Curriculum
For parents who want an option for their children that is free of state testing, that includes them in the content, and that focuses on specific student needs rather than generic or arbitrary standards, this is the recommended option.
Parents only have to supply a laptop, pencils, paper, and lunches.
Service Offered
Parent-Teacher Planning Session
Every year starts with a 1-on-1 parent/teacher meeting where we plan together what your child should focus on for the year and what your child needs to best progress towards our goal of success. We will talk about what you would like for them to learn and create a personalized plan that best fits the needs of your child.
This meeting is usually completed in July during the second summer break--see the calendar.
The Basics
The basics of math, history, English, and science will be covered using the curriculum provided by Time 4 Learning which will be broken up into 36 weeks worth of work plus one more week for final projects and final year presentations totaling 37 weeks of school. The education program will be personalized to your child's needs and your desires.
Literacy Practices
At this school, we believe one of the most useful and important skills that students need to succeed in life is the skill of reading critically and writing professionally. As a result, every day that a student comes to our school, they will be asked to read and write.
We also believe that reading should be flexible and parents who want to have a say should have a say in what their child reads. For that reason, we offer a library that contains various fiction and nonfiction texts OR we will work with any book that is school appropriate the parents want to send to the school for their child to use. We encourage regular nonfiction reading--this can be historical, science, or religious studies in content--as well as classical literature such as Shakespeare and Bronte.
Writing Road to Reading and Handwriting
For children in K-2 who are not reading yet, we will work through a program called Writing Road to Reading which focuses on phonics and the basic building blocks of the English language. It is a thorough program that will teach reading, spelling, and handwriting simultaneously. We will work on that program 2-3 times a week depending on the child's needs.
Also, we have the goal that by the end of second grade, students have mastered print and cursive writing. In third grade, we will ask all students to write in cursive.