You may already be familiar with SchoolhouseTeachers.com, but have you discovered their Focused Learning Centers? These centers are designed to concentrate on specific topics such as science, math, reading, writing, and hands-on learning while seamlessly integrating them across all subjects. Additionally, they offer centers based on specific teaching methods, including Biblical Classical Education and the Charlotte Mason approach.
A common challenge many homeschooling parents face is putting together a cohesive curriculum when focusing on a particular subject or teaching method. It can be difficult to find materials that cover all areas without leaving gaps. Therefore, the Focused Learning Centers become invaluable. They provide comprehensive resources that will ensure a well-rounded, integrated education.
What Does a Focused Learning Center Look Like?
If you’re passionate about the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling but are unsure how to create a complete program based on her philosophy, the Charlotte Mason Focused Learning Center is here to help. It offers a variety of options, all incorporating Charlotte Mason’s approach. With SchoolhouseTeachers.com and the Focused Learning Centers, you can access every subject, including electives, all in one place. Whether your children are in preschool, high school, or anywhere in between, you’ll easily find comprehensive subject matter for all grade levels in a single convenient platform.
Charlotte Mason Approach to Art
The Art section of the Focused Learning Center offers six different programs to explore, catering to a variety of interests. Whether your child is eager to take drawing lessons, wants to learn about different art styles, or enjoys creating hands-on art projects, you’ll find everything you need here. You can introduce your older child to art history, while younger students can learn about famous artists and expand their vocabulary. And what would a Charlotte Mason approach to art be without going outside and using God’s creation to make your own art? Your child can craft an owl out of leaves, paint pebbles, build a bird’s nest, and explore countless other nature-inspired projects.
Exploring Science
Your child will have so much fun exploring science in the Focused Learning Center. Charlotte Mason believed that all schooling before the age of six should be learned through play. The Charlotte Mason preschool curriculum reflects this philosophy by guiding your child through six units that focus on nature study, living books, handicrafts, fine arts, and early academics. If your younger children prefer a more hands-on, arts-and-crafts approach to learning, they’ll love creating science lapbooks and exploring other hands-on science activities. For a comprehensive science curriculum, SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers “Exploring God’s World” for grades kindergarten through sixth. This program provides a full year of science exploration for each grade level.
Curious Science
Curious Science is a two-year program for third to fourth graders that includes eighteen units. Your child will learn about pufferfish, blue diamonds, zombie fire ants, rogue waves, cave fish, and more. Each unit includes spelling and vocabulary, copywork, in both print and cursive, as well as grammar, math, Bible, and experiments. There is also an end-of-unit project. Therefore, this makes a wonderful choice for a Charlotte Mason-style approach to education.
Science and Nature
What would a Charlotte Mason Science Focused Learning Center be without nature study? Let’s Do Science Outside will have your children making their own wormery; building a boat out of sticks, twigs, and leaves; making their own butterfly gardens; and so much more. Additionally, the Nature/Outdoors course is aimed at children in first through eighth grade and includes fourteen individual units. Each unit will have your children outside learning and enjoying nature. They will even make a nature journal to document everything they learn. For example, in the Night Sky unit your children will start off by learning a few basic constellations. They will go on an outdoor adventure to find the North Star and navigate their way home. They will also make a compass and a constellation viewer. Your children will be excited to learn science.
Language Arts the Charlotte Mason Way
Charlotte Mason believed that children learn language arts most effectively by reading living books and incorporating grammar and vocabulary into other subjects through narration and copywork. The language arts section of the Charlotte Mason Focused Learning Center has so much to offer. You will find something for preschoolers all the way up to advanced high schoolers. You will, of course, find copywork, poetry, notebooking, and narration. Everyday Copywork provides over 175 passages to improve your students’ penmanship in both print and cursive. Additionally, your students can choose from an array of copywork options. They can copy portions of the Bible, excerpts from literature, foreign language selections, and much more.
Poetry and Classics
Experiencing Epics and Poetry introduces your middle school students to various poetic forms. If your student would like a more in-depth study of poetry he will find it in Exploring Poetry with Notebooking. Your tenth through twelfth grade students can study the classics of Charles Dickens and JRR Tolkien. In addition, they can take a course to learn how worldviews manifest themselves in literature. Younger students can start learning about literature through unit studies of chapter books such as Charlotte’s Web, The Boxcar Children, The Chronicles of Narnia, Little House on the Prairie, and many more amazing classics. Meanwhile, older students can be challenged to think critically about the truths presented in the Great Books list. For your advanced high school students, you will find an African American Literature course. Your students will explore literature from the time of the North American slave narratives to modern plays and playwrights.
The Wonderful World of Writing
Writing can be a challenge for some students. Fortunately, the Charlotte Mason Focused Learning Center offers several different writing courses for grades three to twelve. For students in grades three to four it offers Elementary Writing with Structure. In this thirty-six-week course your students will learn the basics of writing in both fiction and nonfiction styles. Some of these styles include informational, letter, fantasy, how-to, and poetry. Additionally, they will learn the basics of self-editing to improve their compositions and avoid common writing problems. For grades four through six there is a nine-week course called Creative Composition. This course teaches students how to analyze selections of literature from well-known writers. Some of the writers include Beatrix Potter, Aesop, and Robert Frost. They will then take what they have learned to develop their own compositions.
Writing for Middle School Through High School
For grades six through eight, the Exploring Creative Writing course takes your students through sixteen weeks of learning to create their own unique styles of writing. Fundamental Elements of Literature and Composition combines the study of classic literature with composition. Your student will explore short stories and plays and will create written compositions. Your sixth through tenth grade students can take Essay Writing 101 which explains the writing process and basic essay structure. Finally, for your seventh through twelfth grade students there is an exciting course called the Benjamin Franklin Writing Method. This is a twenty-four-week course that explores how a man with limited educational opportunities became one of the literary lights of the nation. Your student will follow in his footsteps by borrowing his step-by-step study method to improve their writing.
Charlotte Mason Method Integrated in to All Subjects
As you have been reading, the Charlotte Mason Focused Learning Center offers a well-rounded, rich curriculum for students of all ages. In addition to the science section the center also offers courses in history,geography, social studies, math, music, Bible, etc. It even has fun electives like Hands-on Learning Activities through Crafts. Heritage Crafts is a unique course that brings history to life through hands-on activities. Students learn practical skills from the past, such as making corn husk dolls, making candles, drying apples, and more. Additionally, there is a course on homesteading and cooking with whole foods. There is so much to offer in this Focused Learning Center. You will be sure to find something to fit your style and needs. You will be able to fill in any gaps that you previously may have had trouble filling.
The Convenience of Having Everything in One Place
One of the more challenging aspects of teaching all of your subjects from one particular teaching method is finding all of the curriculum and piecing together something comprehensive. Fortunately, SchoolhouseTeachers.com solves this issue with their Focused Learning Centers. As a result, everything is in one place. You do not have to search online to find individual materials that fit your preferred style of teaching. In fact, all of your materials are organized in one convenient place, eliminating the need for bulky textbooks.
Individualized Education
Do you prefer one teaching method but appreciate elements from others as well? If so, SchoolhouseTeachers.com gives you the flexibility to blend different teaching styles and create a personalized educational experience. A wide selection of learning centers allows you to pick the courses that best fit your children’s needs. Additionally, a subscription to SchoolhouseTeachers.com grants you full access to everything on the site, beyond just the Focused Learning Centers. This allows you to truly customize your children’s education. One subscription covers your entire family, regardless of the number of children or their ages.
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HomeschoolingFinds.com Author
Rodna Allman, her husband and son, live in Macomb, Oklahoma, on a beautiful piece of property where they homeschool and homestead on a small scale. Rodna has two grown children that she also homeschooled. She greatly enjoys the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling. Rodna also works as an internet analyst from home and enjoys writing reviews and articles in her free time.