In the Navigator Program at Excelsior Elementary, teachers are building intentional time for students to connect with each other, nurturing their relationships and social emotional skills while they take on new opportunities together. 

“We have one Social Emotional Engagement Day, or SEEDay, per quarter,” said Kristen Lea, a fourth and fifth grade Navigator teacher at Excelsior. “All Navigator students in grades 2-5 get to engage with each other, get to know the other teachers, and try new experiences.” 

The Navigator Program serves exceptionally gifted students (IQs of 140 and above) in second through fifth grade. This unique program provides a specialized learning environment capitalizing on the unique intellectual strengths of its learners.

“The Navigator students really look forward to our SEEDays,” said Lea. “Each classroom has a different theme, such as reading and writing for fun, engineering/building, board games to build social skills, and crafts/art.”

Lea learned to quilt from her grandmother when she was young, and she has continued quilting as a hobby since then. “Since quilting is becoming a bit of a lost art, I wanted to share that skill with my students,” shared Lea. “Quilting is so multifaceted, involving color, patterns, math, using the sewing machine, ironing, pinning, and tying, as well as patience and perseverance.”

Last year, the Navigator teaching team received a teacher grant from the Minnetonka Public Schools Foundation to purchase a sewing machine, among other SEEDay items. “A few of the students started making a quilt in the spring of last year. They really latched on to the project and ran with it,” said Lea. “This fall, we finished it!”

Now completed, the quilt will be given to a guest at the Ronald McDonald House in Minneapolis this winter. “The students came up with the idea of donating it to a child in need,” said Lea.

To learn more about the Navigator Program in Minnetonka Public Schools, visit the program webpage.