Our curricula features excerpts from living books that expose children to excellent literature, encourage excellence in penmanship while still inspiring with ideas, and give developmentally-appropriate lessons in composition. As a bonus, we saw with most* of our own children, when language arts are explored in Charlotte Mason style, spelling comes naturally. And, if it doesn't, we have some suggestions!
How do you teach your child how to write? And, by writing, we don't mean penmanship. We mean something that seems almost elusive in our day where writing curriculum is full of worksheets, segmented instruction, and out of place writing "prompts" which seem to only teach the child: you have nothing to say. We agree wholeheartedly with Charlotte Mason that children are "born persons". Each person, made in God's image, has a unique way of seeing and experiencing the world. We believe that communication - sharing those unique perspectives - not only enriches the student, but enriches our world.
We are big proponents of doing "what works for you!" And, that can be different things in different seasons, so we provide three Tiers of curricula and support for you.
We have mapped out learning pathways for elementary through high school. Each pathway contains a step-by-step routine that is developmentally appropriate for that particular age. Some students are fast learners; some need more help. Because practicing good English speaking and writing is a SKILL, we encourage parents to not skip ahead. More practice in the area of development your child is in right now will only deepen their ability later on.
Tier 2 includes access to our developmentally-appropriate English Learning Pathway while also allowing your student to particpate in a group discussion with Ms. Wendy via our online platform. Ms. Wendy provides instruction on skills each week according to the published schedule. With this access, you are able to have your student attend the Skills Group if they need to brush up on that area, or if you feel like they have a good handle on the topic to be discussed to bow out that week. Skills Group sessions will be recorded and available to you throughout your subscription in case you forgot and scheduled a dentist appointment during the session time. We've been there, done that!
Tier 3 contains the whole enchilada. You have access to the currciulum, but you also get 30 minutes a week of Ms. Wendy's time virtually face-to-face. Ms. Wendy will give feedback on your student's writing, encourage your student's strengths and give insight and specific assignments to shore up your student's weaknesses. Wendy has coached many students over the years and has seen them go from writing in sentence fragments in barely cohesive paragraphs to becoming expert writers. The best thing is when I hear from students who hated writing in high school and spent hours churning out a few sentences who are in college and writing isn't even a blip on their stress radar because it has become second nature.