads can learn from kids too.

I know that the other families we are going through this journey with feel the same. One of the moms recently posted a quote from William Martin that really put it into perspective for me:

“Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples, and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself.”

I hope and wish that my children will have incredibly ordinary lives – where they will love deeply, find passion in what they do every day, and ultimately change the world. Thank you to Acton Academy Estero for changing our lives.

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