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Sponsoring a Month of Learning

The needs of educationally at-risk children require innovative instructional methods that traditionally have not been thought of as appropriate for this group.  Remediation (education offered below age or grade level) is the method commonly applied to the educational needs of at-risk children, but has been found to diminish effective learning.  Remediation does not necessarily enable children to apply learning or to transfer learning to new content. 

Students at Heart House have been found to have high levels of academic potential, and when challenged with difficult concepts and the expectation that they could achieve solutions, have produced work of remarkable quality.  This suggests that instructional methods normally reserved for students of high academic ability, such as thinking skills, and challenging questioning techniques, SHOULD be used with at-risk students. 

Our thematic teaching is an instructional program design which recognizes that there is potential in every child.  The Heart House program delivers qualitatively differentiated experiences which focus on self-directed learning, using critical, creative, and productive thinking strategies in a variety of interdisciplinary activities.  Our measurement shows that Heart House children CAN and DO achieve HIGH results not normally seen in their regular school-day environment.

October's theme is Totally Us: Diversity and Tolerance.

How can we best prepare children to meet the challenges and reap the benefits of the increasingly diverse world they will inherit? We can raise children to celebrate and value diversity and to be proud of themselves and their family traditions. We can teach children to respect and value people regardless of the color of their skin, their physical abilities, or the language they speak.

As our nation grows increasingly diverse, there has never been a better opportunity for us to learn to live respectfully together and benefit from one another's wisdom and experiences. But sometimes fear, uncertainty, or discomfort prevent people from talking to each other. This is especially true when it comes to the topics of race and racism, cultural differences, language and bilingualism, and the myriad questions that arise in a world where these issues have such a powerful place in children's lives.

If what children do at home is never mentioned or, worse, is considered strange by other children and adults, children may refuse to speak their home language, eat certain foods, wear certain clothes, follow certain religious practices. As some children begin to compare their appearance or life with others, they may start expressing their concerns about being different. We know that children need to be reassured that differences are fine. More than that, we need to work with parents to help bridge the norms, the attitudes, and the ways of doing things in children's cross-cultural worlds — and to counteract any demeaning and harmful messages.

Some of the questions we'll be exploring this month include:

• What are the ways in which we are alike and different from each other?
• What are respectful and disrespectful ways in which people are treated for their differences?
• What are stereotypes and how do they impact us?
• What is tolerance?
• How can we be more tolerant of others’, their cultures, their personalities, their lives?
• Why do my attitudes and actions towards others matter?
• How can I help others be more tolerant and respectful towards each other?

Last Month's Theme

Heart House and the Community We Live In was September's theme, intended to welcome youth back to school and to the Heart House program.  Through hands-on and discussion activities, the children learned more about Heart House, each other and the surrounding neighborhood.

Please click here to view a PowerPoint by four Heart House students about this month's theme.

Calling All Special Guests!

  
School-Year Scrapbook

We asked the children to vote on their favorite thematic units from last school year. Here’s what
they said:

	#1 Forces of Nature This was one of the coolest themes EVER, according to the kids. We studied extreme weather, which included making tornadoes in a bottle, watching home videos of tsunamis in Asia, learning hurricane safety, making seismographs to measure earthquakes and creating PSAs to educate others on extreme weather safety. Sponsor for Forces of Nature: SpawMaxwell
	#2 Super Citizens We studied the characteristics that make good citizens: honesty, responsibility, respect, compassion and courage. The unit culminated with elections (on real voting machines!) of student council members from each Heart House who embody these characteristics. Sponsor for Super Citizens: Hart InterCivic
	#3 Inventors and Inventions Students got the chance to study famous inventors, like Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison, and create their own inventions to help others solve problems.  Sponsor for Inventors and Inventions: SourcePulse
	#4 Read, Write, Rock On Heart House kids sharpened their reading and writing skills by creating word-bingo games, discussing banned books, writing each other’s biographies, making tongue twisters and even creating a Heart House newspaper!  Sponsor for Super Citizens: Michael and Susan Dell Foundation
	#5 Create a Holiday Each grade group was able to create its very own holiday---naming the day and why and how it is celebrated. Some of the holidays included Kids vs. Teachers Day and Snowflake Day. Sponsor for Create a Holiday: Foundation Communities

Thank you to our sponsors who made these great learning months possible.  For more information on sponsoring a month of learning at Heart House, contact Diane Cannon, Executive Director, at (512) 929-8187 or dcannon@hearthouse.org.