Community Home School Spring Semester for ages 9.5-13

Spring Schedule
March 15-May 31st (11 weeks)
Thursdays

10am-11am Civics, Social Justice  and US Government (with a writing component) ($75.)
11am-12pm Latin ($100.)
12pm-1pm Lunch Break/Play time
1pm -1:45pm Cursive Handwriting and Form Drawing ($75.)
1:45pm-3:30pm Wood Working ($75.)

Cost for the whole day is $325.

Class Descriptions
Civics, Social Justice  and US Government taught by Beth Anne Moonstone
In this class students would learn how the US Government works (branches of government, town, state and federal, how officials are elected, the role of the constitution and bill of rights, how laws are made), they would also learn ways to participate in their government, write letters to their elected officials, and local government. In addition, we would learn about ways kids can be activists for the causes and issues they think are important. Part of the class would involve the kids reading the news each week. There are specific tools for KIDS such as Scholastic News for Kids, so those kids on the younger end of the spectrum or who's parents might not want them fully exposed to the newspaper will have age appropriate options. Parents can decide which sources are best for their child. We would use the book If You Don't Like the World - Change It: Activism for Teens by Nikki Halpin along with handouts on US History, audio/video clips (MLK, TR, FDR, JFK, Obama etc) and primary sources such as the Constitution and Bill of RIghts. Students would learn, practice and take the US Citizenship test as part of the class and discuss/learn about the upcoming election year. Students will need a copy of the book It's Your World--If You Don't Like It, Change It: Activism for Teenagers by Mikki Halpin. There are a bunch of these new on Amazon for under $5.

Latin taught by Anissa Sartini
Anissa's class is a mix of verbal, written work, reading and a review. She uses a lot of hands-on activities, games and worksheets to make Latin interactive and fun.
Students will need:
* Binder with two sections and/or folders.
* Notebook/note-taking apparatus! I will provide most of the worksheets for learning and homework.
* A Latin dictionary--I recommend the one by John C. Traupman, but Cassell's is a common one.
* The Cambridge Latin Course Unit 1. They can be found very inexpensively on on Amazon etc. Edition number doesn't matter, but do try to find the North American edition.

Cursive Hand Writing and Form Drawing taught by Beth Anne Moonstone
In an age of computers, handwriting, especially cursive handwriting, is becoming a lost art. Learning handwritting is about developing fine motor skills, spatial relationships and learning to improve our ability to construct and convey thoughts. This means the students learn to THINK about what they are writing, the meaning that underlies it and the message they hope to send. Cursive handwriting encourages thoughtfulness and concentration. "Form drawing is about a moment of movement caught on a page. It is about concentration , perseverance, control of the will, grace and purposefulness. Form drawing is a therapeutic art practiced in all Waldorf schools usually from first through 4th grade." Literally form drawing is the drawing of shapes and patterns. Even though some of our Community  School students are older than the traditional 4th grade age, form drawing is a natural accompaniment for a study of cursive handwriting. Both are about movement on the page, form, shape and design. The basic forms are the foundation for writing.
I will work to make this class artistic and fun. There will be forms and writing exercises to complete during the week for homework.
(As a random side note of interest - in 2005 the SAT added a handwritten essay portion. Only 15% of students completed their essays in cursive. The 15% who wrote in cursive had higher average test scores on their essay portion.)
Students will need Beeswax Block Crayons and a black pen that is comfortable for them to write with. I will provide them with lesson books and I have extra block crayons if anyone wants to borrow them for the semester.

Wood Working taught by Kevin Hannon Sr.
For most of the semester students will work on a variety of small projects using both hand tools and small power tools. At the end of the semester the students will spend several weeks making their own pine wood derby cars and specializing them. We will then host a pine wood derby race (open to the larger homeschooling community) where the kids will race their cars and celebrate.

Community Home School Registration for Fall 2011

This is what is being offered for the fall. History This group started in 2001 as a cooperative and has evolved over the years to take many different forms to meet the needs of our students and their families. Today our group is for students age 10 to 16 years old. We continue to have a commitment to building a positive and supportive learning community.  2011-2012 Details This group meets in Amherst, MA at my home. We have a 500 square foot yurt classroom and plenty of play and exploration space next to the woods and the Amethyst Brook Conservation area.  For the 2011-2012 year we will have classes on Thursday. Thursday classes will be for 9.5-12 year olds. I think we can make all classes $10. per week per class. The whole thing depends on having enough of a core group of kids to make this all happen. There will be a long winter break when my family does some traveling. If you'd like more info about any of the classes or want to talk to me about registering your child contact beth@peacefrog.org Community Home School Program 2011-2012 THURSDAY for upper elementary and middle school students (approx age 9.5-13) Fall Trimester (Sept-Dec)  9:30AM-12PM United States History: 1780-1900 taught by Beth Anne Moonstone We will focus on the Pioneers and Westward expansion through hands-on lessons in how the pioneer lived, field trips and project based learning activities.Our first 3 classes will be held at Historic Deerfield, classes 5 and 6 will be at Old Sturbridge Village and later in the semester we will have visitors include a Civil War re-enactor in class here at the Yurt. 1pm Latin for ages 9-12 2-3:15PM English Language and Composition this class will be a combination of creative writing, technical writing, poetry, vocabulary, spelling and grammar. Students will focus on working at the right level for them, growing as a writer and developing new language skills.

Tuesday Science Lab for ages 11+

A lab based/experiment based club for Middle and High School age students. Science Lab Club meets approximately every other Tuesday from 9:30am-2:20pm for 9 sessions until June. The morning block will be a 2 hour Chemistry lab led by Kevin Hannon. The afternoon block will be a 2 hour Biology lab led by Beth Mooonstone.

Between clubs students will be given reading assignments, internet links and artistic projects to review and prepare for our next lab. There are 2 required books.

The fee for Science lab club will be $10. per science class per week (so $180. for 9 sessions of Biology and Chemistry) For more info or to sign up just let me know beth@peacefrog.org

Dates: March 8, 22 April 12, 26 May 3, 17, 31 June 14, 28

The required books for lab class with be:
Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry by Robert Bruce Thompson (part of the DIY science series by O'Reilly)
Biology Laboratory Manual by Vodopich and Moore (8th edition) get this version ISBN 9780072995220

Clubs format for January-June 2011

We will be hosting a set of monthly classes/clubs for ages 9-12 on Thursday afternoon. All clubs are $10. per week/class and take place from 1-3:30PM at my home in Amherst, MA. Classes run from Jan 3rd until June 30th and will not meet from Feb 1 to Feb 25th.

First Thursday: Physics Club led by Beth Moonstone (six simple machines, heat, combustion and magnetism)
Second Thursday: History of Ancient Greece let by Kristie Valenze (there is a required book for this class)
Third Thursday: World Geography led by Jadziah Moonstone
Fourth Thursday: Book Club "classics" led by Atreyu Moonstone (so far kids have picked 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, Toms Sawyer and the Time Machine)

Clubs are largely project based learning experiences. There will be lots of experiments, games and activities each week. Homework between clubs will be reading about a topic and working on projects for the next class.

Kids can sign up for all the clubs or for a particular monthly club. We have morning French and Latin too. You can sign up for the whole day of French, Latin and the afternoon club or just for one thing. plenty of flexibility. 

We also have a morning block of classes on this day that includes French language immersion, Latin class and some social time to hang out and play. If you have questions or are interested in the clubs feel free to contact me at beth@peacefrog.org or 413.253.3100

The daily schedule is as follows:

Daily schedule
Thursdays in January
10-11am (ish) Fine Arts: Mask Making with Kristie
11-12:30PM Lunch and social time
12:30-1PM French
1-3:30PM Afternoon block

Thursdays March - June
10-10:45AM Board games, social time and playing outside
10:45-11:45 Latin
11:45-12:30PM Lunch and social time
12:30-1PM French
1-3:30PM Afternoon block

Spring Semester 2010

Spring 2010 Semester Schedule

Bluebirds

April 8, 15 and 29, May 6, 13, 20 and 27, June 3^rd and 10^th

9 week semester

Geometry 10-11AM
Book Making 11-11:50AM
Lunch 11:50-12:15PM
French 12:15PM-12:45PM
Book Club/Writing 1-2:30PM
Botany 2:30-3:30PM

Whole day $500..

individual classes are $100. which the exception of Writing/Book club which is $135.

Cardinals

April 15 and 29, May 6, 13, 20 and 27, June 3^rd and 10^th

8 week semester (no class April 8th)

Geometry 10-11AM
Writing Group 11-12PM
Lunch 12PM-12:50PM
French 12:50-1:20
Making Video Games 1:45-3PMWhole day $400.

individual classes are $100.

Winter 2010 Schedule and Registration Details

Winter Semester Schedule

Bluebirds

Geometry 10-11AM
Form Drawing 11-11:55AM
Lunch 12-12:30PM
French 12:30PM-1PM
Book Club/Writing 1-2:30PM
Nature Class 2:30-3:45PM

Cardinals
Geometry 10-11AM
US Government 11-12:30PM
Lunch 12:30PM-1PM
French 1:05-1:35
Creative Writing 1:35-2:35PM
Nature class 2:30-3:45PM
Payment plans are available and can be arranged. Sibling discounts are also available for some classes.

FOR REGISTRATION INFORMATION EMAIL: beth@peacefrog.org

Fall 2009 Semester Registration

WEDNESDAY CLASSES

• 10-11:30AM Math Club: Grades 3-5 with Beth Moonstone ($50. for 10 weeks. Student will need to purchase a workbook which is less than $10.) A math class using the Singapore Math curriculum along with math based puzzles, games and brain teasers to build strong math fundamentals in a fun way. Students would have math work to do each week between classes to help them become solid on particular topics. Students will use the appropriate workbook for the level of math they are ready to work on.
  
  
• 11:30-12:30PM D&D Club for ages 8-11 with Indigo Moonstone (an age appropriate D&D group that focuses on building a character, developing a story line and problem solving skills) $20. for 10 weeks
• 
  
  1-2PM Comic Book Illustration Class (ages 8+) with Jimmy Ilson $100. for 10 weeks
  
• 2PM Film Class with Adam Campbell details $125. for 10 weeks the students will write and direct a short film that we develop as a group. Ages 8+
  
  
  

THURSDAY Bluebirds ages 8-11
Geometry through Artistic work with Beth Moonstone 10-11AM
Group Cooperative Games and Nature Exploration with Beth Moonstone (to include lunch) 11-12:30PM
French with Joyce Yourga 12:45-1:15PM
Creative Writing/Book Club with Sophie 1:15-2:40PM
Drumming and Music Exploration 2:40-3:30
(learning to keep the beat and then how to combine beats together to create the magic of rhythm in our drum circle. We will learn to play a variety of drum and percussion instruments from around the world.)

For the whole day $525. (individual classes are $100. each with the exception of Book Club/Writing which is $175. There is a $25. supply fee for ALL students per semester which is included in the whole day fee. Students taking individual classes should add this $25. to their tuition payment.)

THURSDAY Cardinals ages 12+
Trigonometry Grades 8-10 with Jimmy Ilson 9-10AM (Yurt)
Geometry Grades 6-8 with Jimmy Ilson 10-11AM (Yurt)
Group Cooperative Games and Nature Exploration with Beth Moonstone (to include lunch) 11-12:30PM
Creative Writing with Lesley Yalen 12:35-1:35 (Yurt)
French with Joyce Yourga 1:35-2:05PM (Yurt)
D&D Math & Logic with Tameron 2:10-3:30PM (Yurt)

Individual classes are $100. each. There is a $25. supply fee for ALL students per semester which is included in the whole day fee. Students taking individual classes should add this $25. to their tuition payment. The whole day with both Trig and Geometry is $625. The whole day for Cardinals with Trig OR Geometry is $525.