Home Learners Tuesday Pods

Our first offering of the academic year is a “me to we” learning experience. Students will start off creating a one-of-a-kind quilted pillow sham. They can choose to paint or print on canvas pieces and then applique these on each square of their pillow quilt. They can also choose to do small or larger pillows depending on their skill and patience barometers.

Minna’s Patchwork Coat, by Lauren Mills will be read while we work, serving as inspiration for our quilters. The sentiments in this charming novel, about overcoming the barriers caused by differences in social status, set the perfect stage for us to transition to the “we” part of this study pod. Students will sharpen their newly acquired skills by making another pillow, this time as a donation to the auction at our scholarship fundraising gala (Nov 22, 2025). —A pillow for home and one to give as a way to honour diversity in our community.

This pod will take its inspiration from the incredible wildlife photographs on show at the Lyceum. Local creative Andy Li, has captured the animals in our backyard and made their day to day activities exceptional for viewers. Each day, we’ll commit a portion of time to explore the natural environs around us, making sure to stop and smell the roses (literally and figuratively). We’ll place emphasis on slowing down to notice signs, both little and large, that wildlife makes its home alongside us. We will pay particular attention to the changes between visits. 

 

After examining and discussing  with Andy Li what contributes to the composition of a great photograph, students will select one of his ‘signature’ images and use it to inspire a painting using acrylics on canvas. 

 

Christianne will take the group through the fundamentals of brush selection, colour matching and blending, while providing a supportive and encouraging environment for students to have full creative control. 

Using the book Wildlife in the City, by Diane Swanson, we'll create space for the group to discuss the intersection between human life and wildlife;  problems and the gifts of cohabitating with them so closely. We will conclude this investigation with a small gallery style showing of our work.

​

View Andy Li's Bio

One of the tenets upon which the Lyceum is founded is the belief that real-life problems are best tackled through story. The game Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) allows you to role play what you would do in difficult situations and encourages you to think creatively when it comes to solving problems as part of a team. Some people think D&D is all about battling orcs and monsters, but in truth it is about testing your skills through role playing in the safety net of story. 

 

Imagination is so important in how we negotiate today’s tech-heavy world and even in how we direct AI. We engage our imaginations whenever we seek possibility in a world that presents impossibility, and when we try to troubleshoot challenges. Nurturing imagination is easiest to accomplish through story and art, making D&D the perfect seeding tray. 

 

We will design a New Year campaign concentrating on building terrain, characters and even our own resin dice. Our Dungeon Master will guide the group through mapping, before splitting the rest of the time between the campaign and creation of detailed backdrops.

If Shakespeare had a skill, it’s that he was a keen observer of human nature and his plays remain as relevant today as they were in the English Renaissance. In fact, many of the themes he wrote about have been subsequently explored by playwrights and authors around the world several times over. This year, with the world grappling with power shifts, we are excited to explore Hamlet where we are treated to the age-old lesson of how power corrupts. 

 

Parallels between the popular Disney musical The Lion King and Hamlet help to draw in younger learners, so that they may benefit from the wisdom shared in this timeless play. 

 

We will read and view sections of both of these works as we explore how they are connected. When we need breaks, we will create lion masks to wear as we learn to recite short sections of Hamlet’s soliloquies.

The world of graphic novels is vast, expansive and ever-evolving. These image-forward books can transport, transform and transcend the traditional ways in which we understand story. 

 

When faced with trying to create one of their own, children who love graphic novels often encounter one universal difficulty … getting started. Ideas may be plentiful, but when it comes to creating a story arc, the tendency can be to focus more on mistakes than the movement forward. 

 

As a group, we'll read from and study The Cartoonist Club by Raina Telgemeir. In this story, the characters who form a cartoonist club, all struggle with writing in one way or another, but together overcome their individual insecurities to create something truly worthy of recognition. 

 

Depending on the strengths of the group, we’ll either collaborate on a graphic novel or create individual comics of our own to bind and share with friends and family. Once you learn to view the comic cells as guidelines only, the possibilities are truly endless.

The temperate climate of the West Coast nurtures many plants that don’t grow anywhere else. This lush flora base is a resource for humans and animals alike. Through many generations, indigenous peoples have accumulated important knowledge about the medicinal uses of these plants. Common mullein, prolific to roadways and fields that border our forests, is used for respiratory issues, ear aches and skin problems. Dandelion is used for digestion and as a mosquito repellent, and stinging nettle is packed with iron for deficiencies and boasts anti-inflammatory properties. The list is long, detailed and nuanced. 

 

We will be studying as many plants as we can through film, book, and first-hand experience in both cultured and wild gardens so that we may create our own guidebooks!

 

We will visit the xʷc̓ic̓əsəm Garden at UBC as well as meet with Aleah Clarke on Saturna Island to learn about and try our hand at some foraging of edible plants with medical properties.