Our Pop-ups Peeps hosted Jamey and Andy from the SLC Health Initiative's Teen Help on Thursday at the Massena Library. They had a great conversation. Thank you to them both for coming in to share important info with our teens. They also celebrated a new 18 year old - Happy Birthday, Ben! And a couple of teens have joined the summer garden program at the Massena Library.

The Pop-ups will meet at Nicandri and Massena Library on Wed. & Thurs. afternoons next week - for their last time this year.

Since joining DRC in November, Charles, one of our fourteen-year-olds, has developed a passion for cooking and experimenting with recipes he finds online. On his first day, finding complete freedom in the kitchen, he made a pitcher of lemonade using bottled lemon juice.

His creative endeavors have been diverse over the past six months, extending beyond the kitchen. One of his latest projects was a black and white crocheted cat bed. Initially, he had intended to create a cow-patterned blanket, which he had spent all night designing in his head, but he ran out of yarn before completing it, so he pivoted to make the cat bed.

The one thing that has remained true is Charles' comfort level and willingness to jump into new projects and ideas with both feet, and a commitment to problem solving, without hesitation or fear of failing.

Now, during our last few days of this academic year, Charles has taken on an even bigger project that neatly circles back to his first day and that pitcher of lemonade, but also includes his keen interest in entrepreneurship.

Charles has started a lemonade business. He has upped his game, using real lemons and specially flavored syrups like black raspberry and strawberry. Each cup of lemonade is made to order with freshly cut-up and squeezed lemons while the customer waits.

He set up a lemonade stand at his house last Sunday and made $72. This past Monday, he set it up in front of DRC and recruited his friends, who are between the ages of 6 and 16, to hold signs and yell "lemonade" at passing cars. They successfully connected with folx who were happy to support their endeavors, and sold an additional $37 worth of lemonade. Every night this week, he set up the stand again at home and made even more sales (and garnered a few mosquito bites in the process).

Charles' Mom is his financial backer. In addition to the ingredients, she purchased 32-ounce containers with lids that serve as cups, a lemon-themed tablecloth, and a small bowl for the lemons.

I asked if he wanted to learn some accounting skills to keep track of expenses and income, and he told me that he already had a system devised at home. He also created a personalized logo and made stickers for each cup.

His original plan was to make it a fundraiser for DRC. This past week, after paying his Mom for supplies, he donated $103!

Yesterday, DRC had the opportunity to set up a craft table for kids to create art at the Potsdam Co-op during a special event for a Canton Apples hard ciders tasting. After clearing it with the Co-op management, I invited Charles to bring his lemonade stand. He had a great afternoon and made an additional $50. He informed me that 75% of the proceeds would go to DRC, and the other 25% would be used to reimburse his Mom, and maybe have enough to start a fund to go to Great Escape. It seems like a fair division to me. Thank you to Jessie and Dustina at the Co-op for inviting us. We look forward to future opportunities.

Charles also plans to sell lemonade this summer in front of his house and at the Lisbon Beach. I predict a very successful summer for this kiddo.

Our future relies on kids like Charles who are courageous enough to pursue their creativity and passions while developing skills to navigate the world. We need more young people who are unafraid to jump in, follow their interests, make mistakes, and view them as learning opportunities. Unfortunately, our inherently coercive educational systems incentivize convention with rewards and punishment and rarely support the outside-of-the-box innovative potential these kids have to offer.

At DRC, we are happy to follow each child's lead, lend support when requested, expect the possibility of messiness and chaos, and then stand back and watch all the incredible learning opportunities ensue. Only this time, we had the added sweet benefit of sampling delicious lemonade through the process, as he developed the recipe.

One week left for our Canton Crew! We spent plenty of time outside this past week.

The Pop-up Peeps enjoyed their time at the Norwood and Massena Libraries. They have two more weeks - finishing on May 29th.  

Another week passed in a blur, and the Canton Crew only has two left before we celebrate our graduates and all of our accomplishments, and say goodbye for the summer!

The Pop-Ups Peeps had a fantastic week at the Nicandri Nature Center and the Massena Library. They learned about Hissing Cockroaches, saw a Baltimore Oriole, made jewelry, purchased and taste-tested more weird soda flavors, and had in-depth conversations about a range of topics.

Every single day, without fail, one particular kid proclaims, "I'm bored!" And everyday I tell him, "That's good! It means your brain is taking the downtime it needs to get creative." He knows the response he will get every time, yet he continues to say it. He also understands I won't give him a list of suggested activities. For him, this statement of boredom seems to have become a ritual of sorts.


Boredom and downtime are essential. Full stop—period. Our creativity, ingenuity, and imagination are directly linked to our need for rest and quiet. That is when all of those amazing ideas burst to the forefront. The only way to capture them is to embrace those moments of boredom.

Being productive isn't always advantageous. We humans often use busyness to avoid judgment about laziness from others or ourselves.

At DRC, we provide ample time and space for daydreaming, as well as opportunities for free play because we know they are all essential for personal growth, curiosity, and discovery. Yes, we actively encourage those moments of boredom because we know that within every single "I'm bored" lies some live sparks of creative energy. We do not dictate what kids should do. Instead, we offer opportunities, support, encouragement, and resources while stepping back to follow their lead. We watch children effectively problem-solve and manage interpersonal relationships, when faced with obstacles, every single day.

When kids understand they are trusted with their own thoughts, ideas, and skills those instants of ingenuity arise more frequently, and, most importantly, they gain the confidence to trust themselves.

Explore the Possibilities isn't just a tagline, it is our motto and lived experience. 

It was an absolute pleasure to meet Dr. Tooley, from England, the author of The Beautiful Tree: A Personal Journey Into How the World's Poorest People Are Educating Themselves. He is working with VELA, an organization that supports alternative education, to gather stories for another book,The Beautiful Tree: in America and stopped in to interview me.. DRC received a $10,000 grant from VELA in 2022.

Even though DRC was closed for the last day of Spring Break on Monday, and he didn't get to meet any of our kiddos, we had a great conversation about self-directed education as it pertains to our philosophy and students. Additionally, we discussed how DRC fits into our wider community and the role we play to help young people in the NoCo move forward beyond the confines of the existing educational paradigm.

This was a short but busy week for the Canton Crew. Thursday, photographer and DRC Board President Tiffanie Jacob, came to take our annual photos for our memory book. We switched things up and went to Heritage Park for some interesting backgrounds.

Then on Friday, we took a field trip to the Cornell Cooperative Extension Farm and had a blast playing with baby animals. Thanks to Carmen for showing us around!

The DRC Pop-ups Peeps had fun at Nicandri on Wednesday afternoon. Then on Thursday, they bought some strange soda and did taste tests, then participated in a sticker-making activity at the Massena Library.