The Core Program at The Loft Schoolhouse is a secular homeschool drop-off program committed to providing individualized academics while allowing students to learn, grow, and socialize in an engaging and safe environment. The Montessori-inspired curriculum focuses on science, history, geography, math, and reading skills to support homeschool families with children aged 6-11.
Sample Schedule:
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Whole Group Lesson and Activity
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Snacks and Social Time
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90 minute Montessori Work Period
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Individual/Small Group lessons in math and reading
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Students work on independently chosen materials with teacher support
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Follow-up Work
Families will be provided with work that can be completed at home in order to share what students have been learning at The Loft or dive deeper into topics that interest them. This work is intended to fit into each family's existing routines and academic goals.
Montessori Work Period
During this independent work time, students select materials that interest them from carefully curated shelves. These materials reflect the topics that have been taught in whole or small group lessons and allow students to deepen their understanding of the selected topic.
Students are welcome to work along with their peers or independently.
CORE TWO-DAY PROGRAM
Great Lesson #1
Coming of the Universe
The Great Lessons are the heart of the elementary classroom and flow from one to the next. This first lesson includes the study of astronomy, states of matter, chemistry, geography, land/water forms, periodic table, elements, magnetic attraction, and more.
Great Lesson #2
Coming of Life
This story continues with the study of Earth and the development of life. Studies include, microorganisms, plants, and animals that lived (or still live) on Earth today; like biology, zoology, botany, ecology, habitats, and ancient life.
Great Lesson #3
Coming of Human Beings
The next lesson involves the timeline of the gifts that make humans special: a mind to imagine, a hand to do work, and a heart that can love. This leads to the study of the beginning of civilizations and the fundamental needs of humans. Including focused studies of world history, culture, discovery, and invention.
Great Lesson #4
Coming of Writing
This lesson can also be called Communication in Signs. With an emphasis on the incredible ability that humans have of committing their thoughts to paper, including, pictographs, symbols, hieroglyphs, early alphabets, and the invention of the printing press. Studies include poetry, myths/folk tales, origins of spoken language, book making, and figures of speech.
Great Lesson #5
Coming of Math
The final lesson begins with the earliest civilizations and their numeric systems and continues with a look at different numbering systems throughout the centuries, culminating in the system that we use today. Studies include, geometry, fractions, various numbering systems, etc.
The five Great Lessons cover an enormous amount of information about how the world around us came to be. They are taught each year and follow-up studies vary yearly based on student interest. Students will be provided with ample opportunity to explore topics they're interested in at The Loft and using suggested follow-up work at home.
Reading Skills
A detailed plan will be created with each student's family to create a plan that works best for each student. Phonics lessons will be provided at The Loft individually or in small groups. Book clubs will be created for interested students.