Assembly
Each co-op day students will be led in a time of praise, Scripture memory, and prayer. We will teach students hymns of the faith and how to sing them using the Solfege method (think "do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do" - an excellent interactive method to teach students how to sing on pitch), memorize Scripture, and finish assembly by dedicating the day to God in prayer. Assembly is an important component of our music class and is one of the ways our community is knit together.
Humanities
1st and 2nd Grade: Lower Grammar (LGA & LGB)
At these levels all of your student's history and literature will be covered during co-op hours. Wrtiting will be taught at Mosaic and assigned for the parent to teach at home on Mondays and Wednesdays. In a typical week students will read core history and literature books, complete copy work that will highlight main ideas and practice writing skills, do map work to learn the geography of the area(s) studied, and do picture study of famous artists of that time period. Students will also add to a class timeline each week so they have a "big picture" of what was happening during this century. There will be lots of review through fun games and activities for maximum retention of material learned. Other work that will be completed at home includes writing a book report, and presenting it to the class. Adding all these elements together will help make this time period in history come alive! We will also provide an at home guide for parents so that you always know exactly what we are studying and can take learning even further if your family desires to do more.3rd and 4th Grades: Lower Grammar (LGC)
This class is designed to be an intermediate step between LGA/B (where almost 100% of the work is done in class) and UG (where more of the work is done at home). In this class your children will do some history related reading together in class as well as cover the geography of the area studied, discuss their at-home assignments and do weekly writing exercises. Students will read their literature assignment at home. Each week they will have a book, or part of a book, assigned to read and will have an activity to complete on the book at home as well. They will learn writing at co-op, and will also complete writing assignments, assigned by the Mosaic humanities teacher, and led by the parent, at home. We will use class time to do hands-on activities that will complement their humanities studies.
5th and 6th Grades: Upper Grammar (UG)
In this class your student will complete most of the history and literature reading and related writing assignments at home. The assignments will be written so that most students should be able to do the work independently without parental help. You, the teacher, can assist if you desire. A typical week will look like this:
- Mondays and Wednesdays your student will have reading and writing assignments to complete at home prior to co-op.
- Tuesdays and Thursdays at Mosaic your student will go over the assignments done at home, participate in engaging discussions, complete map work to learn the geography of the area(s) studied, practice speaking through memory work and assigned roles, and play games to constantly review material.
Adding all these elements together will help make this time period in history come alive! We will also provide an at home guide for parents so that you always know exactly what we are studying and can take learning even further if your family desires to do more.
7th and 8th Grades: Dialectic (D)
In this class your student will complete most of the reading and writing assignments at home. This class will be more advanced for older students who have entered a phase where they are starting to ask deeper "Why?" questions. Classroom discussions are extremely important at this level as students will be encouraged to think and respond about the important connections between the events and people who made history during this century. They will be taught skillful writing
The D level will be allotted three class periods per week (rather than two like younger grades). First period on Tuesday and Thursday your student will be covering the History and Geography components of TOG as well as practicing their memory work and adding to an individual timeline notebook.
During third period, one day students will attend art class and the other have their additional history period where they will cover the Literature and Worldview (Church History) components of TOG. Dialectic students will not attend music class.
In this class your student will complete most of the reading and writing assignments at home. This class will be more advanced for older students who have entered a phase where they are starting to ask deeper "Why?" questions. Classroom discussions are extremely important at this level as students will be encouraged to think and respond about the important connections between the events and people who made history during this century. They will be taught skillful writing
The D level will be allotted three class periods per week (rather than two like younger grades). First period on Tuesday and Thursday your student will be covering the History and Geography components of TOG as well as practicing their memory work and adding to an individual timeline notebook.
During third period, one day students will attend art class and the other have their additional history period where they will cover the Literature and Worldview (Church History) components of TOG. Dialectic students will not attend music class.
Science
Our science classes we using various curriculum, depending upon the subject and grade levels being taught in a given year. We use Apologia, Elemental Science, Liberty Nature Studies, and Novare Math and Science. We invite you to read in our FAQ section more about our philosophy on teaching science. In the 2017-2018 school year, all levels of grammar and dialectic students will learn chemistry. Grammar students will also do hands-on nature study.
In this class we will be using Apologia's Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics along with Liberty Nature Readers. At this level, all of your student's science will be covered during co-op hours. They will read from core science books together in class, participate in oral review so teachers can check for understanding and reteach if/when necessary, complete copy work, do weekly experiments with write-ups and do lots of hands-on activities and demonstrations. We want to encourage curiosity about the world and a deeper love for our Creator through the study of the beauty and order of nature!
Lower Grammar II (LGII) - approximately 3rd-4th grade
Upper Grammar Class (UG) - approximately 4th-6th grade
This class will use ES's Biology for the Grammar Stage. In this class your student will have outside reading and assignments. The assignments will be written so that most students should be able to do the work independently without parental help. You, of course, are always welcome to assist if you desire. A typical week will look like this:
This level will use ES's Biology for the Logic Stage. In this class your student will complete all reading and writing assignments at home. This class will be more advanced for older students who have entered a phase where they are starting to ask deeper "Why?" questions. Classroom discussions will go further to help students truly understand the concepts they are learning. Most students will need to work longer at home to complete science assignments. This class will be an intermediate step in preparing students for a rigorous, in-depth science study in high school. The breakdown of assignments will look similar to the UG description above just on a level more challenging for older students.
1st and 2nd Grade: Lower Grammar (LGA & LGB)
In this class we will be using Apologia's Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics along with Liberty Nature Readers. At this level, all of your student's science will be covered during co-op hours. They will read from core science books together in class, participate in oral review so teachers can check for understanding and reteach if/when necessary, complete copy work, do weekly experiments with write-ups and do lots of hands-on activities and demonstrations. We want to encourage curiosity about the world and a deeper love for our Creator through the study of the beauty and order of nature!Lower Grammar II (LGII) - approximately 3rd-4th grade
Upper Grammar Class (UG) - approximately 4th-6th grade
This class will use ES's Biology for the Grammar Stage. In this class your student will have outside reading and assignments. The assignments will be written so that most students should be able to do the work independently without parental help. You, of course, are always welcome to assist if you desire. A typical week will look like this:
- Mondays and Wednesdays your student will have reading, vocabulary, and writing assignments to complete at home prior to co-op.
- Tuesdays and Thursdays at Mosaic your student will go over assignments done at home, participate in oral review so that the teacher can check for understanding and reteach if/when necessary, do scientific experiments with their class and complete an experiment write up, play lots of games for continual review and reinforcement, and much more.
This level will use ES's Biology for the Logic Stage. In this class your student will complete all reading and writing assignments at home. This class will be more advanced for older students who have entered a phase where they are starting to ask deeper "Why?" questions. Classroom discussions will go further to help students truly understand the concepts they are learning. Most students will need to work longer at home to complete science assignments. This class will be an intermediate step in preparing students for a rigorous, in-depth science study in high school. The breakdown of assignments will look similar to the UG description above just on a level more challenging for older students.
Music
We want to inspire in your children a love for music that will allow them to explore their own musical potential. Students in preschool and kindergarten will have a thirty minute music period each co-op day. Our LG and UG students will have one sixty minute class period each week.
At all levels, we will combine a multitude of activities that are designed to increase students appreciation of music, explore the basic elements of music theory, and engage your child's unique musical talent through participatory music. We will use classroom instruments, movement, singing and will expand upon the Solfege training they will learn in the morning assembly. Lower grammar and upper grammar students will be using recorders and ukuleles as a stimulus to deepen their understanding of musical elements and these instruments will be the main focus of ensemble playing. In addition, using Charlotte Mason’s method of composer study, they will keep a music notebook which will journal their lessons in music appreciation through our study of six different composers.
At all levels, we will combine a multitude of activities that are designed to increase students appreciation of music, explore the basic elements of music theory, and engage your child's unique musical talent through participatory music. We will use classroom instruments, movement, singing and will expand upon the Solfege training they will learn in the morning assembly. Lower grammar and upper grammar students will be using recorders and ukuleles as a stimulus to deepen their understanding of musical elements and these instruments will be the main focus of ensemble playing. In addition, using Charlotte Mason’s method of composer study, they will keep a music notebook which will journal their lessons in music appreciation through our study of six different composers.
Art
It is our belief that art, at all levels, should provide a method for students to learn about their world and communicate their thoughts and emotions. Our philosophy on teaching art emphasizes the exploration and development of children’s creative process skills. Students master fundamental techniques across several media, where they learn how to use artistic materials and tools to deepen their expressions of the world around them. We help children recreate their imaginations and solve problems creatively by giving them confidence in various processes.
All students at Mosaic will learn these various processes through the study of six collective disciplines: collage, drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, and construction. Where possible, we will incorporate art that will contribute to the students' understanding of the current history lesson. In addition, using Charlotte Mason’s method of artist study, we will study artists, their works, their lives, and their contributions to society in depth.
Preschoolers and kindergartners will have a 30 minute art session each co-op day, while LG, UG, and D students will one class period per week.
All students at Mosaic will learn these various processes through the study of six collective disciplines: collage, drawing, painting, clay, printmaking, and construction. Where possible, we will incorporate art that will contribute to the students' understanding of the current history lesson. In addition, using Charlotte Mason’s method of artist study, we will study artists, their works, their lives, and their contributions to society in depth.
Preschoolers and kindergartners will have a 30 minute art session each co-op day, while LG, UG, and D students will one class period per week.
Notes for All Mosaic Classes
An important note about curricula:
At Mosaic we have chosen some of, what we believe to be, the very best curricula available to homeschoolers on the market. We are not using textbooks, and we realize this can make our prices higher as a result. Textbooks vs. living books is a long-standing discussion in the homeschool community. Both have their place, their merits, and their negatives, too. As you consider if Mosaic could be a fit for your family we want to be upfront in saying we realize by choosing the path of living books over textbooks it means our classes might be a bit more costly, but we think the end result will be worth the monetary investment if you concur with this philosophy.
An important note about copyright:
An important note about copyright:
In addition, we are committed absolute integrity in regards to copyright issues. We will be diligent to be certain, to the best of our ability, that we honor each author's/publisher's requirements when it comes to copyright. If a material is only copyright for family use then it is necessary for every single family to have a copy of that material, or purchase the licensing fee, even if the material/book is never to be used at home.
