Heart House: Youth Development for School-Age Children

How Are YOU Smart?

2009-05-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

Dr. Howard Gardner, a psychologist and professor of neuroscience from Harvard University, developed the theory of Multiple Intelligences, which challenged traditional beliefs in the fields of education and cognitive science. Unlike the established understanding of intelligence -- people are born with a uniform cognitive capacity that can be easily measured by short-answer tests -- MI reconsiders our educational practice of the last century and provides an alternative. This approach resonates highly with Heart House and has been adopted as one of our core beliefs about how we will work with children.

“Intelligence is the capacity to do something useful in the society in which we live. Intelligence is the ability to respond successfully to new situations and the capacity to learn from one’s past experiences.”—Dr. Howard Gardner

According to Howard Gardner, human beings have nine different kinds of intelligence that reflect different ways of interacting with the world. Each person has a unique combination, or profile. Although we each have all nine intelligences, no two individuals have them in the same exact configuration -- similar to our fingerprints. (For an overview of these nine intelligences, see our previous blog posting, The Many Kinds of Smart.)

For Gardner, intelligence is:

the ability to create an effective product or offer a service that is valued in a culture;
a set of skills that make it possible for a person to solve problems in life;
the potential for finding or creating solutions for problems, which involves gathering new knowledge.

Your turn: How are YOU smart?

There's a great online assessment we found which can help you determine your strongest intelligences. We found that it took an average of five minutes to complete, and was very fun to see the results. Find this assessment at http://literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html

Student Spotlight: Lanny and Anthony

2009-05-18T02:57:00.000-07:00

These are just some of the wonderful children you help support with your gifts of time and funding. THANK YOU for making a difference for these future citizens!

Lanny has made great progress toward improving his attitude and behavior this month. He is quiet and working hard during homework hour everyday and is setting a great example for others who want to make better choices.

Anthony has been attending Heart House for almost 3 years! Anthony is well known for his intellectual vocabulary, funny anecdotes on life, and his eagerness to take on leadership roles. In fact, he was just currently elected in charge of the Heart House reading center. He has impressed us all by taking the lead and working hard to make the reading center creative, quiet, and special. He has informed us that he has “hired” some other students on to help him make sure the reading center is working effectively whenever he is absent. Also, he created some outstanding journalism work during our newspaper project and even though we have already completed the project, he continues to take an interest in reading the newspaper and creating his own newsletters.

Read more Student Spotlight posts on the Heart House blog.

This Month's Photo Scrapbook

2009-05-13T04:05:00.000-07:00

Bulletin board decorators

Homework support with volunteer Mr. Denné

James in the Reading Center

Below: “Titanic Challenge", a teambuilding game this month—2
pictures

Symone updates the Word Wall

Rosa and Michelle

Heart House South students plan a special “Kits for Kids”
project in anticipation of Earth Day 2009

Desire, Terran and Thomas plan for Earth Day

Armando practices spelling using the Word Wall

Angel, Zach and Marissa use the Word Wall to plan their Earth
Day project

Older girls hanging out

School-Year Scrapbook

2009-05-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

We asked the children to vote on their favorite thematic units from this 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.

Just as Green, Maybe a Little Smaller

2009-05-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Green thumbs abounded at the spring planting on April 15th at Heart House North. The Heart House Garden Club, with the help of our partners, Green Corn Project, planted cherry tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, green beans, basil, cilantro, and oregano. Special thanks to the ever cheerful, ever patient Mitch Mills, who has nurtured our garden club and is the current President of Green Corn Project. Produce from the Heart House garden club will be featured at our upcoming BBQ on June 13th (see Events.) Be sure to stop by!

See more pictures at: www.hearthouse.org/photos.htm

Matching Donation Drive for Camp Heart House

2009-05-06T03:11:00.000-07:00

It’s time again this spring to look ahead to the summer!

We are currently planning our exciting summer program called Camp Heart House. During our 8 week summer camp we are able to offer youth so many fun and interesting choices in activities and programs. Camp Heart House boasts engaging programs like Mad Science, Rad Readers, Heart House Idol, foreign languages, summer service learning, and fitness. We are also enthused to announce that this summer we are able to offer some new programs such as comedy and improv, cooking, counseling groups and leadership. We are also planning some enriching field trips to explore Austin’s rich culture and history and of course will be going swimming on a regular basis!

Each spring we begin planning our summer program, reaching out to organizations and individuals to collaborate and support our program. So far, these are the awesome organizations that have teamed up with us to provide cool programs for this summer:

LifeWorks
Texas AgriLife Extension
4-H Capital Area
Youth Interactive
Notre Dame Summer Service Learning Program
Computer Corps & American Youthworks (an extension of AmeriCorps)

Summer is an exceptionally challenging time for the Heart House families. Most school-year programs close for the summer, and summer child-care costs average $700/month per child. The working-class families in the Heart House neighborhoods simply cannot afford quality care for their school-age children during the summer. Without Heart House, parents would likely have to choose between safe child care and their employment.

Camp Heart House operates Monday-Friday, 9am-3pm, June 15-August 8. The camp helps to bridge a wide gap: supporting both the child’s social and academic growth and the family’s financial security. We need to raise an additional $25,000 to fully fund Camp Heart House.

It only takes $75 to send a child to Camp Heart House for a week. For every $75 you donate in May, an anonymous donor has agreed to match it, dollar for dollar. This donor invites you to financially support Heart House because she believes so strongly in our programs and purposes. Together, we can make a big difference in the lives of Austin's deserving children.

Games and Sportsmanship

2009-05-04T06:25:00.000-07:00

We've just wrapped up April’s theme of “Games and Sportsmanship” which focused on what different games and sports can teach us about ourselves and each other. We spent the first few weeks focused on learning about good sportsmanship, teamwork, and games that can teach us about cultures around the world. We wrapped up our theme by experiencing some athletic games and creating our very own unique Heart House Olympics!

Special Guest Highlight:

Journalist Nick Boeglin visited Heart House North recently to help facilitate a Fun Friday called “In the Newsroom”. Both he and our Program Leader, Ms. Emily, dressed up to get the kids excited about feeling like real journalists, working on various news stories.

Join Our Learning Community
We love special guests at Heart House! In the past, we've had everyone from ballerinas to slam poets to Scuba Steve visit us. You're invited to join us one day after school to share your talent and passion with the children. If you would like to be a special guest or organize a special project with your friends, please let us know. You can call our Volunteer Coordinator at (512) 929-8187 or email us at volunteer@hearthouse.org. We look forward to hearing from you.

Read Along with Heart House! Books About Games and Sportsmanship

2009-05-04T06:19:00.000-07:00

Let the Games Begin! by Maya Ajmera, Michael Regan, and Global Fund for Children

Following an introduction by former senator Bill Bradley, Ajmera and Regan elaborate on the philosophy of sport, addressing one aspect (practice, sportsmanship, teamwork, competition, rules) on each two-page spread. The text, which assumes a budding interest in sport participation, directly addresses the reader, in a tone that is friendly, reassuring, and encouraging. Each spread is illustrated by five photographs of children from around the world who are involved in a sport. Each also features a highlighted quote from a child, which offers insightful advice to the reader on navigating the ups and downs of participation. The title and the picture of a gymnast on the cover are a bit misleading in suggesting that the book concerns the Olympics, but, in fact, the authors have accessibly depicted sport as a fundamental, unifying human endeavor that reflects the ideals the Olympic games embody.

Eco-Fun: Great Projects, Experiments, and Games for a Greener Earth by David Suzuki and Kathy Vanderlinden

These 48 activities are designed to stimulate understanding, knowledge, and appreciation of our ecosystem. They are organized into five chapters: "A Breath of Fresh Air," "Waterworks," "Earthborn," "All Fired Up," and "Our Fine Feathered (and Leafy) Friends." A two-page explanatory overview precedes each section. Activities include making a solar water heater, paper, a composting can, and natural cleansers. Each project has a list of supplies needed, step-by-step instructions, an explanation of what's going on, and "More ideas-" that offers additional things to do. Safety tips are included and the more dangerous procedures recommend adult assistance. Illustrations enhance the lively text, which can be used in the classroom or at home.

Do you want to make a contribution to the Heart House library and reading program?
We would be proud for you to be a reading buddy by donating funds or a gift certificate to Heart House so we can expand our reading program. For more information, please contact Diane Cannon, our Executive Director, at dcannon@hearthouse.org or (512) 929-8187.

Sense Without Cents

2009-05-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

In a Tightening Economy, Relationships and Non-Monetary Resources Guide Successful Social Innovation Among Nonprofit Partners

Heart House is preparing to expand its two Austin and three Dallas fully-operational neighborhood centers to 25 dotting Texas by 2020 through its participation in the Growth Learning Collaborative.

The Growth Learning Collaborative is a social innovation project, organic in nature, pooling together various Austin-based nonprofit partners to seek solutions to growth challenges in a stiffening economy. The initial objective for Growth Learning collaborators was to secure space — physical and time — to talk with and learn from experts and peers regarding options for growing organizations. Project members have met monthly at various locations since June 2008.

“The idea of the Growth Learning Collaborative has been more than simply expanding our organizations,” Anna Land, originator of the collaborative plus Heart House USA CEO and founder, said. “I wanted us to meet to discuss and plan implementation of best-practice techniques to help grow and — more fundamentally — replicate our organizations. In our case, children across Texas need a resource like Heart House. To that end, we focus on how we can
naturally nurture and maintain our sense of organizational culture, our enactment of our missions and values, through cycles of leadership and volunteers across Heart House USA hubs.”

The Growth Learning Collaborative develops at a crucial moment in Central Texas. Opportunities for nonprofits to receive contributions of time, money and other resources dwindle. The need to maximize what resources nonprofits have to survive, let alone envision expansion or long-term existence, escalates.

“The current financial crisis could actually be seen as an opportunity,” Nell Edgington, president of Social Velocity, said. “Because of the recent failings of the financial markets, investors are beginning to look for social return in addition to, or even in place of, financial return. Venture philanthropy or growth capital for nonprofits, the funding that will help organizations like Heart House USA grow, is becoming increasingly needed and valued. With the number and complexity of social problems — like those Heart House is attempting to resolve — on the rise, nonprofits that have found solutions should be encouraged to grow to meet more needs. And they need growth capital to do so.”

Growth capital is an idea coming of age in the nonprofit world. One of several nonprofit partners currently participating in Austin’s leading-edge social innovation project is KDK-Harman Foundation, Central Texas’ 13th largest family philanthropy.

“One of our chief objectives is to promote a culture of giving excellence, an environment in which nonprofit supporters can help contribute best-practice solutions to turn challenges into opportunities,” Janet Harman, KDK-Harman president and founder, said. “Funding to help organizations is not our only focus. Rather, we aim to learn, adopt and promulgate proven solutions to empower nonprofit organizations to maximize their capacities to provide educational opportunities to low-income Central Texans. It’s our high-engagement philanthropic approach.”

Austin Partners in Education, a nonprofit that connects Austin community and classrooms to promote academic excellence and personal success for all students in the Austin Independent School District, is a current Growth Learning Collaborative member.

“We are honored to have been invited to participate in the collaborative because of our deep respect for the participants, for their talent and what they’ve achieved,” Kathrin Brewer, Austin Partners in Education executive director, said. “Through the Growth Learning Collaborative, we aim to have an opportunity to ask questions and share our challenges. We enjoy learning from participants’ experience and ideas, sharing practices and to getting their feedback on our strategies.”

Badgerdog Literary Publishing, a nonprofit that puts writers in the schools, providing access to best-in-class literary arts programming for young low-income and minority Central Texans, also participates in the social innovation project.

“As a fast-growing social enterprise, Badgerdog has moved out of the start-up phase with a healthy blend of earned and contributed revenue,” said Melanie Moore, founder and president. “Faced with the next phase of growth at a time when the financial and the publishing landscapes are in dramatic flux, Anna’s idea to establish the Growth Learning Collaborative has provided the participants a valuable opportunity to pool our experience and our inquiries in a real-time, generative knowledgebase that informs our decisions — and visions — for our respective organizations.”

The Growth Learning Collaborative meets on a monthly basis. For more information about Heart House's growth plans in Texas generally and Austin specifically, please email anna@hearthouse.org.

Marco Luna is our May Volunteer Spotlight!

2009-04-29T18:12:00.000-07:00

Mr. Marco's favorite Heart House moment (so far): “I taught a group of boys the magic trick where you pretend to take your thumb off. All of them had the most shocked face I have ever seen!”

You can usually find Mr. Marco in the 2nd and 3rd grade classroom at Heart House South. If you don’t see him around, look under the pile of children to the side and there he’ll be! The kids there have taken to him in such a way, that we hope he stays with us well after his college years.

Not much older than the children are, Mr. Marco was quite a surprise as volunteer. He came to Heart House in December of 2008 through the school program American Youth Works. As a student, Marco had the opportunity to commit his service learning project hours to a non-profit organization. He luckily chose us.

At first notice, he seems a cool cat, reserved and non-drama like. But he blossoms into smiles and laughter when he’s with the kids, teaching them silly magic tricks, letting them jump around him (and on him sometimes) and helping them with homework. He sincerely enjoys being with the children and it’s apparent the children love him too. When asked if he might consider teaching as a career, he smiles and says “Oh, yeah, this might be something I’ll want to keep on doing.” We are very lucky to have him with us almost five days a week through, at least, the summer- although he has hinted about staying on past his service learning obligation. Our fingers are crossed!

It is obvious the children very much look forward to him coming in and benefit from his affirming attention. His encouraging, playful nature lies at the core of what Heart House looks for in fruitful mentorship. His work with the children, with out a doubt, will encourage good choices that will bring beneficial change to our society. Many cheers, to you, Mr. Marco. We know you’ll remain a positive force for children around you, always.

More about Mr. Marco:

What are some of your hobbies? I've been a DJ for almost five years and enjoy teaching others who are interested about it or giving lessons.
What is your favorite food? Burgers (fast food)
What is your favorite color? Black
If you had a favorite superhero power what would it be and why? I would be super fast so I could trick people, and no need for a car.
What made you volunteer with Heart House? I wanted to work with kids and I jumped at the opportunity of helping them here.
What keeps you coming back to Heart House? The kids, the stories they tell me, the things they do, the fact they look up to me in some way.

Five Minds for the Future

2009-04-28T19:45:00.000-07:00

At Heart House, one of our core beliefs is that children are "smart" in different ways. We honor the multiple intelligences of our Heart House children and design our program accordingly.
We base this belief on the work of Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, first published in his book, Frames of Mind. For a great summary of the theory of multiple intelligences, you might enjoy our blog posting, The Many Kinds of Smart. (http://hhaustin.blogspot.com/2008/03/many-kinds-of-smart.html)

Our book recommendation >> The staff at Heart House has been reading Gardner's newest book, Five Minds for the Future, which outlines the specific cognitive abilities that will be sought and cultivated by leaders in the years ahead. One of the reasons for our excitement is that we passionately believe we are supporting the cultivation and development of each of these indentified mindsets needed for the future in our Heart House children. For example:

The Disciplinary Mind, the mastery of major schools of thought, including science, mathematics, and history, and of at least one professional craft. Our job at Heart House is to RECONNECT children with the joy of learning. Heart House aligns its "disguised learning" with AISD's emphasis on a solid education in the fundamentals of these core subjects. Additionally, 100% of our curriculum aligns with TEKS.
The Synthesizing Mind, the ability to integrate ideas from different disciplines or spheres into a coherent whole and to communicate that integration to others. Heart House integrates multiple disciplines into our monthly themes, allowing students to see how ideas are connected. Teaching in such a contextual manner promotes collaboration, critical thinking, and knowledge retention.
The Creating Mind: the capacity to uncover and clarify new problems, questions and phenomena. As part of Heart House's dedication to producing critical thinkers, we see creativity as the highest level of critical thinking, when expressed by synthesizing information gathered from the monthly theme to create a new idea, product, or point of view.
The Respectful Mind: awareness of and appreciation for differences among human beings and human groups. Cultivating emotional and interpersonal intelligence among children, staff members, volunteers, and the greater community is modeled and rewarded at Heart House.
The Ethical Mind: fulfillment of one's responsibilities as a worker and as a citizen. We rigorously ask our students what they need to do for their work to be excellent in quality and ethical in conduct, and then how they might follow through with those responsibilities.

Find out more about our program by clicking here.

Hudson and Sophia: Student Spotlights

2009-04-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Sophia helps her program leader and volunteers set up activities with a smile. Whether it is returning items that belong to her class, or explaining (very nicely, of course) to some of her fellow Heart Housers why they should behave, Sophia is always willing to help. (Nominated by Ms. Jenny)

Hudson is always helping others and doing what is expected of him without being asked. He has great manners and really stands out among his peers. Hudson is a superstar! (Nominated by Mr. Paul)

SourcePulse: Donor Spotlight

2009-04-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Dr. Prabhakar Malireddy is founder and President of SourcePulse, a company of 30+ headquartered in Austin that provides a full range of services including management consulting, solutions delivery and managed services to fulfill its mission to improve the operational performance of its clients. On behalf of SourcePulse, Dr. Malireddy reached out to Heart House after discovering our website. The company was looking to make a meaningful financial investment in the community and did its due diligence by visiting Heart House and exploring our program and its benefits to children and working families.

When asked why he and SourcePulse chose Heart House, Dr. Malireddy said, “We believe strongly in equal chances for all children to succeed despite their economic inequalities. We know it’s difficult for some families to provide after-school care for their children as they need to work long hours to make both ends meet. Heart House is striving to keep kids safe after school hours and also to keep them on academic track so that they can grow up into responsible citizens.”

Dr. Malireddy values education and takes pride in the fact that he and his siblings, despite a modest upbringing in India, have all achieved extremely high levels of educational attainment. He holds a Ph.D. in computer science and is part of several strategic projects at MIT as part of his post doctoral research. Prior to founding SourcePulse, Dr. Malireddy was the Director of Engineering at CommerceOne and made leading contributions at other software companies prior to that.

SourcePulse is an IBM business partner and provides services to many State of Texas Agencies, such as the Texas Health & Human Services Commission and the Texas Education Agency. The company provides its valuable services in a manner such that its clients may remain flexible to meet changing business needs and easily reconfigure their technology in the future.

Dr. Malireddy is truly a visionary business leader; therefore, Heart House is honored to receive such a generous donation from him and SourcePulse, which will fund program activities at both Heart House sites for two months and allow us to continue to support working families.

Body Power Means Brain Power

2009-04-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

According to the most recent Fitnessgram, an annual study of the fitness of Texas children, students who are physically fit are more likely to pass state tests and attend school regularly. The Fitnessgram, which was created by The Cooper Institute in 1982, measured the fitness levels of over 2.4 million Texas students during the 2007-2008 school year. In addition to the link between physical health and academic success, last year’s Fitnessgram also indicated that students who are fit may also be less likely to exhibit behavior issues in school.

Additionally, having a positive attitude toward fitness is especially important for certain populations. Citing recent statistics, the Austin-American Statesman reports, “Research has shown that children who are Hispanic or African American, or who come from low-income families tend to have higher levels of physical inactivity and obesity, putting them at higher risk of developing such health problems as diabetes and heart, joint and bone diseases. Low-income students in Austin tend to be less fit than students from wealthier families. And Austin s Hispanic students tend to be less fit than students of other races, according to state data. State figures also show that the scores of low-income, African American and Hispanic students lag behind those of students overall on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills.”

At Heart House, we support health and fitness through our partnerships with Meals on Wheels and More, the Capital Area Food Bank, Active Life, Shoes for Austin and many others. While these collaborations support fitness in a variety of ways, there is one underlying theme that connects them all: supporting positive attitudes toward fitness. Whether students are trying new, healthy foods during their daily snack at Heart House or learning a fun game to play outdoors, Heart House works to develop excitement and curiosity around physical health. Heart House students even get regular outdoor free time to play football, jump rope, hula hoop and participate in many more active games with our great volunteers.

Although some populations may be more vulnerable to the negative effects of inactivity, becoming physically fit can help all students become more successful in school and in life and that’s what Heart House is all about!

SOURCES: Bloom, Molly (2009, March 10) Fit Student, Fit Mind? The Austin-American Statesman. www.statesman.com. Cooper Institute, The (2009) Fitnessgram Program Overview. Retrieved March 10, 2009 from www.fitnessgram.net.

Looking at Literacy

2009-03-25T05:26:00.000-07:00

As a program that focuses on academic support and enrichment, Heart House has very meaningful opportunities to enhance the confidence, skills, and progress of so many children. One of the major challenges facing youth today is literacy. Reading and writing is essential to success in school and life. Did you know that as early as age 6, kids have already decided whether or not they like or want to read? Can you imagine the impact this can have on youth throughout the rest of their lives?

While illiteracy is an unseen problem, it profoundly impacts our society. U.S. Department of Education statistics reveal that 60% of prison inmates are illiterate, and 85% of all juvenile offenders have reading problems. Illiteracy leads to low self-esteem, unemployment, poverty, and crime. Literacy empowers people to better their lives and the lives of their families, and our communities.At Heart House, we recognize the significant value of kids developing positive relationships with reading and writing. That is why we strive to improve our children’s reading and writing skills each year through the materials and programs we offer.Specifically, programs like “Reading Buddies” which partner struggling readers with adult volunteers for fun literacy activities, have highly impacted our kids’ success in reading and writing. In fact, “Reading Buddies” is a program we have offered for the past 4 years, one that is incredibly popular among our kids. Everyone wants a Reading Buddy!

During the 2008-2009 school year, we are proud to say that 90% of Heart House children improved their reading level by at least one level or improved their TAKS reading scores. (Read about even more of our success at Heart House.)

We know that our afterschool program has the unique opportunity to motivate and encourage children to believe in themselves and their abilities. At Heart House, “disguised learning” happens all the time! (Those little moments when kids are having fun and smiling without even realizing that they are learning new skills.)Also, our site directors continue to pursue and nourish relationships with reading specialists in schools and the community to provide tools and strategies for our volunteers and staff that will truly encourage and enrich literacy at our centers—whether its phonics, fluency, or comprehension.

We are incredibly excited to start a new theme for the next two months focused on reading and writing. Our theme titled “Read, Write, Rock On!” will emphasize that reading and writing can be a truly positive and enjoyable experience in our daily lives. Kids will learn that reading and writing are essential tools for almost any hobby, skill, or career they wish to have! Current youth and adult literacy rates across the state and country are staggering. But as educators, volunteers, family and community members, we CAN make a difference by making reading and writing fun, relevant, and meaningful for everyone!

Facts about Illiteracy:

In 1998, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tested children nationwide for reading skills.1 The results for reading tests for 4th graders revealed that 38% read below the most basic level, while only 7% could be considered above-average readers.
In 1998 there were ten million children between seven and eleven years of age who performed below the most basic level of reading achievement.
The average reader spent about 6 minutes per day reading connected text. Children with reading problems spent about one minute per day. The amount of time students spent on worksheets did not relate to gains in reading achievement. What appeared to be most relevant was time spent reading connected print.
Children who struggle in vain with reading in the first grade soon decide that they neither like nor want to read.
In 2000, fourth grade students who reported reading more pages daily in school and for homework had higher average scale scores than students who reported reading fewer pages daily.

How you can help>> Volunteer to be a Reading Buddy! For more information, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Shelly-Marie Rios, at (512) 929-8187 or volunteer@hearthouse.org.

Sources for Statistics:

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics. The Executive Summary of the 1998
National Assessment for Educational Progress Reading Report Card for the Nation, NCES 1999-50 (Washington, D.C.: March 1999).

Population Estimates Program, Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau Washington, D.C. 20233
Stahl, Steven A., Ann Duffy-Hester, et al. "Everything You Wanted to Know About Phonics (But Were Afraid to Ask.)" Reading Research Quarterly 33, no. 3 (July-September 1998):338-356.

National Research Council. Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children. Catherine Snow

Susan Burns, Peg Griffin, eds. (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1998).Education Statistics

Quarterly. Vol 3, Issue 2. “The Nation’s Report Card: Fourth Grade Reading 2000”

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: Kay Alderman

2009-03-23T05:27:00.000-07:00

“Ms. Kay, you’re a saint!” This quote comes straight from a Heart House program leader at our north site. Ms. Kay is awesome, indeed. Like clockwork, she comes in at 2:40 almost every Tuesday and Thursday. Before we know it, she sets up the second and third grade classroom and is ready to go. This reliable preparation help alone is enough to put Ms. Kay in the spotlight. It frees up important time for the program leader to prep other materials for the day. However, it is her consistency in coming in that makes her an outstanding volunteer. Ms. Kay has created a foundation for successful mentor relationships. All the kids know her and are more than comfortable around her. She exemplifies what Heart House children benefit from most: consistent relationships.

Ms. Kay has been with Heart House for one year. She is retired from the College of Education at the University of Akron in Ohio and brings with her a treasure chest of education knowledge. Extremely trustworthy, you will find her escorting children around and helping where ever she is needed. She’s excellent at asking the children to keep to their cleaning duties- yes, Ms. Kay stays until the end of the program! Kay is passionate about education and dedicates even her retired life to its mission. She is extremely active in the community and shares her volunteer time with the AISD Partners in Education College Readiness program and one hour a week at Austin High School and Lanier High School. When you speak with her, she always seems to have a story and is quite the adventurer. Last month, Kay was jumping around Costa Rican beaches and rainforests. We are lucky she came back! Ms. Kay, we are so honored you give Heart House your valuable time. We are privilege to have someone one with such a big heart and valuable experience be a part of our volunteer family. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!

Interesting facts about Ms. Kay:

What keeps you coming back to Heart House?
My interest in the education and development of children and seeing this happen.
Free Time?
Reading, book club, walking, hiking
Favorite food?
Shrimp
Favorite color?
Blue
What made you volunteer with HH?
My lifelong commitment to education.
What is you favorite HH moment?
The moments when I see a HH child "getting" the math problem.

Student Spotlight: Adrian and Mitchell

2009-03-04T05:24:00.000-08:00

These are just some of the wonderful children you help support with your gifts of time and funding. THANK YOU for making a difference for these future citizens!

Adrian received the “Most Improved” student award in his group in January for all of the hard work he has put into improving his effort and attitude at Heart House! (He is on the right in the above picture.) His program leader is so proud of the progress he has made and commented that she notices how he tries to keep other students on task now! He is a super helper during clean-up time and loves to take on any leadership role he can at Heart House. We are very excited about all of the great ways he is modeling positive behavior for other Heart House kids since returning from the holiday break. Way to go, Adrian!

Mitchell wows us in all kinds of ways! Whether he is working on activities in the classroom or scoring touchdowns during outside time, Mitchell is a prime example of how perseverance, enthusiasm and heart lead to success. Plus, his quick wit and kind thoughtfulness make him a joy to be around. We can’t wait to see all of the great things that Mitchell is sure to accomplish in the future.

EnviroKids!

2009-03-02T05:56:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Keep Austin Beautiful for providing us with several activity kits to supplement and enhance our “EnviroKids” activities! EnvironKids

Creating their own landfills

"Compost Critters"

Exploring the worm bin

For more great pictures of our children, visit our online photo scrapbook at http://www.hearthouse.org/photo.htm.

Heart House Board Member and Austin realtor gives 25% of her commission to charity - every time

2009-02-26T08:04:00.000-08:00

Austin realtor gives 25% of her commission to charity - every time
Written by http://givingcityaustin.wordpress.com/

So let me get this straight: Give Realty gives 25% of its commission to charity? In my name?

Yeah, I think that’s how it works. I get this realtor, Laurie Loew of Give Realty, to help me find a house. She makes a commission when I buy it - from what I remember commission is 6% of the house’s selling price. So if I buy the house for $200,000, for example, Laurie and the other realtor who worked with the seller split a commission of $12,000 total or $6000 each.
But then… while the other realtor pockets all most of the $6000 (their broker/office usually gets a portion), Laurie pockets $4500 and gives the remaining $1500 to the charity of my choice. I get to make the donation. I write the check. I get the tax deduction.

So what’s the catch?

I met Laurie at Jo’s yesterday to ask her about that. The thing is, there isn’t a catch. She just wants to do this. She just wants to help the community. What makes this so odd, mostly, is that no one else is doing this. She’s done the research and cannot find a realtor anywhere in the country who is giving away so much of their commission - and in their clients’ names. I mean, I think about moving once in a while, but this makes me want to go house hunting immediately. It’s kind of unbelievable.

Lots of people want to help the community, but how many can take 25% of their income and give it away, and not even in their own name?

But still you’re wondering… what’s the catch? Let me break this down for you:

…she’s independently wealthy? Laurie used to be wealthy-ish, but she got a divorce, gave up on the stuff aquisition, and started to feel good about her life. So now she’s trading wealth for health and happiness. Go figure.

….she’s taking a cut somewhere else? Nope. She’s met with accountants, lawyers, entrepreneurs, lots of people to make sure she’s doing this in a straight-up, totally kosher way.

…she’s doing this as a marketing gimmick? She’s not, actually. But think about it… even if she is… so what? She gives 25% of her commission to charity. Nice gimmick.

….she’s a little nuts? I know why you’re thinking this. You’re thinking this because you think realtors in general are greedy or lazy or a little bit of both, so she must be a kinda crazy. But a.) realtors can be cool people and b.) Laurie’s not crazy. She’s extremely sane, in fact. And she’s definitely not greedy or lazy. She worked her butt off for years to become one of the best realtors in Austin before starting Give Realty on her own.

The thing is, there is no catch. She’s just a super-nice lady, and in fact, she has two other super-nice people working with her, Robin LeTourneau and Joe Menefe. I hope you’ll hire them or refer them to someone you know who’s looking to buy or sell their home. Because it might be fun writing a big old check to the nonprofit of your choice.

Learn more about Give Realty here: http://www.giverealtyaustin.com/

(Since August 2008, Give Realty Austin has already given away $7,400 to local nonprofits. And within the next month, Laurie thinks they’ll be at $10,000. What an incredible impact one realtor can have!)

Abe Arevalo, Super Volunteer

2009-02-24T10:33:00.000-08:00

If Abe Arevalo could bottle up and sell his energy and charisma, he would be a millionaire in a month. He has been an inspiring volunteer with Heart House for more than a year. As a behind the scenes volunteer, Abe has consulted us on several software projects that have strengthened the infrastructure of Heart House. He is also a member of HHVAC (Heart House Volunteer Advisory Committee) and has contributed such well thought out proposals for improvement that he was recently voted in as our newest member of the Heart House Board of Directors.

And, Abe doesn’t stop there. You will also find him working directly with the children on homework and activities. When asked what his favorite volunteer memory was, he didn’t talk about helping the staff with our computer projects, instead he mentioned the kids, “It would have to be just coming in and getting an enthusiastic hi from the kids, sometimes it's literal and other times you can tell by their reaction when you walk in the door.”

Born in Brownville, Texas, Abe moved north to attend school at the University of Minnesota where he majored in Electrical Engineering. He currently works at IBM as a Software Engineer for the Linux Technology Center, working on finding solutions to Linux defects found on IBM hardware.

Other interesting facts about Abe Arevalo:

Favorite hobbies?
I love to play basketball, I like to work out in general. I'm a big movie watcher, whether it’s TV, Netflix, Blockbuster, Theater, if it's on a screen, I'll watch it! Outside of that, spending time with family and going out with friends.

Favorite food
Donuts, I never get sick of them.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?
To fly, because I'd save so much on gas and wouldn't have to worry about speeding tickets (which I've gotten here and there).

Student Spotlight: Emily and Gabriel

2009-02-24T05:49:00.000-08:00

Besides ALWAYS being on task, Emily goes out of her way to help her classmates. She has a great sense of humor and is constantly smiling and laughing. She also has quite a curious streak. Emily is full of questions about the world around her, which we love to see at Heart House!

Gabriel has come a long way over this course of this semester. He has a wonderful attitude and carries himself with great decorum. Gabriel continues to impress us more and more everyday as his thoughtful behavior grows.

Student Spotlight: Juana and Adrian

2009-02-21T06:52:00.000-08:00

These are just some of the wonderful children you help support with your gifts of time and funding. THANK YOU for making a difference for these future citizens!

This is Juana’s first year at Heart House, but it feels like she has been a part of our group forever! Her program leader describes her as incredibly helpful, cheerful, and hard-working. She takes great care of her two younger brothers who also attend Heart House and also watches over kids in the program. We look forward to spending even more time with her in the Spring!

Adrian is one of the most respectful students we have come across. He shows great personal discipline and is always one of the first students to offer a helping hand.

Read Along with Heart House

2009-02-19T02:39:00.000-08:00

Math Curse by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

This latest whimsical work from Scieszka and Smith (The True Story of the Three Little Pigs; The Stinky Cheese Man) is bound to stretch out the old thinking cap. The day after her teacher announces, "You know, you can think of almost everything as a math problem," the narrator is afflicted with a "math curse" that affects how she views every facet of her day ("Everything seems to be a problem"). A minimum of the questions she asks herself are entirely logical ("How many quarts are in a gallon?"); some are far-fetched extrapolations (if an M&M is about one centimeter long and the Mississippi River is about 4000 kilometers long, how many M&Ms would it take to measure the length of this river?); and a happily hefty number are sheer nonsense: "I undo 8 buttons plus 2 shoelaces. I subtract 2 shoes. I multiply times 2 socks and divide by 3 pillows to get 5 sheep, remainder 1, which is all I need to count before I fall asleep." Like the text, Smith's wonderfully wacky collage-like art will give readers ample food for thought-even if it's part junk food. Here's a morsel: "Does tunafish + tunafish = fournafish?" Kids will want seconds-count on it.

Jumanji by Chris Van Allsburg

When Judy and Peter find a board game in the park, they take it home, hoping to alleviate their boredom. One live lion, an erupting volcano, and a dozen destructive monkeys later, the children are no longer bored. Their jungle adventure game has come to life! Chris Van Allsburg is a master at walking the line between fantasy and reality. His unusually sculptured drawings (familiar to the many devoted fans of the Caldecott-winning The Polar Express and The Garden of Abdul Gasazi) convey the magical transition of a normal house to an exotic jungle. Readers will tremble along with Judy and Peter, urging them to roll the dice that will plunge them from one perilous predicament into another. Jumanji, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and winner of the 1982 Caldecott Medal, is sure to amaze and thrill even the most jaded young reader.

Do you want to make a contribution to the Heart House library and reading program?
We would be proud for you to be a reading buddy by donating funds or a gift certificate to Heart House so we can expand our reading program. For more information, please contact Megan Heredia, our Development Director, by email or phone, (512) 751-6942.

The ACTIVE Life Challenge

2009-02-16T02:35:00.000-08:00

This month, Heart House is excited to announce a new collaboration with ACTIVE Life! As part of the ACTIVE Life Challenge, students will participate in a free, 8-week, fun, incentive-based health and fitness program for our sites, students, staff and their families. Heart House students will form teams with their families and complete weekly health and fitness challenges, which bring the team members together as they explore new physical activities and nutrition topics.

The ACTIVE Life Rewards Card gives our children VIP access at the ACTIVE Life Tour event which will be coming to our area in Spring 2009. We look forward to a challenging spring full of exciting, healthy activities for our students and families!

In addition to receiving the rewards that come from a healthy, ACTIVE lifestyle, teams who complete the challenge will receive an ACTIVE Life Rewards Card at the completion of the ACTIVE Life Challenge Program. The ACTIVE Life Rewards Card gives our children special discounts on healthy, fun products and services at local businesses, including a loyal Heart House donor, 1379 Athletic Wear.

“Read, Write, Rock On!”

2009-02-13T14:27:00.000-08:00

The goal of this month's theme is to allow the Heart House students to experience all of the fun and unique ways reading and writing is used in self-discovery, hobbies and entertainment, careers, and life in general. Inside and outside of the classroom are both equally challenging places to help kids improve their literacy skills. With this curriculum, we hope to reconnect the Heart House children with the wide world of literacy in all its forms.

Some special project topics and activities include:

Phonics & Phonemic Awareness for Early Elementary
Reader’s Theatre Activities for Lower & Upper Elementary
Poetry Activities
Host Your Own Poetry Slam
Lyrics & Music
Create Your Own Cookbook
Reading & Writing in a Digital World
Pen Pals & Mailboxes
Book Buddy: a special reading and writing project pairing older students with younger ones
Banned Books: a look into why certain writing is challenged and whether books should be banned

And here's what we studied recently:
Recently we have been busy bees investigating fact versus fiction for our “Myth Busters” theme. These activities were focused on scientific investigation in order to create well-informed hypotheses, observations, and conclusions. Some of the topics we explored were common misconceptions about insects and animals, fruits and plants, and life beyond Earth! We wrapped up our unit with our own spin on a popular kids’ game show, which we renamed “Are You Smarter Than a Heart House Kid?: Myth Busters edition”. The kids beat the socks off of the Heart House staff!

Special Guests

Kelly and Alex Freeman brought in worm bin to explore the benefits of worms in our environment.
Katie Kizziar and Kate Monzo conducted a scientific investigation of how to build flying objects other than airplanes.
Bat Conservation International discussed common misconceptions about bats and brought in several types of real live bats for kids to see!