Classes

This morning, unable to use my computer because a cat was lounging on the keyboard, I decided to start trying to come up with a schedule of classes for Someday School. I read that in order to be an approved school in Washington, at least 5 hours of scheduled classes per day has to be offered to students of each age group or ability level. (They are not required to actually show up for it!) So I started trying to figure out how I would offer five hours of math and reading instruction to each age group, squashed into one day. I realized I also had to be prepared for being the only teacher, if I can't afford to hire other full time teachers right away. Making this schedule seemed logistically impossible!

Then I remembered... this isn't a regular school. This is Someday School! I don't have to offer five hours of traditional math and reading instruction to each age group each day! I can teach what I want, when I want. And even if I can't afford to hire teachers, I can find volunteers to come teach classes on various subjects once a week, multiple times per week, daily, etc. The beauty of it is that anyone can teach what they want, and students can request classes in what they'd like to learn, and students can also just freely learn and play with no organized instruction at all.

Here are some classes that I have thought of already.

Jolly Phonics... This would be an organized group for beginning readers that actually uses a curriculum I've used before. It is a music and movement reading curriculum that involves songs, stories, and motions for each phonetic sound. I would like to offer this each day for 20 minutes. I've found that even students who don't "need" phonics instruction really get into Jolly Phonics!

Smart Board/Technology... In this group we would use a Smart Board (if we owned one) and other technology to practice reading and math skills.

Sensory... This is more of a fun group. We would find and create sensory recipes. It would require reading and following directions in order to find  and follow the recipes, and then we would have cool sensory activities to do!

Science ... We could do science experiments and projects.

Thematic Unit... Fun activities focused on the thematic unit of the week.

World Travelers... We would "explore" a new country every few weeks by reading about it, watching videos, doing crafts, trying recipes, playing games, etc. We might choose a new country to learn about just by spinning the globe randomly! If we had a Smart Board, we could even use Google Earth to "fly" to that country.

Arts and Crafts... This one is pretty self explanatory, but would include a combination of open and closed ended projects. (A closed ended art project is a project with a specific ending in mind. For instance, follow the instructions to make a dog out of clay, or follow instructions to reproduce a famous painting. An open ended art project might be showing students how to use a technique, such as layering tissue paper, and then setting them free to do whatever they want. Of course, the art supplies would be available at all times for kids to just experiment and do their own things!)

Animal Club... This would involve learning about animals and also service projects to help animals. It could also involve having live animal visitors!

Mail Monday... I have done this in the schools I've taught, and also when I "home preschooled" my little nieces. Each week we would choose someone to write to. It might be the police or fire department, a favorite store, the company that makes a favorite food or toy, the producers of a favorite show or movie, etc. We've written to Motorcross drivers, horse racers, farmers, doctors, authors, wrestlers, the President of the USA (when it was Obama!) and more. We've often gotten letters back, and many times they also include surprises such as stickers or pictures for the kids. This is a great way to practice using writing to express yourself, and a great way to bring back the art of actual letter writing, NOT emailing or texting!

Magazine... I have wanted to do this for years but, as public schooling would have it, I never managed to have enough time to organize it. The idea was to collect writing and artwork of all kinds from the students, and put it into a monthly publication to give out to our parents and supporters.  Another fun and authentic way for students to practice their writing! I imagined them writing stories, book reviews, jokes, or whatever else they wanted to write.

These classes would not meet every single day, and would be spread throughout the week. Other teachers and volunteers could teach other classes. Some classes might meet every week for the entire school year, while others might only meet once, or over the course of a few weeks. Like everything else involving Someday School, the sky is the limit!

What ideas do you have for classes or groups for kids?