Families Home Schooling for Excellence

Spring 2007 Class Schedule

Opening Exercises is from 9:30-9:40

Closing Exercises is from 12:05-12:10

Course Descriptions

American History:  Our young historians asked to learn more about World War 1 and World War II.  I plan to teach this from the United States' perspective though it is a good opportunity to learn some European geography.  Topics will depend on the students' interests, but I hope to cover Woodrow Wilson and the Progressives, the flu epidemic of 1918, why World War I started, and how unfinished business from the first War contributed to the second. On the World War II topic, I plan to focus on the United States'  involvement and how it affected this area, life before television (FDR and the radio) and how regular folks coped with the War.  I like to hear what the kids are interested in during the session (the boys seem to like battles and warships!) and craft the classes accordingly.  We've all learned a lot so far. 

Animals: 5- 6 year old children will increase their knowledge and love of many different types of animals through books, activities and role play.  Promises to be fun yet educational!

Art:  Art basics.  The older class will focus on great artists, the younger on more basic art skills. Students will need to contribute $5.00 towards supplies.

Children's Literature: We will be focusing on classical children’s literature and we will study a different piece of literature each week. We will discuss the language and morals of the story, memorize parts of the story, act out the story, do crafts and activities related to the literature that we are studying and write our own stories to share with our families. We will learn about a few fairy tales and act them out in class and write our own fairy tales. We will learn some poetry and write our own poetry.  We will use all the different styles of learning {auditory, visual, kinesthetic, etc} to help reach each child’s unique learning style. This will be a fun class and we are excited to do this! Thanks!

Creating a Corporation: In the six week session, students will help create a basic stock-based company, and learn the basics of management, accounting, marketing, and sales.  Students will be assigned functional duties which mirror business today: CEO, CFO, VP Marketing, etc.  During the final three weeks, a small
store will be set up and run, with net profits being split amongst the shareholders on the end of the co-op session.

Cub Scouts:  This class is for 8 and 9 year old cub scouts to do some extra work on scouting.

Drama:  Learn the fundamentals of acting and put on a brief play.

Educational Card Games: We will be playing an assortment of card games every week. There will be many to choose from and students are encouraged to bring their favorite card games from home as well. The focus is on educational games (that are fun as well!!) Everyone is encouraged to sign up and have lots of fun.

Geography:  Learn about different places in the world.

Hand Sewing (beginning): Students will learn the basics of sewing including: threading a needle, tying a knot and bar tack, whipstitch, running stitch, and sewing on a button.  Over the course of study students will complete 3 projects in felt. All projects will be completed in class. There is a $2.50 class fee to cover the cost of all materials. If you are an absolute beginner, register for this class regardless of age.

Hand Sewing (experienced): Students will develop mending and embellishment skills.  Students will have sewing homework every week so please come ready to learn and leave ready to practice your new skill!  This class requires previous experience handstitching.  There is a $5 class fee to cover the cost of class materials.

Martial Arts:  A basic introduction to martial arts.  Students will learn foundation moves such as punches, blocks, and kicks.  We will combine these moves to learn and perform a kata.  Martial arts ethics such as respect, focus, and work will be emphasized.  Wear comfy clothes that allow ease of movement.

Math: The class will focus on those hard 6-9 multiplication and division facts but with a fun and easy twist.  We will also be working on solving math riddles, math tricks, logic problems and on having lots of fun with math.  Children should have a firm grip on two-digit addition and  skip counting, but do not necessarily need to have knowledge of the actual multiplication process. Children will have the option of taking math riddles and puzzles home to solve with family members but will not be required to. 

Musical Theatre:  We will be learning solos and group numbers from Musicals.  We will perform our songs for co-op on the final sharing week.  Students who register should be comfortable singing solo and willing to do choreography.  There will also be assignments to view movie musicals at home.  Limit 10 students.

Scrapbooking: We will learn some basic scrapbooking techniques, and scrap actual photos (that you'll need to bring). Once I have a class list, we can decide on some "themes" for photos to scrap, via email. I'll supply papers, stamps, templates, etc, but each person will need to have a glue stick or two and a pair of scissors. If you have some other supplies you'd like to bring to use or share, that would be great, too!  Students will need to contribute $1.00 towards supplies

Shakespeare: Who was Shakespeare and why is he considered the greatest writer in the English language? We will learn something about his life, his poetry, theatre in Elizabethan England, and we will read one of his plays and rehearse and perform a scene from it on the sharing day at the end of co-op. Students will need to spend time at home working on their lines and reading the play.

Solar System:  Learn all about our solar system.

Storytelling: The class will be different ways to tell a story (music, puppets, poem, pictures, etc), using our voices to tell our favorite story in a new way, and possibly finding stories form other cultures.  I'd like the children to practice reading allowed (or telling a favorite tale like 3 little pigs), and sharing a story with others in a way that is fun and interesting.