Realia Institute

08/08/2026

🔬💨 SCIENCE IN ACTION at Realia Institute! 👨🏿‍🔬👩🏾‍🔬🧑🏽‍🔬

What happens when science moves beyond the page and students get to see it, question it, experience it, and explore it for themselves?

Our Liquid Air Experiment brought plenty of curiosity—and more than a few WOW moments! 💨🧪✨

Students gathered closely to observe dramatic changes, make predictions, ask questions, and watch scientific concepts unfold right before their eyes.

And sometimes the most important part of a science lesson isn’t immediately knowing the answer.

It’s asking:

💭 What do you think will happen?
🔍 What do you notice?
🧠 Why do you think that happened?
✨ What should we try next?

At Realia Institute, we want our students to know that science isn’t simply something you read about.

Science is something you DO. ❤️🔬

EXPERIMENT. 🧪 OBSERVE. 🔍 QUESTION. 💡 DISCOVER. ✨

08/08/2026

🌽🧈Learning Together. Cooking Together. Making Butter Together. 💛

At Realia Institute, learning comes to life through hands-on experiences!

Our students rolled up their sleeves to prepare fresh corn—peeling back the husks, removing the silk, exploring the kernels, and working alongside one another. Then came the really fun part: making homemade butter! 🧈

With plenty of shaking, teamwork, curiosity, and determination, our students watched a simple ingredient transform right before their eyes.

Experiences like these bring together practical life skills, science, sensory exploration, fine-motor development, collaboration, and the simple joy of making something together.

🌽 Fresh corn
🧈 Homemade butter
👩🏾‍🍳👨🏿‍🍳 Our student chefs
💛 One memorable learning experience

This is learning at Realia Institute.

08/05/2026

☀️🌊 A Great Day of Sensory Play at the Beach! 🏖️💜

Nothing beats a day of hands-on learning in nature! Our children explored the sand and water, collected seashells, built sand creations, and discovered new textures through meaningful sensory play. Every scoop, splash, and smile helped strengthen creativity, motor skills, problem-solving, and social connections.

At Realia Institute, we believe some of the best learning happens through play and exploration. Thank you to everyone who helped make this beach day full of fun, laughter, and unforgettable memories!

07/28/2026

07/27/2026

Summer Science Fun! 🤩

06/21/2026

Happy Father’s Day ❤️

06/20/2026

We regularly hear clergy indicate one area they'd like to grow in is having hard conversations. Here's a resource to develop that skill.

Managing difficult conversations with confidence

Weave founder David Brooks encourages weavers to read and practice the strategies in "Crucial Conversations" as a way to approach all conversations, especially difficult ones, with openness, curiosity, and respect. These practices help build trust and deepen relationships across differences. Weaver Arrealia Gavins, a certified "Crucial Conversations" trainer, will guide us through practical tools you can use right away to strengthen these skills. It happens March 19, 2026 at 12pm ET

Register here:

https://aspeninstitute.zoom.us/meeting/register/l4zktOtEQBiEgSCu6_1v0w?utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Aspen%20Institute&utm_content=03+11+Patchwork+Madison-186433 #/registration

06/20/2026

06/13/2026

Summer registration for The Realia Institute’s FREE K-8th grade academic tutoring and 9-12th peer mentoring is now open!

We have 5 slots left for enrollment. Program Dates: Saturdays, 9 am - Noon from July 11th to August 29th!

Learn more and register below:
https://forms.gle/UoAfS9LWtDhkNW64A

The Realia Institute stands at the heart of community engagement in east Baltimore. Our family and community well-being programs are thoughtfully co-designed by parents, neighbors, and community members to create an inclusive learning space where people of all ages and abilities learn and grow toget...

04/24/2026

I want to take a moment to celebrate and honor Dr. Thelma Harms. Her work profoundly shaped the “PROFESSION” of early childhood education. I emphasize the word “profession” because Dr. Harms truly understood and lived its fullest meaning.

Many work in the field or industry of early childhood education—but only a few embody the “profession.” Dr. Harms was a leader who understood what it means to profess: to do what one says they believe.

In ECE, we often say we believe in certain principles, yet our practices don’t always reflect them:

~ We say we believe in health and safety, yet providing infants the time and dignity for proper diapering—meeting a most basic physiological need—is often seen as too costly.

~ We say we believe in family engagement, yet creating a welcoming environment where families are greeted by name can feel too difficult in a fast-paced drop-off and pick-up baby depot culture.

~ We say we believe in diversity, inclusion, and equity, yet classrooms often lack meaningful cultural, linguistic, and ability representation within our UNcreative Curriculums!

~ We say rest builds resilience, yet naptime environments is a stressful nightmare rather than a restorative dream time.

~ We say we value high-quality learning environments, yet aesthetically thoughtful, nurturing spaces are treated as optional for the budget elite rather than essential for every child’s Human Dignity.

This is why I honor Dr. Harms—because she was a true professional. She aligned her actions with her beliefs.

The Environment Rating Scales were never meant to be about a score. They were—and still are—about practice. About doing what we say we BELIEVE.

When we live our professional identity—our stance grounded in belief (faith) —it shapes the state of everything: our environments, our interactions, and ultimately, the experiences of children and families.

Rest well, Dr. Thelma Harms. Your legacy lives on in those who understand that early childhood education is not just an industry— it is a “PROFESSION” and a calling.

May the ECE field continue to grow, deepen, and mature because of your vision 🪦🕊️🙏🏿