Eleven weeks. That's how long our first trimester ran — from September through mid-December. And yet, when we look back at everything the children built, discovered, and became in that time, it feels like far more.
“The past 11 weeks have been completely soul-filling… a beautiful close to the first trimester.”
— Grow Co-op parent
We started the year the way we start every day: in a morning circle. Introductions. Intentions. A small ritual that, by week two, the kids were running themselves. That's Grow in a sentence: we set up the conditions, and then we watch children rise to meet them.
What we learned (and built)
Our three learning blocks gave shape to each day. Block 1 anchored academic foundations — math in small groups, language arts that felt more like storytelling than schoolwork, and financial literacy lessons that would pay off in a big way by November.
Block 2 brought life skills and projects into focus. Students tended the pollinator garden, practiced sustainability habits, and worked on collaborative SEL challenges. Block 3 was movement, strategy games, and the kind of laughter that travels down the hallway.
The student market
The trimester's standout moment — by popular vote — was the student-run market. Oaks cohort students (grades 6–8) had been studying entrepreneurship and personal finance all fall. The market was the test: could they plan, price, produce, and sell?
“The market was wonderful… boys made around $200.”
— Grow parent
They absolutely could. The buzz in the room that day was unlike anything we'd planned in a lesson. Students counted change, negotiated, explained their products, and walked away with genuine pride. One parent reported her son asked to open a savings account the next morning.
“I have never understood stock investing… perhaps my child can teach me!”
— Grow parent
What parents noticed
Every Friday, we send a weekly update. What came back in reply — in texts, in pickup conversations, in our parent group — told us that something real was happening at home too.
“She got her homework out before anyone was awake because she was excited to do math.”
— Grow parent
“They came home so excited to tell me everything they learned… you're creating memories that go way beyond the classroom.”
— Grow parent
That's the signal we're always listening for: the moment a child stops learning because they have to and starts learning because they want to. We heard it over and over this trimester.
What's coming in Trimester Two
January brings our second trimester and a new energy. We'll be welcoming families who applied for the January cohort, deepening our geometry and writing units, and launching our first full sustainability project in partnership with our site host, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Boca Raton.
We'll also be rolling out Thursday Enrichment for 2026–27, our new interdisciplinary program with dedicated K–2 and 3–8 tracks. More on that soon.
Thank you
To every family who trusted us with their child's Tuesday and Wednesday this fall: thank you. You didn't just enroll in a co-op — you helped build one. The community here exists because you showed up, stayed curious, and kept choosing this together.
“You are not just supporting the children, but us adults too.”
— Grow parent
See you in January.