We have adopted Charlotte Mason's Motto:
I am . . . a child of God, a gift to my parents and my country. I'm a person of great value because God made me.
I can . . . do all things through Christ who strengthens me. God has made me able to do everything required of me.
I ought . . . to do my duty to obey God, to submit to my parents and everyone in authority over me, to be of service to others, and to keep myself healthy with proper food and rest so my body is ready to serve.
I will . . . resolve to keep a watch over my thoughts and choose what's right even if it's not what I want.
Curriculum Goals
To find joy in seeking knowledge
Learners find joy when investigating curiosities and questions. To encourage the student, the environment is prepared with “living books,” artful play, and purposeful, authentic work.
To understand the nature of God
We begin the week with Bible study and memory verses.
To understand the nature of man
All ages study literature, geography, history, language, art, music, citizenship through living books and purposeful, authentic projects.
To understand the universe around us
Nature study, science and mathematics are approached on a “concrete to abstract” continuum. Students ask questions and pursue their own interests and ideas with varied hands-on sources.
Learners find joy when investigating curiosities and questions. To encourage the student, the environment is prepared with “living books,” artful play, and purposeful, authentic work.
To understand the nature of God
We begin the week with Bible study and memory verses.
To understand the nature of man
All ages study literature, geography, history, language, art, music, citizenship through living books and purposeful, authentic projects.
To understand the universe around us
Nature study, science and mathematics are approached on a “concrete to abstract” continuum. Students ask questions and pursue their own interests and ideas with varied hands-on sources.
Approach to curriculum
Student Led Academics
Students pursue their own interests in reading, writing, nature study, and picture study as well as science and history research.
Skill Work
Young learners need a firm foundation of skills that cannot be discovered actively. Skill work improves learning strategies, creative and critical thinking and problem skills. Daily work with phonics, spelling, math facts, memory work provides this foundation.
Neurological Development
Neurological development requires active bodies and minds engaged in memory work, handwriting, art, PE, creative writing, critical thinking, and problem solving.
Students pursue their own interests in reading, writing, nature study, and picture study as well as science and history research.
Skill Work
Young learners need a firm foundation of skills that cannot be discovered actively. Skill work improves learning strategies, creative and critical thinking and problem skills. Daily work with phonics, spelling, math facts, memory work provides this foundation.
Neurological Development
Neurological development requires active bodies and minds engaged in memory work, handwriting, art, PE, creative writing, critical thinking, and problem solving.
Our Curriculum
Right Start Math
by Joan Cotter, Ph.D
Characteristics I think make this program effective
1. Avoids counting procedures for finding sums and remainders. Teaches 5- and 10-based strategies for the facts that are both visual and visualizable.
2. Employs games for practice..
6. Starts with alternative names that illustrate place value before introducing the traditional English names for quantities 11 to 99.
3. Requires students to articulate their thinking and strategies.
7. Teaches mental computation. Investigates informal solutions, often through story problems, before learning procedures.
8. Teaches four-digit addition on the abacus, letting the child discover the paper and pencil algorithm.
9. Introduces fractions with a linear visual model.
10. Approaches geometry through drawing boards and tools.
11. Teaches short division for single-digit divisors, before long division.
How does this curriculum fit with Charlotte Mason's Philosophies?
"The role of the teacher is to encourage thinking by asking questions, not giving answers. Once you give an answer, thinking usually stops."
"Only 5% of mathematics should be learned by rote; 95% should be understood."
"Putting thoughts into words helps the learning process."
"The real mathematical problem is one in which the procedures to find the answer or answers are not obvious. It is like a puzzle, needing trial and error. Emphasize the satisfaction of solving problems and like puzzles, of not giving away the solution to others."
Arthur Baroody; "Teaching mathematics is essentially a process of translating mathematics into a form children can comprehend, providing experiences that enable children to discover relationships and construct meanings, and creating opportunities to develop and exercise mathematical reasoning."
by Joan Cotter, Ph.D
Characteristics I think make this program effective
1. Avoids counting procedures for finding sums and remainders. Teaches 5- and 10-based strategies for the facts that are both visual and visualizable.
2. Employs games for practice..
6. Starts with alternative names that illustrate place value before introducing the traditional English names for quantities 11 to 99.
3. Requires students to articulate their thinking and strategies.
7. Teaches mental computation. Investigates informal solutions, often through story problems, before learning procedures.
8. Teaches four-digit addition on the abacus, letting the child discover the paper and pencil algorithm.
9. Introduces fractions with a linear visual model.
10. Approaches geometry through drawing boards and tools.
11. Teaches short division for single-digit divisors, before long division.
How does this curriculum fit with Charlotte Mason's Philosophies?
"The role of the teacher is to encourage thinking by asking questions, not giving answers. Once you give an answer, thinking usually stops."
"Only 5% of mathematics should be learned by rote; 95% should be understood."
"Putting thoughts into words helps the learning process."
"The real mathematical problem is one in which the procedures to find the answer or answers are not obvious. It is like a puzzle, needing trial and error. Emphasize the satisfaction of solving problems and like puzzles, of not giving away the solution to others."
Arthur Baroody; "Teaching mathematics is essentially a process of translating mathematics into a form children can comprehend, providing experiences that enable children to discover relationships and construct meanings, and creating opportunities to develop and exercise mathematical reasoning."
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Language Arts Spelling Grammar Reading Writing Handwriting |
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Keep the child in mind
Motivate the student by making the lesson interesting and applicable to their lives.
The student should put 100% focus to each task, therefore, the length of time expected to do each task should be carefully determined by the age of the child and the task itself. Younger students may spend 5-15 minutes, while older student may spend up to 45 minutes on the same kind of task.
Create something authentic. Avoid busy work by allowing the student to design original ways of recording their learning. They may start with copying, dictation, keeping a journal of nature or picture study, or producing an annotated, illustrated timeline, but encourage them to produce something that makes sense to them and communicates their learning with others.
The student should put 100% focus to each task, therefore, the length of time expected to do each task should be carefully determined by the age of the child and the task itself. Younger students may spend 5-15 minutes, while older student may spend up to 45 minutes on the same kind of task.
Create something authentic. Avoid busy work by allowing the student to design original ways of recording their learning. They may start with copying, dictation, keeping a journal of nature or picture study, or producing an annotated, illustrated timeline, but encourage them to produce something that makes sense to them and communicates their learning with others.