Experiential Lessons
Life Skills
This course is teacher and volunteer directed. The main focuses throughout the year are:
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Culinary Arts- learning basic cooking techniques and skills, but also food preparation, serving, etiquette, baking, and food nutrition.
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Textiles and sewing- hand stitching, machine sewing, hemming, and patch repair, crochet, embroidery, tie dye, bleach dying, and screen printing
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Woodworking- building with both electric and hand tools, also wood burning, carving and whittling.
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Driver's Ed and Car Mechanics- learning the state of Montana driving laws while learning basic mechanics and engines. How to change a tire, your oil, what parts of the engine do what and how to repair.
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Financial Literacy- both an online course and hands- on lessons. The students receive MEP money, our own version of an economy. They learn to pay rent, bills savings, interest, taxes, how to write checks, and credit. ​
Our goal is to equip students with the working knowledge of what they will need to succeed as adults. As well as, reviving some of the lost skills from generations past.​
​Career Development
This is a targeted approach to figuring out which career path each student is or will be interested in.
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The students are involved in volunteer opportunities at businesses around Livingston, allowing them to obtain job skills and explore different career paths. While volunteering students are doing their civic duty while finding ownership in this community.
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Throughout the year, students have the opportunity to intern in various trades, and businesses, to further explore their chosen career goals.
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The students are taught how to fill out job applications, and to create resumes. They are coached and trained on job interview skills, as well as hard and soft skills employers are looking for. The students are encouraged to find employment throughout the school year, to put all these skills into action, and to save their money for the future.
Self Reliance and Sustainability
This is a year-long course that is teacher and volunteer directed. The main focuses are:
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DIY Beauty Products- a deep dive into what chemicals are in everyday products, choosing healthier ingredients, and how to make our own. Some products they will make are; soap, shampoo, deodorant, facial cleansers, toothpaste, and chapstick.
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Homemade Household Cleaners- the students are responsible for the cleanliness of the school. They are given weekly chores, and paid in MEP money. As part of this lesson, they learn to make all the disinfectants, dish soap, hand soap, window cleaner, and laundry detergent out of natural ingredients.
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Zero Waste- the students will learn recycling, up-cycling, and re-purposing old or broken. They will learn about single use plastics and paper products while sewing un-paper towels, and dish scrubbies. In the spring the students will be using hydroponic gardening to grow food to be cooked and prepared in our culinary arts class. Our goal is to use less, recycle and reuse more, and teach them to do it themselves.
Art 101
The arts teach students to approach problems as exciting opportunities to challenge their skills and creativity. Art improves academic performance, confidence, decision making skills, perseverence and concentration. It also helps reduce stress, anxiety and increases positive emotions.
Daily art lessons are offered, with an emphasis on the process not the product. We explore every art medium from sketching to clay sculpture. Lessons throughout the year range from small paintings to group projects.
This is a student led course, all art materials are provided and available for the students to explore throughout their day.
Photography
Analog Photography- the students start by learning all the camera parts, mechanics, and settings. We move through the history of photography, and the elements of composition. Once the students have working knowledge, they begin to shoot their way through the different types of photography. After this, the students learn to develop, and enlarge the film in our darkroom. The students are responsible for the school-issued film camera and film. They are required to present a portfolio of their work at the end of the year.
Digital Photography- The students are issued a DSLR camera, and have access to Adobe creative cloud. They take online lessons in Adobe Photoshop and learn to manipulate their digital photos. The students also do online lessons in graphic design and web development during this portion of the course.
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​Thanks to some outstanding community support all of our programs are FREE OF CHARGE to parents!
As a reminder any and all contributions go directly to enriching our program and helping us continue our unique and unparalleled experience for Livingston students.
This program would typically cost $100 per day per student.
I. Students should arrive at our Classrooms located at 105 South 2nd Street in Livingston ready to participate and learn!
II. Students should bring their current school work, our curriculum and the necessary items to successfully complete their assignments daily.
What's Expected
Thanks to Hewlett-Packard CO. and our Montana Education grant, we will have individual HP Chromebooks with headsets for each student!
We will provide all necessary materials for Experiential Learning Courses.
What's Included
Our Mission
The Montana Education Program's mission is to be an alternative option, for all students grades 6th-12th, needing a more individualized learning experience. We strive to give the kids that struggle in a traditional school setting, a place to not only learn, but support them in whichever way is best for them. We have created a unique environment and foster a place where they are accepted.
Mental Health is an important core value to our program. We offer resources for therapists in the area, as well as tele-health opportunities during school hours. At MEP we start each day with a social emotional lesson, giving tools and experience to help these students deal with the struggles of being a teenager in today’s society. The students are given a voice, people who will listen, and a safe place to call their own.
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The Montana Education Program is a vital resource for the community of Livingston. We are here to help the kids that learn differently, and the students who need a smaller environment to succeed. Being a teenager is hard, but school doesn’t have to be miserable, and our students enjoy learning. We are helping students to succeed in life, which benefits them now and in the future.
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We are excited to be the first FREE day school in Livingston that provides wrap- around support to students and parents.
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Students are welcome to bring their own curriculum from home school, utilize or work through our student supported curriculum.
This program will run Monday - Thursday our regular schedule is 10-3, speak with the teachers and we can adapt the times to better meet your student and family needs.
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Due to restricted class size we highly recommend you
APPLY NOW!
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