Cherry Blossoms and Dots

by | Apr 17, 2023 | Visual Arts

April 14, 2023: Our art teacher Sharmila Karamchandani summarized her Fun Friday at Casa Chirilagua so perfectly:

“Today at our Heard Fun Friday at Casa Chirilagua, kids from 1st to 3rd grades learned about dot painting and pointillism technique. We made cherry blossom trees and talked about their short-lived life. Then I asked the kids what were some of their experiences that were short-lived and yet they truly felt lot of joy and happiness with that experience.

Many tiny hands went up in the air. I was so surprised they were holding so much in their little hearts. A lot of them talked about their grandparents ( mainly grandmothers) who are no longer alive(almost half the class wanted to talk about them), one kid misses a baby bunny who he saw in his backyard but doesn’t know what happened to it, one of the volunteer shared how she had fishes and because of not knowing what was the right water to put them in, she accidentally put them in the wrong water and they died in two days. Some of them missed their pets who have died.

All of this happened so fast in about 45 minutes, we learned about a technique, some of them needed help with making their tree trunks, we spoke about difficult experiences and then cleaned up as most of them had white and pink paints on their body. They were all covered with paint. It could qualify as an immersive experience. 😂.

Phew!! Each time I leave the workshop my heart is so filled with gratitude to experience and witness these young kids. ❤️ Fridays are fun indeed!!“

Budding Journalists at Space of Her Own

by | Mar 28, 2023 | Creative Writing

March 28, 2023: When Space of Her Own (SOHO) asked us to help the girls create their magazine, how could we resist? SOHO puts out a pretty, sparkly magazine twice a year, written by their 12-year-old girls. I love getting it in the mail! It’s big and full of pictures and full of stories written by the girls about their adventures. Through SOHO these girls learn everything from ice skating to carpentry, and end the school year by, with the help of their mentor, decorating their bedroom. They have a space of their own!

Writing for a magazine takes focus and practice, and that’s where Heard came in. And we brought in our A Team – Phallon Perry, who has published several children’s books and knows exactly how to work with these cute preteens.

Improving with Improv

by | Mar 27, 2023 | Improvisation

March 27, 2023: The Arlington County Detention Facility (ACDF) is another place we haven’t been too in the last few years (yep, COVID again) and we just couldn’t wait to begin with them this year. We kicked off our series with about 15 men in the Community Readiness Unit (CRU) – a competitive program for those about to be released. We have worked with the CRU before and they are always so excited and eager for our classes!

After a 5-week creative writing program, we began improvisation in March. Improv is always a hit in detention centers, and there’s no one better than our Keely Kirk to lead the way. In fact, this month she’s teaching improvisation at Friends of Guest House, the Arlington County Detention Center, and virtually at the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center in Winchester, Virginia.

How’s it going? Fabulously! Here’s a mashup of Keely’s after-class emails at the ACDF:

“All of the gentlemen participated. They had a great time and many of them said they can’t wait to see me next week. I had another thousand percent class – no other way to put it. They love their improv and what I’m bringing them. They’re so attentive and so into it and so engaged and everyone’s participating, even the quiet ones. They leave the class in a much different mood….Each week I review what we’ve been learning and they’re not only telling me what we’ve been learning, they’re also putting it into use so it’s really great!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so we’re posting a few photos from the men’s CRU class in Arlington and the women’s class in Winchester:

Etiquette for All!

by | Mar 27, 2023 | Etiquette

March 27, 2023: Everyone, and we mean everyone, can benefit from learning etiquette. It’s about being polite and respectful, as our etiquette expert Fannie Allen reminds me. As the founder of The Allen Protocol & Leadership Institute, Fannie walks the walk. Because of her I’ve replaced “hi” with “good morning” and “good afternoon” in my emails, and dare not let her see me in jeans.

And protocol is about kindness. And when Fannie showed up to her 4-week class at Friends of Guest House with a swag bag for the women, full of pretty toiletries and goodies, she once again showed us how it’s done. Mic drop.

Whether it’s social etiquette with Friends of Guest House or table manners with the girls of Space of Her Own, whoever takes Fannie’s class sits a little straighter, stands a little taller, and always puts her best foot forward.

Spoken Word: You Are!

by | Mar 27, 2023 | Poetry

February 15, 2023:

If pictures can truly melt hearts there will be puddles all across America with the photo on the right. It’s been awhile, pre-COVID actually, since we have worked with Senior Services of Alexandria They wanted something different, and we knew right away that C. Thomas and spoken word would be a breakout hit! We know the seniors would love it and they did. We didn’t know C. would love the impact he had on them so much. He said it was his all-time favorite Heard class – we never saw that coming, and we know he will be back!