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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.

April's theme is Creepy Crawlies!

Did you know that there are between 10 million and 30 million species of insects in the world, of which only one million are known to science?  Many people have strong opinions about bugs -- they are icky, gross, ugly, and pests. However, this theme offers opportunities for youth to explore what makes insects diverse, unique, important and even beneficial to our environment, and hopefully break some of those stereotypes that insects and bugs are creepy crawlies!  Some major bugs/insects explored include bees, ants, beetles, cockroaches, butterflies, and spiders.

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

•What are characteristics of bugs?
•What do bugs "do"?
•What roles do bugs play in our ecosystems?
•How and why are some bugs harmful?
•How and why are some bugs beneficial?
•Why do people find bugs gross or icky?

Last Month's Theme

Amazing Anatomy was March's theme.  Our bodies make it possible for us to live and breathe. Body parts, organs, and body systems were explored through hands-on learning opportunities. Youth learned how and why we come alive and what makes our bodies work, stay healthy, and become sick.  With staggering statistics of childhood obesity, drug use, and lowered immune systems, it is critical to share lessons in our bodies and health with our children so that they can better understand what happens if we do not take care of our bodies!

Please click here to view a PowerPoint by 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.