Husky House has been serving families of the Happy Valley Community (and beyond) for over 30 years. Apart from the physical and emotional safety of the children in our care, our primary goals are inclusion and social-emotional learning.

Social-emotional Learning (SEL) is important for developing into healthy community members and supports academic performance. In fact, there is consistent evidence that exposure to SEL programs boosts academic performance by 11 percentile points.

Listed below are additional reading and resources to explain and expand on our beliefs and approach. Resources have been categorized to align with our Mission Statement for ease:

husky House

FOCUS ON SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
 INCLUSION & CULTURAL AWARENESS
Children naturally notice similarities and differences. We are conscious of where we as adults put our attention. How we address holidays in our program is yet another way we are able to model for children. It is an opportunity for remembering that one of our goals is to foster inclusiveness as we help children in their social & emotional development. Children interpret our values and what we deem important from what we choose to offer, share and highlight.
 
When building our program, we consider how we include holidays and fun days in our programs in a way that is inclusive and respectful to all children and families. For this reason, we do not emphasize or celebrate religious or “mainstream” holidays. Instead, we allow children's interests and personal experiences to guide our curriculum. Our effort is to support inclusivity while encouraging children’s natural ability to look at their world through a positive and curious lens.

Louise Derman-Sparks is a leader in anti-bias education. We highly recommend her books and this brief blog on Anti-bias Education & Holidays she wrote for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Asking Questions that Support Children's Understanding about Diversity from NAEYC
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Inclusion & Holidays
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OPTIMISTIC SCHOOL CULTURE & INTENTIONAL ENVIRONMENTS
We believe that just about any activity children do inside can be done outside. Research has shown that kids who play outside are smarter, happier, more attentive, and less anxious than kids who spend more time indoors. If you'd like more information please read The 5 Benefits of Outdoor Play from Heart-Mind Online.
The Environment: Your Teaching Partner from Montana Inclusion Services and Coordination Project
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LIFELONG LEARNERS & CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

individual Growth of the whole child

DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICES (DAP)
Summary of the Seven Developmental Needs
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POSITIVE BEHAVIOR GUIDANCE
This article written by Carla Shalaby for Educational Leadership Magazine, Classroom Management as a Curriculum of Care explains our approach to behavior guidance.
Evidence on the Effectiveness of the Guidance Approach compiled by Louise Porter, PhD
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Seeing the Child Behind the Behavior
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10 Ways to Increase Positive Behavior
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 Connection and Collaboration

COMMUNITY BUILDING
We work intentionally to build a sense of community, fostering peer relationships across grades. As a relationship-centered program, our staff to get to know children individually, foster cooperative lesson planning and collaborative decision making.

We facilitate morning meetings where we practice mindfulness and set group agreements. We offer yoga to slow down and collaborative art or games throughout the day. We find that children forming connections with other children not of their expected friend-group (ages, grades, gender, interests) gives the whole group a strong feeling of support and collegiality. In that environment, when a child is struggling, they have not only trusted adults but a variety of peers they can reach out to for advice, comfort, and care.

A significant foundation of group cohesion is the forming of group agreements. Unlike rules which are often top-down,  group agreements are guidelines and principles that originate from members of the group and are adopted by consensus (not vote). For more about Group Agreement please read this brief post about Setting Group Agreements With Youth from Heart-Mind Online.
COMMUNICATION
In building our community of care, we begin with listening to the children and employ positive phrasing (avoiding "don't," "no," stop," etc.).
Teach Me What to Do Instead
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A Truth About Listening
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COLLEGIALITY
We strive to foster a sense of cooperation amongst staff, peer groups and between children and adults. While there may sometimes be game-play and competition, we try to stress the importance of improvement rather than "winning." This article from Alfie Kohn, "Is Competition Ever Appropriate in a Cooperative Classroom?" provides several points as to how competition can be hindering children and many of the perceived values of competition can be better met.

NURTURE THE DEVELOPMENT

PLAY BASED LEARNING
Why Play Matters by Rae Pica
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Sitting Does Not Equal Learning by Rae Pica
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND VALIDATION OF FEELINGS
CHOICE BASED AND OPEN-ENDED ACTIVITIES
This article, What We Can Learn from Froebel’s Kindergartens by Francis Wardle, clearly outlines what we at Husky House believe and wish for all children. Developmentally, the stage of "early childhood" goes up to age 8. In Finland, a global leader in education, children don't enter formal instruction until age 7. We strive to provide the kind of learning experience that children developmentally need.
Why We Don't Use Worksheets by Rae Pica
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ENCOURAGEMENT VS. PRAISE
Five Reasons to Stop Saying "Good Job" by Alfie Kohn

RESPONSIBLE

SELF-MANAGEMENT & EMOTIONAL REGULATION
SELF-MANAGEMENT & COGNITIVE REGULATION
RESPONSIBLE DECISION MAKING

INDEPENDENT

SELF-AWARENESS & IDENTITY
By providing freedom and choice, we encourage children to learn what works best for themselves. That could mean having greater flexibility to learn at their own pace, take breaks when they need to, move their bodies more, or socialize with trusted adults and peers. Children learn to care for their own wellbeing and for the wellbeing of others and to manage their time and attention.
AGENCY
We believe that children are competent and resourceful. Even the youngest children know what and how they want to learn. Our goal is to provide environments where children can explore and share their curiosities.
sense of accomplishment
RESILIENCE

CREATIVE

SELF-EXPRESSION
CREATIVE THINKING
 Please read The Creativity Edge from Heart-Mind Online and The Gift of Boredom from John Spencer for Educational Leadership.

THOUGHTFUL

SOCIAL AWARENESS
RELATIONSHIP SKILLS & SOCIAL SKILLS

Citizens

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Throughout the year we incorporate service learning into our program. Our projects are born out of student interest and engagement. Children crave the opportunity to engage with their world. Past projects have focused close to home like local nursing homes, native pollinators, pet rescues, and homeless shelters. Sometimes children's concern is for other parts of the world: rainforests, children in poverty in other continents, plastics in the ocean. Children's natural curiosity provides opportunities to foster real, deep, and meaningful learning.

 SERVICE LEARNING & ALTRUISM
Children's brains are hard-wired to want to help. This intrinsic desire is a precursor to larger ideas like empathy and philanthropy. We help foster not only social-responsibility but many aspects of learning through service-learning projects. Children are encouraged to engage with their community and world with intention and purpose. We are attentive to the opportunities for learning that come from children's natural curiosity.
An oldie (1996) but well worth it. Please watch this video of Alfie Kohn on Oprah. If you haven't checked out his books, articles, or blog, they are all insightful, helpful, and based on research in behavior science.