Marching Forward to Inspire Exploration - Hālau Lamakū at ʻImiloa
From July-December 2020, the ʻImiloa Astronomy Center (ʻImiloa) partnered with the ʻAha Pūnana Leo (ʻAPL), a non-profit organization and licensed preschool childcare provider, , to develop and deliver Hālau Lamakū - an education enrichment childcare program for keiki in grades K-5 to respond to the urgent childcare and distance learning needs for families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing disruption in K-12 school schedules.
“It became evident early on in 2020 that child care is in great demand to serve a critical need in our community,” says ʻImiloa Executive Director, Kaʻiu Kimura. “Even before the hundreds of student learning hours lost to the COVID-19 closures in 2020, our local schools were already challenged by the needs of an economically disadvantaged population. Coupled with the fact that working families now need to manage a hybrid, reduced instructional hour schedule for their children, we knew that there would be a critical need for safe, supplemental learning experiences that can help keep our keiki academically and socially engaged as families continue to work to support their households - that’s why we decided to offer Hālau Lamakū.”
The name Hālau Lamakū honors the Lama tree, a native dry forest tree that grows in Hawai‘i and nowhere else in the world. Lama signifies “light” or “enlightenment,” evoking learning, knowledge, and understanding. ‘Imiloa’s education team designed the Hālau Lamakū curriculum to provide keiki with social and academic stimulation, along with access to innovative culture- and place-based learning experiences in a safe and welcoming environment. In addition to accommodating each participant’s mandatory synchronous and asynchronous school distance learning needs, Hālau Lamakū inspires participants to engage in hands-on activities, crafts, games, outdoor exploration, and observations rooted in Hawaiian culture, science, and art. In Hālau Lamakū, keiki are called onto “ʻimi loa”--to explore our world from deep ocean to deep space and everything in between--while safely situated here in our facility and secure outdoor garden.
For the duration of the program, ‘Imiloa has remained closed to the general public in order to keep students and staff in undisturbed, safe, sanitized spaces located throughout the facility and the outdoor native landscape garden. ‘Imiloa staff implemented strict health and safety protocols throughout the Hālau Lamakū program based on federal, state, county, and museum industry recommendations that provided a safe and healthy COVID-free learning environment for keiki and staff. A key protocol was organizing the children into constant 8-student “pods” with one assigned teacher and one assigned assistant for the whole day. Additionally, all were required to wash hands frequently and maintain 6-foot distances. Parents and other visitors were not allowed into the facilities in order to minimize possible exposure to COVID-19, and we’re pleased to report that since the first day of Hālau Lamakū, there have been no confirmed COVID-19 cases among the staff, students and participating families.
“When ʻImiloa announced that they would be opening up a Fall Program to help children with their school work and also, a safe and secure place for them to socialize, study and learn about their culture, it was a no brainer for us, no matter the cost; I immediately registered her,” says Hālau Lamakū parent, Ariane Moniz. “My daughter is in first grade and thankfully, she had kindergarten to somewhat prepare her, but she still struggled at first. She didn't understand what was going on and why she couldn't go to school. 'Imiloa provided her a "school-like" structure, allowing her to study and complete all of her work, and also provided her with learning space, materials and--the best part--other children to interact with.”
Based on feedback from families, there is a particularly compelling need among our youngest learners (students in the kindergarten grade level), many of whom had not been in a classroom setting before and were struggling to get distance learning support to ensure successful completion of classwork. So when Hālau Lamakū opened a pod for kindergarten learners in fall session 2, it immediately filled to capacity. In this same session, Hālau Lamakū was able to build capacity to facilitate an entire Hawaiian language pod for Hawaiian-speaking children attending Hawaiian immersion schools! “Our two daughters, ages 7 & 5, currently attend Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu and were able to continue their online schooling with the support and encouragement of ʻImiloa’s staff,” says Hālau Lamakū parent, Ipolei Lindsey-Asing. “They both come home daily with different lessons and crafts that they completed at ʻImiloa. They were proud to show off their artwork and stories that they learned that day - and we are happy to see them inspired and excited.”
Curriculum topics offered in Hālau Lamakū were organized into eight units: Space (the solar system, constellations, moons and black holes); Hawaiian Navigation; Weather (clouds, rainbows); Geology (rocks, volcanoes); Ecosystems (Kahawai fresh water, dry land forests), the Ocean (coral reefs); Native flora and fauna; and Germs. A total of 81 curriculum units were created for all 3 sessions. “My daughter learned more than she ever has in school,” says Laurie Yoneda, a Hālau Lamakū parent. “She learned art, writing, Hawaiian culture, social and emotional skills. We were happy to see that all the work was project based and hands-on. ʻImiloa has helped pave the way for my child to be prepared for the real-world, socially and emotionally.” Career exploration was built into the program through opportunities to dialogue in real-time with working science professionals via Zoom video technology. Once a week, field experts Zoom-ed into the classrooms to share their research and community impacts across the island. They also fielded questions from each of the pods.
In addition to these curriculum units, students also participated in 50 “kilo” unitswhere they recorded their observations in their Kilo (observation) Journals outside in ʻImiloa’s native plant gardens. Through these kilo activities, students observed cloud formations, moon and sun locations, trees, plants, insects, birds, and wind patterns. Each pod also had their own garden box where they planted ʻuala and kalo. Students took home cuttings of these plants for propagation at home. “This semester was the best academic semester for my daughter as reflected in her grades,” says another Hālau Lamakū parent. “I attribute that directly to Hālau Lamakū as it taught her time management and exposed her to innovative activities that sparked her interest in math and science.”
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the program was the need to build the daily schedule around each child’s unique distance learning schedule as required by their schools and grade teachers. ‘Imiloa provided a quiet space, technical support, and a staff member serving as a tutor to assist students in logging into their classes and online units according to their school schedules.
Over the three sessions offered from July through December 2020, Hālau Lamakū was able to support families that reside in Hilo, Papaikou, Volcano, Keaʻau, Hakalau, and Pāhoa. The Hālau Lamakū students who attended these sessions were able to virtually attend their respective schools, including: Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu, Kamehameha Schools - Keaʻau Campus, Hilo Union Elementary, Waiākea Elementary, E.B. DeSilva, Haʻaheo Elementary, Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo, Kalanianaʻole Elementary, Kaumana Elementary, Keaukaha Elementary, Kua o Ka Lā, Volcano School of Arts and Sciences, Waiākeawaena Elementary, and several homeschool families. In 2020, Hālau Lamakū operated for a total of 16 weeks with a total enrollment of 184 student places, facilitating 32,168 learner hours. “Through ‘Imiloa’s partnership with ʻAPL, the synergistic components of our two entities have had far reaching results,” says Kimura. “This program partnership met urgent childcare needs for families while also providing their children with access to innovative culture- and place-based learning experiences in a safe and welcoming environment. In view of the ongoing disruption in K-12 school schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have decided to extend this program into the Spring ‘21 semester.”
Moving into 2021, ʻImiloa is excited to continue Hālau Lamakū for the first Spring session from January 19 - March 12, thanks to generous grants from the Ama OluKai Foundation and the Japan Foundation for Promotion of Astronomy through Subaru Telescope, along with support from the ‘Ilima Pi‘ianai‘a Endowment. It is a privilege to be able to offer this one-of-a-kind programming and we expect to reach capacity in the Spring session, even as we continue to hope that our local students will be able to return to their formal education later in 2021.
For more information about the Hālau Lamakū program, please email imiloa.info@hawaii.edu