Revel Recap: Dec 1-5
Important Upcoming Dates
Collecting Donations for the Ottawa Food Bank and Toy Mountain from November 10th-December 12th, 2025
Spark Holiday Book Exchange - Friday, December 12
Secret Discovery Exchange - Tuesday, December 16th
Secret Exploration Exchange - Wednesday, December 17th
Session 3 Exhibitions
Joint Spark and Discovery: Wednesday, December 17th at 4:15 pm
Exploration Studio: Thursday, December 18th
Doors open at 4:00 pm, Program begins at 4:15 pm
Spark Studio
Mindfulness and Launch
When we arrived on Monday, we were excited to discover a surprise gift waiting for us! The learners gathered around to open it and were thrilled to find a Pokémon advent calendar inside! Each learner will have a turn to open one of the days and bring the special keepsake home to enjoy. We then shifted into music time and began learning how to play “Jingle Bells” using our Boomwhacker instruments. We’ll continue working on this piece in preparation for our performance at the upcoming Exhibition. To finish off our mindfulness time, we spent some creative time with Play-Doh, shaping our favourite desserts like cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. On Tuesday, we started with a calming guided meditation called Cool Your Cookies, which helped everyone settle their minds and bodies. Afterward, the Sparks used their imaginations to decorate and design their own tray of holiday cookie art. On Wednesday, we continued practicing Jingle Bells. Then we shifted into movement with a banana-themed yoga story. On Thursday, learners followed along with a directed drawing of a cupcake, adding their own creative touches. We also launched our 12 Days of Kindness Challenge! We visited our studio bulletin board, where we explored different ideas for kind acts that can be completed over the next two weeks. To end the week with gratitude, we created gratitude pies on Friday! Each Spark designed their own pie and filled it with five things they are thankful for. This was a sweet reminder of the good things in their lives.
Art
On Wednesday, the Sparks read the story, Arnie the Doughnut. This story tells a tale of a donut who’s stunned to learn that his purpose in life is to be eaten, pushing him to rethink everything he thought he knew about life. Arnie and his new owner, Mr. Bing, team up to create a brand new role for Arnie. They decide to celebrate companionship and a donut's right to choose its own future. To accompany the story, the Sparks shared their favourite flavoured donuts. Some examples were sprinkle, chocolate, cinnamon and anything with lots of icing. The Sparks then used paper plates, paint sticks, shredded paper and tissues to design their very on sprinkle donuts!
Quest
What a fun week in Quest we had! Our theme was baking, and the learners were excited to roll up their sleeves and try out some new skills in the kitchen. We began the week with an important discussion about kitchen safety and hygiene. Learners talked about washing hands, wearing proper footwear, not running, and keeping sleeves rolled up. We also explored oven and knife safety. Afterward, everyone put their creativity to work by designing their own bakery. They coloured desserts and arranged them on paper “shelves.” On Tuesday, we enjoyed a read-aloud of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and shared our favourite cookies. Then it was time to bake! Learners worked together to make chocolate chip cookies. Starting with reading the recipe, gathering ingredients, and learning about measuring cups and spoons. Each Spark took on a different job before scooping the cookie dough onto the tray. The best part? Enjoying the treats at lunchtime! On Thursday, our story of the day was Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcakes, which led us back into the kitchen to bake our own vanilla cupcakes. Ask your learner if they remember which ingredients went into the batter! After the cupcakes cooled, we decorated them with icing and sprinkles and enjoyed them for an afternoon snack! To end the week, the Sparks baked Banana muffins. They worked so well together, following step by step and were shown how to prep the oven. Way to go little bakers!
Reader/Writer Workshops
This session, the Sparks are diving into the fun world of rhyming and syllables! During their first week, they focused on rhyming words and discovered that words rhyme when they share the same ending sound like cat/hat, play/day, and ball/wall. As a hands-on learning activity, we used the Rhyming Photo Library activity cards. Each card displays a clear photo of a word, such as bell, and Sparks were challenged to find another picture card that rhymes with it. When listening for and identifying rhyming words, it will help strengthen the Sparks phonological awareness, which is a key foundational literacy skill. As we continue these activities, Sparks will build confidence for early reading! On Wednesday, Group One had a fun game of Sightword Bingo with Group Two.
Math Workshops
Group One has been introduced to the world of geometry and shapes. They started with 2D shapes and even got a little sneak peek at 3D shapes! The Sparks explored circles, squares, triangles, rectangles and hexagons through fun games like Fish for Squares and Charting All Shapes. They also used hands-on tracing with our Montessori materials. Everyone enjoyed identifying shapes in the studio and using different materials to create their own versions.
Group Two continued with our kitchen theme and explored an exciting new concept: fractions using pizza! We began by reading a story about a brother and sister preparing to share a pizza for dinner. The learners noticed that the pizza started as a whole, giving us the perfect opportunity to talk about how fractions represent parts of a whole. As the story went on, the pizza was cut into different numbers of slices, and we learned how each set of slices could be written as a fraction. After the story, the learners put their new understanding into practice. Using pencil crayons, they highlighted the correct number of slices shown in each fraction, reinforcing how fractions look and what they represent. Group Two opened our workshop by reading Froggy Bakes a Cake by Jonathan London. In this story, Froggy is trying to bake a birthday cake all by himself. He tries his best to follow the steps, but he often forgets important instructions or makes silly mistakes, like splashing flour everywhere or cracking eggs a little too enthusiastically! The book helped us to understand the importance of sequencing, following directions, and using clear steps to complete a task, especially in the kitchen! After reading, we took what we had learned from Froggy’s adventure and began a sequencing writing activity. As a group, the learners helped write out and spell the four main steps to baking a cake. We discussed each step carefully and practiced using procedural words such as first, next, then, and last. We matched each written step with the correct picture and coloured in the illustrations.
French
To start off Session 3, we began preparing our songs for the upcoming Exhibition. Our first step was song selection and brainstorming holiday vocabulary so the learners understand the lyrics and can participate with confidence. Our Exhibition songs are:
Le petit renne au nez rouge (Chanson de noël avec paroles)ⒹⒺⓋⒶ Noël des enfants
Au royaume du bonhomme hiver - Comptine de Noël avec paroles pour bébé et maternelle
On Tuesday, the learners colored holiday vocabulary words: cadeau (gifts), neige (snow), bonhomme de neige (snowman), etc. We then played Holiday Bingo to identify these words in the songs. On Wednesday, we started rehearsing the songs together, listening to lyrics and singing aloud. Thursday, we played musical chairs with holiday music which was a fun way to continue exposure to our Exhibition songs and helped learners memorize the melodies.
Additional Highlights
Dazzle the Dinosaur has made her way back to the Studio! If you’re new to Revel, Dazzle made an appearance two years ago as our own version of Elf on the Shelf. This is a fun activity that the Guides do for the holiday season and Dazzle does many silly things! At times, she may even end up at your house! We are excited to see what she gets up to over the next few weeks!
A friendly reminder that the Spark Studio will be hosting our Book Exchange next Friday, December 12th. Please send in your new, wrapped book anytime next week so we can prepare for our celebration. Thank you for helping make this a fun experience for the Sparks!
Discovery Studio
Mindfulness and Launch
On Monday morning, Rebels tried a hibernation themed meditation that focused on the importance of reframing rest as an opportunity to recharge ourselves. At launch, we reviewed our Freedom Levels for this Session, as well as Squad Leaders and clarified who could take/give using the Rebel Buck System. Following our administrative discussions, Rebels learned about an amazing catalog of books that are new to the studio through the Forest of Reading recreational reading program. Some learners signed up for a selection of books and must read 5-10 books from their chosen lists in order to nominate a winning author in April. Tuesday morning the Rebels did some winter wonderland zen doodles. For launch, we organized our secret gift exchange and our advent numbers. Rebels wrote out wishlists to help their secret shopper and then drew for a number on our studio Pokémon advent calendar! Wednesday morning we set up a tree, crafted some snowflakes and hung up some twinkle lights while we listened to the roar of the YouTube fire. Wednesday’s Squad Chickens gave new Squad Leaders an opportunity to work with their new squads for the first time this session. They went over each other’s goal sheets and set some intentions for the week in terms of what they hoped to accomplish by Friday. Thursday, Rebels continued decorating our Studio with more ornaments and decorations brought in from home. For launch, learners role played a variety of real-life scenarios that teammates and friends experience when navigating tough conversations or giving apologies. Friday morning we started rehearsing a holiday Boomwhackers tune for our upcoming exhibition. Current Events featured a news report on new deep ocean species that were discovered on a recent excursion, the most expensive comic book in the world, and why we actually need mucus.
Reader/Writer
Rebels jumped into an engaging lesson all about procedural writing. We opened both workshops with a launch focusing on four big questions: Why do people need clear steps to get things done safely and successfully? What could happen if important instructions are missing or unclear? How can recipes help us share our culture, traditions, and family stories? How do professional chefs and bakers rely on precise instructions to create safe, delicious food? Rebels enjoyed a good laugh as they watched David and Moira argue over an old family recipe, and they shared examples of when and where they use procedural writing and instructions in their day-to-day. Both groups noted exceptional instructions from companies like Lego during these discussions. What makes Lego instructions so great? Rebels noted the detail, use of pictures, colour-coded steps, numbers and clear language as criteria for strong instructions. Using recipe cards as our mentor texts this week, we analyzed a variety of recipes from spicy grilled cheese sandwiches, to baked artichoke mushroom chicken casseroles. Rebels were tasked with identifying measurement and ingredients in all recipes in order to curate a grocery list that contained everything they would need to successfully make the recipe. Rebels in both Draw and Anchor and Aim and Release critiqued the recipes along the way, noting instructions like “salt and/or pepper to taste” differs among individual preference, and how they feel the need to be as specific and detailed as possible when instructing someone in the kitchen.
French
In French Workshops, we began preparing our holiday songs for the upcoming Exhibition. Learners listened to several songs and chose their favourites:
Le petit renne au nez rouge (Chanson de noël avec paroles)ⒹⒺⓋⒶ Noël des enfants
Au royaume du bonhomme hiver - Comptine de Noël avec paroles pour bébé et maternelle
C'EST L'HIVER (Marie Michèle Desrosiers)
Petit Papa Noël (chanson de Noël pour petits avec paroles)
We spent time reviewing holiday vocabulary and building a holiday word wall in the Studio so the learners can add ongoing vocabulary as they continue to learn the songs well. Wednesday, we started rehearsing the songs together and played Holiday Bingo to identify all the vocabulary words in the lyrics. Our grammar focus this week was focusing on whether holiday vocabulary words are feminine or masculine, and reviewed their singular and plural forms.
Math Lab
This session is a Grocery Store Math project! Rebels imagined themselves as the owners of a small local grocery store. They supposed that they would have to solve a wide range of problems and came up with scenarios like: taking stock and tallying inventory, pricing items (for profit and so they move), marketing, customer service, quality control and more. Then, they started to tackle some problems they didn’t expect, like making sure packages sold in grams and kilograms contain the right amount of product and using analog clocks to keep track of their bakery department’s schedule.
Civilizations
This week we began to learn about ancient Africa and what archeologists are able to infer about this land based on artifacts they have recovered from different places across the continent. We mapped several important locations from Civ this year and then looked at where Africa is in relation to these: for example, how much further is the most southern part of Sahara Desert from Mesopotamia than between other ancient settlements like Mohenjo-Daro and the city of Ur? We also heard stories about Anansi the Spider and discussed what meaning or morals the stories might have been trying to convey. Rebels shared ideas about guarding against greed, and one group got into a conversation about the necessity of sharing and whether or not Canadians today have enough access to food.
Quest
Welcome to the Science of YUM Kitchen Quest! This week, Rebels gathered to discuss some important safety guardrails that are unique to the kitchen before diving into our experiments. We addressed the extra importance of our regular ROEs in this environment, like listening to instructions and asking for help if we’re unsure about something. Then, we agreed upon some additional special rules for this Quest like no running, wearing shoes, using personal protective equipment and using kitchen tools appropriately.
First up! Rebels tested several chemical samples using red cabbage indicator. They noted what colour each sample changed to from the deep purple colour of the cabbage juice. For example, lemon juice made the solution pink and laundry detergent made it more blue. When they weren’t experimenting, they researched the concept of matter, states of matter, mixtures and solutions. On Tuesday, Rebels researched the concept of acids vs. bases and the pH scale and learned a brief history of canning food. In the kitchen, they tested acidity levels in a variety of canned food items via a simplified titration experiment, again using red cabbage indicator and looking for colour change. On Wednesday, Rebels flexed some life skills while they practiced peeling carrots and chopping celery. They tried two safe techniques: peeling in a motion away from their bodies and using the handshake grip and claw hold to trim a celery stalk. Then, we experimented with our vegetable trimmings: carrot peels in water, with and without salt, to test for crunchiness and red food coloring in water to highlight the how the plant’s xylem soaks up water. On Thursday, we conducted a blind taste test with four types of vanilla ice cream! Rebels made detailed notes on each of the four samples before we revealed which was the most popular brand among the testers.
To wrap up the week, we learned about the key ingredients in ice cream and how other additional ingredients like emulsifiers or stabilizers can change the texture and create an aftertaste.
Additional Highlights
With the cold weather lingering through the week, our PE workshops were in the Gym and we introduced some new games and activities such as Castleball, Tic Tac GO! and Sliders. The games focused on upper body strength, as they completed a series of excercises from a plank position and lots of cardio! Our Secret Discovery Gift Exchange (scheduled for Week 3) is underway as the Rebels curated their wish lists and selected names of other learners to shop for. Rebels also began decorating the Studio, listening to cozy music with the fireplace channel, and some learners received a little trinket from our special Studio Advent Calendar! In Elective this Session, Rebels have the option to work on Core Skills, as a way to keep up or catch up on goals to maximize participation in all of our fun activities this session, or take part in a variety of winter art projects that will be on display for Exhibition. It has been a very cozy, festive and fun kick off to an exciting month!
Exploration Studio
Mindfulness & Launch
Welcome to Session 3! Rebels spent the first period of the morning decorating our studio for the holiday season! Trees, lights, ornaments, and more had our space spruced up for the fun festivities soon to come! We also opened our Advent calendars, one full of cute capybaras and the other, a Clue mystery to solve each day! On Tuesday, learners worked on our Becoming a Critical Thinker lesson, writing an "I Am From" poem (see below). On Wednesday, the Rebels had time to pick a holiday art project. They could complete a piece inspired by a famous artist's style, such as a Piet Mondrian-inspired gingerbread cookie, a Jeff Koons-inspired balloon reindeer, a Victor Vasarely-inspired Op Art Snowman, a Sandra Silberzweig-inspired holiday elf, or a Paul Klee-inspired snowy buildings. After their wintry walk on Thursday, the Rebels returned for an etiquette lesson. With the help of an informative video, we learned about dining etiquette and how to set a formal table in preparation for the holidays! On Friday, we solved the Wordle before trying a new game called Tradle, where learners had to guess which country exports the given products based on their percentages and total GDP. After we successfully completed the Tradle, we tried our hand at the daily Contexto. Our Current Events team then presented on food costs in 2026 and the impact of freezing temperatures on over 200 million people.
Reader/Writer Workshop & The Hobbit
This was the final week for writing our Hobbit literary essay drafts. We began by reviewing what each body paragraph should include (a topic sentence, evidence, and a connection to the claim) and provided examples of successful transition sentences. Rebels have until Monday at 10:30 am to send their draft for our Feedback Circle.
We also introduced the Forest of Reading and look forward to seeing who takes on the challenge!
Reading Challenge, Paragraph of the Week and Grammar
Who is telling the story? This week, we learned about point of view: first person, second person, and third person (limited, omniscient, and objective). After reviewing the signposts for each, Rebels completed a reading challenge where they had to correctly identify the point of view of a series of passages.
Our paragraph of the week was an expository piece. Learners were tasked with writing the step-by-step directions needed to make the ultimate peanut butter and jelly sandwich. After the free-write portion, Rebels made sure that they were specific, kept each step in order, and used simple, direct language, all of which are necessary for clear procedural writing. On Wednesday, we learned about sequential and temporal transitions and ensured that they used commas in any lists. Lastly, they wrote their final copy and had it peer-reviewed.
Learners reviewed "FANBOYS," an acronym that helps us remember the coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). When joining two complete sentences, we need to use a comma before the conjunction, but if the word isn't being used as a conjunction (like when it's a preposition), no comma is needed. After our lesson on Monday, learners took time to use, edit, and master the use of FANBOYS and their accompanying commas.
Math Lab
This week, the Rebels planned a fun weekend road trip, but with one catch: there's a limited budget! First, they chose a destination and the different items they would need to spend money on, such as transportation, food, lodging, and activities. They then completed a guided practice where they calculated their trip's fuel costs using a formula and answered a series of reflection questions. Learners then used unit rates to help predict expenses for food and lodging before choosing between multiple options and assessing the trade-offs. After the essentials were paid for, they planned their meals and found out how much was remaining for the activity fund. Lastly, they totalled their final trip budget and added a 10% buffer for unexpected costs. We closed our Math Lab workshop by reflecting on what the most effective strategy was to stay within their budget and how using mathematical concepts, such as unit rates and proportions, helped them plan their trip.
French
For this short French session, we are learning how to make a baguette. To get ready, we reviewed our vocabulary by playing two Blookets on kitchen food items and cooking verbs. On Thursday, we watched a video about the history of the baguette in France and the recipe we will follow. Afterwards, the learners answered comprehension questions to check their understanding.
Quest - Where in the World?!
We kicked off our Session 3 Quest by reviewing the plan for the next three weeks, the badge expectations, and Exhibition requirements. In groups of three, we completed a jigsaw activity on the five themes of Geography: Location, Place, Interaction, Movement, and Region. Once we reviewed relative and absolute location, how physical and human characteristics describe a place, how humans rely on, adapt to, and modify their environment, how the movement of people, goods, and ideas affects an area's geography, and that a region is an area that has at least one unifying characteristic. Learners then spent the last thirty minutes playing a series of geography board games and quizzes. On Tuesday, we discussed the cartographer's dilemma and compared various map projections, examining how each is distorted. Learners then were able to choose their first project on their Choose Your Own Adventure board. Each Rebel has chosen a county to learn about and will have the opportunity to select a variety of tasks from the grid, which includes hands-on projects such as building a landmark, recreating an art piece, creating their flag out of Rubik's cubes, and cooking a traditional dish. They will also need to create a timeline or StoryMap and can research various topics such as traditions, sources of pride, or make a travel itinerary. On Wednesday, we began with a Data Talk on an infographic of global border disputes, discussing what we noticed and what we wondered about the visual. We then had time to work on our political geography knowledge and memorization. Using a linked gameboard, Rebels were quizzed on the layers of Earth, oceans, and continents. They then moved on to the provinces and territories of Canada, followed by each one's capital city. Rebels could not move on until they could complete each section with 100% accuracy. Learners then had the option to complete the game for the continent of their chosen country or complete a different challenge from their Choose Your Own Adventure handout. On Thursday, Rebels utilized Canva to create an infographic with at least eight pieces of information about their country. Not only was this a great way for them to work with and compare their facts and statistics with their friends, but it was also fantastic practice in creating aesthetically pleasing designs. If they finished before the end of the period, they chose an additional challenge to work on.
Personal Finance
Continuing with our lessons on budgeting, we briefly discussed long-term savings requirements, including family planning and retirement. Now that learners have completed a third of the Budget Game simulation, they took time to complete a transaction report, reflecting on their progress and decision-making process. As they identified outstanding bills, unexpected challenges, reviewed their current credit score, compiled a summary of their spending, and considered how to balance their free time on the weekend, Rebels created a plan for the remaining 12 months of the game.
Civilizations - Big History
How did complexity increase as life on Earth emerged? For about the first billion years, Earth was a fiery ball of lava, much too hot for anything to live. But about 3.8 billion years ago, things changed. The Earth cooled, and life emerged and evolved. This week, Rebels read an article entitled "A Brief History of Life on Earth" before completing the Threshold 5 card. We reviewed the distinction between life and non-life before discussing the characteristics of life and learning about our close relationship with different organisms based on shared DNA.
Becoming a Critical Thinker
In this week's lesson, learners took time to write a mini-memoir in the form of an "I Am From" poem. This time-honoured poem is a process of noticing all the factors that add up to who we are. With the help of a series of questions, Rebels wrote down their answers, adding "I am from" to the start. Once they were finished, they sent the list to be printed for the second part, which we'll complete next Tuesday. We're excited to showcase the finished project at the Exhibition!
Additional Highlights
On Monday, one of our Revel grads was playing in a high school semifinal hockey game at Dulude. Interested Exploration Rebels walked the rink and cheered on the teams. It was fun to hear some of our learners explain the rules to those less familiar with the sport.
Four of our learners reached out to Parkdale Food Centre during the last session's Biomimicry Quest for advice on their ideas to help combat food insecurity. They received constructive suggestions and were also invited to participate in a Solutionary Workshop. The learners attended the session on Friday and gained a deeper understanding of the problems, where funding originates, and were inspired to continue working toward better solutions. Thank you!!!
Potential Discussion Ideas or Questions to Ask Your Rebel:
Spark Studio
What was your favourite dessert to make this week? Can you tell me some of the ingredients you use to make it?
What are some important safety rules you should follow in the kitchen?
What song are you learning to play with the Boomwhackers? What colour boomwhacker do you use?
Discovery Studio
What is the difference between “Tbsp” and “tsp?”
How many “g” in a “kg?” And what do those symbols represent?
Where do you see/use written instructions in your day to day life? What makes instructions clear and easy to follow?
What steps did you take to test samples for acidity this week?
What is the difference between an acid and a base?
If you were teaching someone how to peel or chop vegetables in the kitchen, what safety measures would you take?
Exploration Studio
What country are you currently researching? Which of the activities on your Choose Your Own Adventure board did you complete? Which challenge are you most excited about working on?
What was your biggest takeaway or lesson learned from the dining etiquette video?
Based on how the Budget Game has gone for the first six months, and your current ranking, what (if any) changes do you plan to make to how you play the game going forward?
Where did you plan your road trip in Math Lab? What was the most difficult component?
Are you ready to have your Hobbit essay peer edited on Monday? If not, what do you need to complete? Do you need any support?