ACADEMICS
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Our comprehensive literacy program is filled with creative writing, poetry memorization, dictation exercises, copywork, narration, picture study, and other classical techniques to develop the student’s language ability. Our ELA curriculum builds strong communication skills by deepening students’ understanding of the English language through engaging in thought provoking rhetoric, public speaking, classical reading and hand-writing.
SCIENCE
Hands-on inquiry based science materials in the areas of Earth, Physical, and Life science. engaging students in the scientific process of “doing science.” Students also develop valuable higher order of thinking skills such as problem solving, critical analysis and teamwork. This opens the door to the challenging and engrossing world of scientific discovery. helps students discover scientific knowledge in real life contexts. Purposeful visuals, experiments, problems, and projects communicate the basics of biology, chemistry, and physics. Critical thinking is encouraged.
MATH
Our mathematical curriculum is focused on mastery, which is achieved through intentional sequencing of concepts. Some of the key features of the approach include the CPA (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract) progression, number bonds, bar modeling, and mental math. Instead of pushing through rote memorization, students learn to think mathematically and rely on the depth of knowledge gained in previous lessons.
An attitude that math is important and approachable is also essential. Students perform at a higher level when their potential for understanding and success is assumed. So how is this different from the way math is widely taught in the U.S.? In typical U.S. math programs, students get a worked example, then solve problems that very closely follow that example, repeating all the same steps with different numbers. In Singapore math, students must think through concepts and apply them in new ways from the very start. Since they can’t rely on simple replication, students are pushed to greater engagement and broader thinking. In U.S. math programs, concepts and skills are more compartmentalized within and across grade levels than in Singapore math, where a strong sense of connectivity to past learning is woven throughout. Our math curriculum not only helps students become more successful problem solvers, it helps them gain a sense of confidence and resourcefulness because it insists on conceptual depth. This naturally prepares students to excel in more advanced math.
SOCIAL STUDIES / STORIES OF THE PAST
HROS has created a new cutting edge, social studies curriculum that is working hard to “correct both the invisibility and distortion of the female experience” (Lather, 1991, p. 71) engaging students in exploring the interactions between people groups culture, expectation and language. Engaging students in the past and current government systems encouraging them to higher-order-of-thinking to see what has worked for whom and what has failed whom. HROS focuses on Service Learning which is an educational approach that combines learning objectives with community service in order to provide a pragmatic, progressive learning experience while meeting societal needs, which engages students understanding and taking an active role as a citizens.
https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7271&context=etd
ART
Encourage your student's creativity to shine through our completely customized and interactive art program. In the spirit of the STEAM education approach, our Art Program complements all subjects through the practice of establishing pathways in creativity for solving real-world problems. A cornerstone of our art program is Handwork. Through handwork, children learn the value of creating practical and beautiful objects with their own hands. Additionally, our students learn a plethora of art techniques as part of their daily studies including various painting forms, pottery, yarn and needlework, sculpture, paper-making, beading, collage, mosaic, and more. You will find that art is embedded throughout the entire curriculum as hands-on creation and processing is the essential thread that brings it all together!
OUTDOOR EDUCATION
Our Outdoor Education Program incorporates the concepts of environmentalism and conscious communing with the natural world. We engage our students in thoughtful weekly activities (often derived from Project Wild and Coyotes Guide to Connecting with Nature, as well as concepts from the Leopold Project). HROS teaches the Leave No Trace methods and commits to its practices.
AGRICULTURE
Our Agriculture Program incorporates the world of plants and animals in harmony. We are a "teach" and "feed" program designed to guide students in the art of learning to feed oneself as a means to feed the entire community. We learn all about where our food comes from, how to grow it in a wide variety of spaces, how to harvest and prepare it for consumption, and share the bounty with our neighbors in need. As a means to help students learn more about who they are, each student is encouraged to manage their own garden plot at home using personal choice from design, to planting, to daily maintenance, to harvest, to market, trade, and preservation.
MUSIC
Music permeates the being of every child that enters HROS through singing, learning musical notation, performances and instruction. It is our belief that music not only opens the mind to learning but also opens the heart to understanding subject matter in new and innovative ways.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE
We offer Spanish, Manderin, and French throughout all the grades at HROS. Initially, through story, song, rhyme and movement, students become acquainted with the qualities of different cultures. As students progress through the grades, they develop skills in grammar, reading and translation.
MINDFULNESS
Through daily "Centering" and communing with nature, reflection time, and topics in Conflict Resolution as a means to address typical behavioral challenges, students learn and practice matters of the social/emotional realm developing their character as individuals and as members of their community.