House Mountain Learning Cooperative

03/03/2026

Over the past four weeks, our Readers’ Theater group has been fully immersed in stories. We’ve read widely, adapted favorite books and stories into plays, and written original pieces of our own. Along the way, we’ve played acting and improv games, explored what makes a story compelling, and practiced bringing words off the page and onto the stage.

After thoughtful discussion, we selected four plays to perform for our families and friends. Learners who wanted to act participated in auditions, roles have been assigned, and this week we move into rehearsals, along with set and costume design.

There is so much learning woven through this work. Reading closely. Writing clearly. Collaborating. Speaking with confidence. Taking creative risks.

And just as important, this is HMLC at its best. A place where learners can follow their energy, engage in meaningful work, play freely, and rest in a community that truly honors who they are and the gifts they bring.

01/23/2026

A huge thank you to everyone who came out for our Celebration of Learning and visited the HMLC Amusement Park yesterday. Over the past nine weeks, the learners put so much thought and effort into designing and building their rides while also exploring physics concepts like Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. It was wonderful to see their ideas come to life and to watch families enjoy them together.

Creating the rides took careful planning, plenty of testing, and working through moments of frustration to make each idea work. We were so proud of the teamwork, persistence, and creativity the learners showed throughout this unit. Thank you for celebrating with us and for supporting their hard work!

01/12/2026

So good to be back together this week! We spent lots of time outdoors - fort building, catapult experimentation, and even dancing to screaming goat music - and made great progress finishing up our amusement rides in preparation for the upcoming Celebration of Learning.

12/06/2025

This week at Middle Schoolers Day, learners worked with camera angles and sound to see how the same story can feel completely different depending on how it’s filmed. On Thursday at HMLC, they tested centripetal force with bags, strings, and spinning objects and kept building on their amusement park ride projects. A really solid week of experimenting, problem-solving, and working alongside one another.

11/21/2025

Here’s a peek at what we explored this week at Middle Schoolers Day and HMLC!

Our MSD group continued their work with visual and personal perspectives — sharing their photos and videos, talking about forced perspective, practicing first- and third-person filming, and heading downtown for another round of community interviews. On Thursday, learners dug into Newton’s Third Law, demonstrated their own examples, conducted inertia experiments, and even started building a small trebuchet. We rounded out the day with stories, projects, and time outdoors together.

11/14/2025

This week at our Wednesday program we explored perspective in all kinds of ways—visually, emotionally, and scientifically. Our StoryLab crew dug into “Shifting Angles, Shifting Feelings,” talked about the Northern Lights, and wandered the Woods Creek Trail finding unusual angles and new ways of seeing familiar places. We also kicked off reading Tom Sawyer with thoughtful conversations about history, language, and culture.

On Thursday we jumped into Newton’s Second Law with hands-on experiments and lots of curious questions. We rounded out the day with birthday cupcakes, shared music, a bit of silliness, and some beautiful fall weather that inspired even more exploration.

A full and joyful week of learning together!

11/07/2025

New 9-week sessions are underway!

Middle Schoolers launched StoryLab, exploring perspectives through photography, storytelling, and interviews at the Lexington (Virginia) Farmer's Market.

At HMLC, we kicked off our Amusement Park unit—dreaming up rides, learning about Newton’s first law of motion, and beginning to build our own creations. The sunshine made it a perfect week for curiosity and creativity!

10/30/2025

10/30/2025

Today we celebrated the end of our first quarter with a Celebration of Learning. We loved showing off everything the learners have been working on, and the amazing stories, characters, and community they’ve built over the last 9 weeks!

10/24/2025

This week at HMLC, learners went on an architectural exploration of downtown Lexington, spotting turrets, dormers, and historic homes while learning about the Train Station and “Godwin’s Row,” and even stopped by Just Games Lexington to peek at the latest board games. In book club, we’re finishing The Giver, and as the story gets tough, learners dug into some thoughtful, challenging conversations about memory, society, and morality.

Thursday was all about hands-on creativity as learners collaborated to build their community and characters for next week’s Challenge. Their teamwork and problem-solving during the dress rehearsal showed just how ready they are to dive in!

10/03/2025

This week at HMLC we explored big ideas and had fun along the way! Book Club dug into The Giver and the choice to live without color or weather, while Film Club practiced interview techniques and forced perspective tricks downtown. Our community builders debated different forms of government and chose a modified monarchy—with checks and balances, of course! We rounded out the day with sunshine, crafting projects, and plans for a learner-led community newspaper.