Trial 4: Heart Words - A collaboration with Heart House

The Wesley Prep 4th graders are excited to partner with Heart House this year for our 4th annual Common Ground Experiment.  Heart House is an amazing organization providing after school and summer programs designed to meet the needs of refugee children, bringing them ‘from chaos to calm’ through social-emotional learning experiences.  Did you know Dallas has welcomed more refugees than any other city in the United States?  The Vickery Meadows neighborhood near Park and Greenville Roads houses families from all over the world, and this is where Heart House is located.  Students served by Heart House speak over 18 different languages!  They face many challenges and adjustments as they acclimate to life in Dallas.  We are honored to walk alongside some of these students this year in the hope of making them feel at home and learning about cultures from all over the globe.

We are working with kindergarten, first, and second grade children at Heart House on Fridays after school.  We've spent several weeks getting to know our new friends,  and now  we are writing an illustrating an alphabet book filled with inspiring words in several different languages.  Each week these words become more a part of us as we discuss them, define  them, write about them and illustrate them.  Our hope is that our collection of words will guide and empower you, too!  

Our book will be out this spring.  We can't wait to share it with you!  We will host a book launch and art auction event in April In the meantime, you can support Heart House by pre-ordering a copy of our collaborative book, Heart Words.  We would also love for you to follow us on Instagram and Facebook!  We have so many things to learn from each other, and The Wesley Prep 4th graders are setting a great example of how to connect with someone new.  Let's continue to cultivate common ground!