Academics

How Do We Organize Ourselves for Learning in Community?

Forms

Students are grouped into Forms, which span multiple grade levels. By learning in age subsets, material and skills can be tailored to best suit the needs and capabilities of the students. Children can be moved up or down based on needs.

Form 0: Babies to Kindergarten (Age 5 and under)

Form 1A: 1st and 2nd grade (Ages 6-8)

Form 1B: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9)

Form 2: 4th - 6th grade (Ages 9-12)

Form 3: 7th - 9th grade (Ages 12-14)

Form 4: 10th - 12th (Ages 15-18)

Subjects

Our days are organized into Together Subjects, such as hymns, Scripture memory, and folk songs, and then form-specific subjects. Some of the subjects overlap (see Common Subjects) but are taught at each form's level of understanding and ability. We also have certain subjects that are unique to a form, such as Songs for Saplings in Form 0, map drills in Form 1 and Shakespeare for Forms 2+.

Together Subjects are done first thing in the morning with Forms 0 through 2+, followed by Common and Form-specific Subjects, after which we join as a community for lunch. We also offer an optional afternoon of subjects specific to Form 2+. Younger students will rest, snack, and play in our children's area during this time.

What Do We Learn Together?

We provide a broad feast of subjects during our weekly community meeting to inspire our learners to partake fully in the many disciplines available to develop heart, mind, and soul. At home, each of our families pursue their own course of study. Therefore, we do not provide a curriculum guide for at-home subjects, though families are encouraged to use the resources provided by the Fellowship, such as our "binder" of hymn and folk song lyrics, as desired. The leadership team (and other experienced members) are always happy to consult with a family to point them to possible curricular resources to meet their students' needs; we will not prescribe member families' curriculum selections.

Our primary goal is to glorify God in all we do by pointing our students to His beauty, truth, and goodness, weaving Scripture throughout our studies while attending to how we see God in the world He created and in the endeavors of the people He created. By beginning our community days with corporate prayer and scripture verse memory, we set the tone for a day of Christ-focused learning. After birthdays and announcements, we sing our monthly hymn and folk song, then enjoy a short lesson on that term's artist or composer (alternating between them weekly). Once our morning meeting concludes, we break off into our Form groups for our remaining subjects while our littlest members head to the children's area for play and a few activities tailored to their developmental capabilities. After the morning lessons, we meet for lunch, fellowship, and fun. Some families will head home after lunch, especially if they have little ones that need to nap, while some families stay on campus for optional afternoon subjects for their Form II+ students. (If a family with a Form II+ student is staying, their younger children will spend time resting, playing, crafting, and enjoying a story or two in our children's area.)

Core subjects:

Scripture Memorization
Hymn
Folk Song
Artist Study
Composer Study
Nature Study
Presentations
Shakespeare

Rotating subjects:

Map Drills
Drawing/Watercolor

Optional afternoon subjects:

Plutarch
Latin
Literature/Book Club

Why These Subjects?

The "beauty" subjects, such as artists, hymns, folk songs, composers, and nature study, often drop off the schedule at home, so we have made these core community subjects. A weekly presentation by each student is another core activity for our students as they develop comfort with and skill at speaking in front of groups of people. For our Form II and above students (4th grade and up), we read through two Shakespeare plays each year, a favorite for the kids. Beyond these subjects, we determine our families' needs, interests, and wants to select the remaining subjects. For the 2024-25 school year, we will also study drawing/watercolor (all forms), do map drills & play math games (Form I), and learn a handicraft (all forms - possibly different craft by form). We also offer an optional afternoon course of study for Form II+ of Plutarch, Latin (primarily vocabulary, recitation, and basic grammar), and a literature/book club (separated by form).

How Do We Learn Together?

Narration is a foundational method employed by SCHOLA Fellowship. According to Charlotte Mason,

"When you read a story, paragraph, or chapter to a child and ask him to narrate what he has heard, powerful mental "wheels" must spring into motion. The knowledge that he has passively gathered must now be sifted and sorted. His mind must recall the beginning, and then "what comes next," event by event. He must be sure the order of his knowledge is correct, and that nothing important is omitted. Then, he must find words to give shape to his knowledge."

While narration may look different in the context of certain subjects (i.e. artist or composer study), it is always the act of the child taking the knowledge they have gained and finding a way to convey it to another person, thereby making it *their own* knowledge. In nature study, narration may look like a sketch or brush drawing of a plant or animal accompanied by notes of their observations of the subject. For artist study, students take turns recalling from memory (no peeking!) the picture they just studied, including content, composition, details, and colors. In handicraft, narration may look a bit different than other subjects, though it may include telling back the steps required to complete the craft and then practicing the skills they just learned until they can do them without assistance.

Narration, a deceptively simple practice, produces fruit that lasts, storing knowledge while building a student's composition skills (initially orally but growing into written form) day-by-day and year-by-year. With narration, education is truly the work of the child, allowing the teacher to act as a co-learner, guide, and mentor, rather than as "the fountain-head of all knowledge" or the "showman of the universe". In fact, counter to modern teacher-centric teaching methods, “wise and purposeful letting alone is the best part of education” (Charlotte Mason, Vol. 3, p.128).

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