Heart to Heart English 2013

One project Kevin initiated this year was Heart to Heart English, a weekly series of classes for children and adults affected by disabilities. We worked in conjunction with our city's Handicapped & Rehab Association, which is housed in a 20-story building not too far from where we live.

The adult class was held in a theater-style auditorium. That made it a little tricky for one-on-one interaction, but it accommodated the number of students. We began with more than 50 in June and ended in November with a consistent group of about 30 adults.

The children's class was held in a typical classroom down the hall. Between 10 and 20 kids came each week, and one challenge was creating a lesson for the wide range of ages and English speaking abilities.

Molly & Hudson looked forward to English class every week because they had full use of this wonderful indoor play area while we were teaching. A number of fantastic volunteers helped out by rotating between translating for us in each class and playing with our kids.

The video above is a 30-second clip of Molly & Hudson bouncing on the trampoline.

In the children's classes, Kevin and Cathy used many of Molly & Hudson's story books to practice reading and vocabulary and lots of songs to make it fun.

In the adult classes, Kevin and I practiced pronunciation, interacted through dialogues and generated discussion through a variety of topics. My favorite part was introducing some American culture and customs each week and answering the many questions they would have on each topic.

Often at the end of class, Molly & Hudson would watch a video on our iPad while they waited for us to finish talking or answering questions.

We really enjoyed meeting our students and getting to know them during the past six months. We look forward to many more weeks together in the year ahead. The next session begins March 1, 2014.
~Dayna