The Hearts and Minds Learning Community is pleased to offer customized learning journeys — we meet learners where they’re at and help nurture and grow their lifelong love of learning.

HMLC’s mixed-age early elementary program offers plenty of hands-on, experiential opportunities.

As we are an outdoors-first learning environment, our “classroom” is often outside! Research shows that kids of ALL ages benefit from plentiful time outdoors to promote creativity and collaboration, provide authentic opportunities to interact with peers and as a benefit to physical and mental health.

In addition to outdoor classroom learning experiences, HMLC offers kids ages 6-9 lots of opportunity for free play and play-based learning as well.

Full five-day mixed-age early elementary program

The Hearts and Minds Learning Community offers a full, five-days/week early elementary school program for students ages 6-9. HMLC is a screen-free program.

HMLCs early elementary program uses the Blossom and Root and Wild Math curricula as a foundation, but learning is tailored to each individual child's needs and learning style. The HMLC early elementary program also meets the state of Minnesota academic standards for children ages 6-9 including:

* Artistic foundations, process/creation, performance, response

* Foundations of reading, reading comprehension, writing, speaking, listening, media literacy and language

* Numbers and operations, data analysis and spatial reasoning, patterns, comparison and other mathematical concepts as well as age/traditional grade-level math

* Nature, engineering, physical science, Earth and space, life sciences

* Citizenship, government, geography, history

As of fall 2024, HMLC is officially classified as a full private school in the state of Minnesota and the HMLC early elementary program is led by a licensed elementary educator.

Due to the mixed-age nature of the program, learners at HMLC are often "learning up" -- exposed to and practicing, in an age-appropriate manner, upper level academic learning, experiments and concepts. It is our experience that HMLC students are learning at "grade level" with their peers in public school. In most cases, HMLC students are learning above traditional public/private school "grade levels."

Part-time, hybrid mixed-age early elementary program for kids enrolled in online school or homeschool

An outdoors-first, mixed-age, educator-guided learning experience for students registered in an online program or as homeschoolers with their home districts. In-person learning at HMLC takes place two days/week in a screen-free environment.

ONLINE LEARNERS: HMLC works with online school programs on reciprocal agreements to allow in-person, outdoors-first learning time as part of their programs for elementary learners.

Online programs agreeto allow their learners to go screen-free two days/week for HMLC’s outdoors-first, in-person learning time. Students will be considered “virtually present” so long as they complete their asynchronous work.

While at HMLC, learners will not be participating in their online classes, but will instead be working with their mixed-age peer group on activities complementary to their online school topics. HMLC’s educator also acts as a resource for help with assignments, concepts, processes and challenges related to attending online school.

*If your child attends an online school and you would like to to inquire about this program and how it can work for you, please contact us.

The HMLC program works across online programs as long as asynchronous learning is approved.

HOMESCHOOLERS: Learners registered as homeschoolers in their home districts can participate in the HMLC outdoors-first early elementary programs as well!

There is no online learning involved with the HMLC outdoors-first program and we utilize an outdoors-first elementary curriculum (Blossom and Root and Wild Math) to support activities and learning appropriate to each child’s age, skillset, interests and learning goals.

Our homeschool learners will work with their mixed-age peer group on activities complementary to their homeschool topics. HMLC’s educator also acts as a resource for help with assignments, concepts, processes and challenges related to homeschooling.

Our “classrooms” are outdoors first and HMLC’s early elementary program focuses on:

• Communication skills, including writing, reading, arts and literature.

• Math

• Science and the natural world

• History

• Social sciences and governance

• Health

MIXED-AGE LEARNING
Our mixed-age approach to early elementary learning eliminates traditional “grade levels” and allows our early learners (mixed-age kindergarten program participants beginning at age 6) to move up incrementally, as they are ready and also allows our learners ages 7-9 to move at their own pace and learn from each other as well as in collaboration with the educator.

Learners remain curious and challenged as they are allowed to advance through the topics that interest them and they excel at. For topics that are a bit more challenging, the mixed-age group provides the freedom to learn at their own pace and for the educator to provide additional support to online and homeschool programs, where applicable.

Research has shown that mixed-age learning beyond early childhood is just as effective as single-grade schooling in terms of academic achievement and even better in terms of social learning.

Contact us today with questions, for additional information, to schedule a tour or to register.

Learners in the Hearts and Minds Learning Community are guided by their interests. But some of what we read about, talk about, work through includes:

• Creating and making — arts, dancing, music, visual art, theater.

• Storytelling - reading, writing and illustrating.

• Math - practical math skills (time, finances), weights, volumes, fractions.

• Science and nature - experimentation, geography, Earth and the universe, biological processes.

• Governance and history - communities, current events, historical context and connections.

  For an in-depth look at what the HMLC early elementary curriculum covers, click here.

Safe(r) socialization is a particular area of focus for the Hearts and Minds Learning Community. Other life skills we play through and work to incorporate include:

• How to be a good citizen

• The value of helping others

• Healthy habits

• Fine motor skills

• Cooking/cleaning/finance

• Organization and time management

The Hearts and Minds Learning Community is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. We incorporate a variety of diverse materials and concepts, and we strive for diversity in families and visitors.

The Hearts and Minds Learning Community is also committed to age-appropriate body learning and safety, including consent education. HMLC is a gender inclusive school.