Maria Montessori believed that multi-aged classrooms are beneficial to students because they allow for greater social and emotional development. She believed that a multi-age classroom mirrors real life and prepares students for the real world. Older students can become mentors and leaders and teach the younger students, which also enforces learning for the older students and helps them to develop empathy. It also allows for better self esteem as each student can develop at their own pace, instead of being constantly compared to their peers. Over the past four years I have seen these benefits first hand.

Multi-age learning

Feels like home

Traditional schools can be very gray, with natural light being replaced by fluorescent lights and concrete play areas. I want to venture away from that style for our students. Our history class is at a private residence so it always feels like home. We have a cozy school room and a big backyard with grass and trees and space to run and play. Our forest school is completely outdoors, at a private residence that has plenty of nature, but its manicured just enough to be safe for students.

Studies show that hands on experiences help build stronger neural pathways and allow for students to feel more involved in their learning. On top of that, hands on learning helps support critical thinking and problem solving skills. Our lessons come from engaging, high quality literature and we dive into discussions about what they’ve learned, and then we connect that lesson with a hands on activity. In history, this looks like building their own railroad out of toothpicks and clay, or baking a johnny cake recipe from pioneer times, playing a popular game from that time in history, or participating in a class election when learning about the presidential election process. In our forest school it looks like learning about a spider and making their own spider web with sticks and string, or learning about an oak tree and then going on a scavenger hunt to find the different parts of an oak tree, or learning about a coyote and then studying their scat or tracks.

Hands on learning

Parent support

We know that homeschooling is a big decision. You have chosen this path for your students’ education because you believe in having a say in what and how they are learning. We also know that it comes with a lot of challenges. We want you to feel supported in your homeschooling journey. You are their primary educator and you make the choices for their curriculum and how they learn. Our enrichment classes are built to add value to your weeks of homeschooling. We don’t want this to just be one more thing to add to your plate, we want these classes to serve you and your child in a way that is beneficial to both of you.