“Being vulnerable and sharing a piece of yourself might be the hardest thing we do as humans. What if we are rejected? What if we aren’t liked? What if we are othered? Being part of a group that is often lumped in with others, the world often forgets just how brilliant and beautiful our people are. In this interview, Mike […]
I used to think that there were thoughts that needed to be filed under a mental cabinet called “the things I will never say or think about ever again”. I used to think that if I were to say some of my thoughts out loud, they would take their own form, create little legs, run away and cause chaos everywhere. […]
My palms were sweaty for the first time in a long time. I hadn’t figured out the bottle warmers yet. My co-teacher, Andrea (she/her), and I talked about the sensory experiences we wanted to bring in. We arranged our room to be cozy and homey. The familiar sight and scents of our rainbow room, a room I had just spent […]
Preface: This blog is a reflection of the conversation educators in River Room at Hilltop had with their 3-5 year olds when news broke that the remains of 215 Indigenous children were found. Acknowledgements: I want to start by honoring and thanking Queen Anne’s Program Supervisor, Theresa (she/her), an Indigenous womxn from the Crow Nation, whom in a conversation last […]
“I’ve always wanted to have a classroom mural created by kids.” I honestly cannot remember what my co-teachers and I were talking about before this came out of my mouth, but from that point on, it was inevitable – we would have a mural. We actually ended up with three, one of which was a mural installed at a bus stop shelter across the street from Hilltop at our […]
It wasn’t only until 1990 that the United States adopted the Native Americans Language Act. That means for the last 400+ years prior to that, not only did we try to eradicate Indigenous identity or culture, but we had policies and systems in place that was meant to erase their language… Language is something we often take for granted. But with […]
“Which part of you do you leave at the door in order to survive?” – Michael Browne (he/him), Community Engagement Manager at Hilltop This question has made an impact in the way I think about my own identity. The first time I heard it out loud was on Episode Two (Deathmetal & Toddlers) on the podcast, Napcast, (Napcast is a […]
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.5.1″] SALSA TAPS HILLTOP AS NEXT CONFERENCE HOST Seattle, WA has been selected to welcome the 3rd annual Learning Stories Conference in June 2021 Seattle, WA – Published on July 21st, 2020 – Hilltop Children’s Center and Educator Institute has been named the host of the 3rd […]
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.5.0″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off”] My mother used to always say “When I was younger, we never had to be on iPads, laptops, and video games.” And if you’re reading this mom, I can’t believe I’m saying this but… you’re right! At Hilltop, we […]
[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.7″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ use_border_color=”off”] The most important skills we teach in the early years aren’t academic. Skills such as self-regulation, sharing, kindness, and social justice are the life-long skills crucial to the overall success of our children, however you define success. […]