Today marks the first day of the 2024 Summer and Young Scholars Programs at Howard Payne University (HPU). This event, led by Dr. Julie Welker, professor of communication and department chair at HPU, is scheduled to continue throughout the week for children entering grades K-6th.
This year’s theme is called “Nature Explorers”, and it encourages children to learn about all things outdoors. In the ecology class led by Mrs. Hull, kids are taught about the natural science of living organisms. In the reading and writing class led by Dr. Nancy Romig, associate professor in the English department at HPU, children gathered items from outside, like a leaf or a stick, and brought them into the classroom to identify them by their proper nouns. Professor Sarah Langford, instructor of mathematics at HPU, leads the math class where children use pipe cleaners, beads, and crayons to create the Fibonacci Spiral.
The Summer and Young Scholars Programs foster a community of intellectual expansion for kids in the local areas. The offered classes help to stimulate innovative teaching and academic excellence at young ages.