Elementary Electives
Here are just some of the activities happening at The Pittsburgh Project right now!
We believe that children’s educations suffer when their learning and lives get broken up and specialized. Students in our after-school program are exposed to a variety of activities and encouraged to be the interdisciplinary thinkers that the 21st century needs.
Visual Arts
Under the instruction of Pedro Trevino, our students are learning about a variety of artistic mediums. Our students in kindergarten- second grade visit the art studio once each week and the students in third-fifth grade have access to the studio several times each week. We focus on teaching students to think creatively, to express who they are through art and to improve their technical skills.
Robotics
Our LEGO robotics club is open to students starting in 3rd grade and meets once per week all school year long. Students learn about coding and engineering through hands-on experience. Robotics has also proven to be a great platform for our students to enhance their abilities to problem solve, think creatively, collaborate with people who think differently and persevere through set-backs.
Yoga & mindfulness
We are serious about educating the whole child and studies show that regular mindfulness practice leads to better mental health. Our students take part in short mindfulness practices daily and take a 30-minute yoga class once each week.
Artificial Intelligence
This year we have entered into a partnership with Ready AI, to provide our students with a curriculum that teaches them what artificial intelligence is, how it works and how it will impact their lives through hands-on activities. Every student in Kindergarten- Second Grade takes part in the class once a week. Students in third-fifth grade can elect to take AI as an elective and learn more about how it really works and spend time working on programs that will cause their robots to interact with the environment in an intelligent way.
Writing
Our students in Kindergarten-Second grade visit our “Young Authors” class once each week where they learn about storytelling, characters and illustrations in a hands-on way. Starting in third grade our students have the opportunity to join the “Words Club” where Langston Brentley teaches them about song writing, poetry and story writing. Members of this club take a deeper dive into what makes writing good. They focus on improving their skills as a writer and also focus heavily on expressing who they are through writing. The students also learn about how to perform their writing and have the opportunity to record what they have written so that it can be shared audibly.