This is where frequently asked questions will be answered. If you don't find an answer to your question, please feel free to contact us directly. Who knows? You may contribute to the FAQs.
A: Our curriculum is a blend of the Charlotte Mason and Classical methods of education. It has grown out of our own family’s need to educate our own children and our growing dissatisfaction with the various “packaged” curriculum on the market. We have not tried to reinvent the wheel. We have merely endeavored to choose the very best of the thousands of wonderful books that are already on the market and blend them into a curriculum that is full and well rounded as well as solidly based on Scripture. Our intent is to give our children as liberal an education as possible and to prepare them to be lights for Christ in a progressively darkening world. We believe in using living books and keeping lessons short and interesting. We school just four days per week, believing that children do not need a five day per week job and mothers need one day a week for laundry and life. For most families “school time” takes not more than half of the day, leaving afternoons free for other sorts of living education. Our curriculum is not graded, in the traditional sense, allowing children to grow at their own rate, and begin when they are ready without being pressed into the traditional school box of grade levels. However, we have provided approximate grade levels to allow you to make a better decision as to where to place your child.
Q: What do I get with the curriculum?
A: When you purchase a level of curriculum from us, you get the teacher plan book, with the daily lessons laid out for each subject, and either an activity packet, penmanship book, or student plan book. In the teacher’s plan book, you will find detailed plans of which books to use and how to use them to accomplish the stated goals of that level of curriculum. To quote one enthusiastic mom, “I don’t know what more people could ask for, you’ve done all of the work for me… all I have to do is read and follow the directions!” Of course we hope you’ll do far more than that! Most families use ANY curriculum as a starting point and then add or substitute resources that suit their particular circumstance… we do that, and we wrote it! Please contact us if you have multiple children at the same level, as additional packets and books may be purchased with only one teacher’s plan book, if necessary. The books that are needed to complete the course work must be procured else where, as at this time we are unable to stock all of the books we use. A Resource List is provided at the front of each teacher’s plan book, which tells you not only which books are necessary and which are optional, but where you may purchase the books, for added convenience. Since this curriculum was written for our own family, and we value economy, about 90% of the books we use for a given level will be recyclable for future children. Practically speaking: if we spend $300-400.00 on books for the first child’s schooling at a given level, we will spend about $35.00 to send the second and subsequent children through that same level. The more kids you have, the cheaper it is!
Q: What are the pre-school offerings?
A: Our toddler curriculums, Time for Twos and Thinking with Threes, may be used with children between two and five years old, depending on readiness. These provide a gentle introduction to structured learning using lots of literature and hands on activities. In 15 to 30 minutes per day even the youngest members of the family can feel a part of your home school. Our toddlers literally beg for their “school time.”
Q: What does Year One cover? When should I start Year One?
A: Year One is the approximate equivalent of Kindergarten and most of first grade. This level is usually begun between 4-6 years old, depending on the readiness of the child. One family successfully started with a 3 yr. old (turned four in Oct.). The focus of Year One is establishing solid reading and beginning math skills. An introduction to the other subjects is provided through the “p.m. option.” The math program that we use is based on the Japanese model of learning math, using an abacus. We continue to use this program through Year Four. It is linear (teaching one concept to mastery) as opposed to spiral (teaching addition, right next to subtraction, right next to time, right next to geometry). This allows a child to come to a complete understanding of one concept at a time, minimizing the potential for confusion. It is completely hands on, using the abacus, which takes into account a young child’s tendency toward kinesthetic learning. In Year One, addition is mastered, and most children emerge reading at a late first or early second grade level, at least. Each week the student has a theme verse of Scripture that he is memorizing, along with a song and poem. For most families, the Year One course work takes not more than 90 minutes per day, four days per week. The Year One Plan Book is very friendly to the parent new to home schooling. We provide lists of materials and preparations needed for the week ahead, as well as tips and suggestions for making that first year go more smoothly. All of the families who have used Year One have loved it, and their children have thrived on the gentle introduction to “real school.”
Q: What is covered in the other years (Year Two and beyond)?
A: In Year Two we begin our full curriculum. Subjects covered include: Scripture & Character Language Arts, Penmanship, Literature, Mathematics, History, Geography, French, Latin (switching to Spanish and Greek in Year Six) Music, Art, Science, Life Skills, Physical Education, and Memory.
For Year Two and beyond, we offer a “girl’s version” and a “boy’s version”. The only difference in content between the girl’s and boy’s versions is in the area of Scripture and Character. We believe strongly in patterning all of life after Scripture, and in keeping with that conviction, we believe in the intentional gender training of boys and girls after the patterns laid out for us in Scripture.
In Year Two and Three we continue with the Japanese style of math program. Children master addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Other important concepts such as geometry, graphing, measurement, and more are covered as well. In Year Four, we finish up with the Japanese style program and move straight into Saxon 5/4. We have not had any of the children using our program have any difficulty with this transition.
What truly sets this apart from other curriculum is in our approach to History and the Arts. History is covered in a four year rotation, beginning in Year Two as follows:
Year Two:
- Ancient World History
- American History: Columbus through the signing of the Constitution
Year Three:
- Medieval World History
- American History: Constitution through the Civil War
Year Four:
- Renaissance World History
- American History: Civil War through WW1
Year Five:
- Modern World History
- American History: WW2-Present
In Year Six, we begin again with the first rotation. In this fashion, children will move through all periods of history three times at three different levels of understanding before their education is complete.
Beginning in Year Two we study artists, composers and poets on a quarterly basis, 4 per year of each through Year Six. This allows children to make friends with the great artists, composers and poets of all time on their own level. Great liberty is given to parents in this area as to the choice of content.
It is in Year Two that our study of Latin and French begin. In Year Six we switch to Spanish and Greek for an additional four year. This gives children an introduction to the major western languages of the modern age, as well as an introduction to both classical languages. Two year boosters of these languages will be provided in Years 10-13.
Q: How do the REALITY years match with grade levels?
A: The following are the approximate grade levels of our Years of study:
Year 1: K-1st
Year 2: rest of 1st into 2nd
Year 3: rest of 2nd and 3rd
Year 4: 4th into 5th
Year 5: rest of 5th into 6th
Year 6: rest of 6th & 7th
We are currently writing the levels beyond six, and they will become available as they are completed.
Some of you are doing the math and figuring out that if you start your 4 yr. old in Year One that by the time he is 9 and finishing Year Six he will be in 7th grade… three years ahead of his grade leveled peers… at this rate we can expect to be completely finished with what is currently considered high school material by no later than 14 years old… right? Right. However, our curriculum will run 13 years, placing a child who begins at four at “graduation” when he is 16 years old. He will have the equivalent of a high school education including ALL of the major electives and then some. At this point we will recommend parents look into accelerated distance learning to begin (or complete!) a college degree from home, before the child is 18 and would graduate traditional schooling.
Q: How does the parent handle multiple children (a.k.a. Multi-Level Teaching)?
A: One of our goals in home schooling was to have it look less like “schooling” and more like “home.” As such, we designed our curriculum to be used by large families (like ours!) teaching the whole family at once as much as possible. If we have four children in four different levels of our curriculum, we manage it like this: Skill based subjects (language, math, Latin, French, Penmanship) are taught to each child individually. All other subjects (History, Geography (where appropriate), Science, Literature, Poetry, Art, Music, Scripture (where appropriate)) are taught to the whole group together. We read history together after dinner, work on our nature notebooks as a group, grow butterflies as a family, and select our literature to be appealing to all. In general, we teach to the oldest and let the little ones join in where they may. If child #2 begins Year Two (the full curriculum) when child #1 is in Year Four, then that means that child #2 starts with the Renaissance rotation of history instead of Ancient History… the outcome will be the same, by Year 13 he will have gone through all four rotations three times. By Year Six, when we get back to Ancient History with the first child we simply teach Rotation 2 of Ancient History to the first child and Rotation 1 of Ancient History to the second child, and so on, down the line.
Multi-level teaching allows families to learn together and grow together in not only knowledge, but love and friendship as well as family identity. It makes the planning much easier on Mom, who is preparing half (or a third!) as many lessons. It allows older children to grow in their capacity to teach and mentor and train young children. It encourages younger children to reach up and grasp concepts just a little higher than themselves. It allows parents to learn alongside children and to engage in lively conversation and debate with the next generation in a way that compartmentalized lessons for each different child simply does not.