An Atmosphere, A Discipline, A Life
Our curriculum choices are based on the idea that the child's mind is a living organism that is hungry for nourishment, not an empty vessel waiting to be filled up. True knowledge is not a standardized collection of "stuff," but something highly personal and transformative. In response to this idea, we spend many hours scouring book lists and reading and evaluating books in order to choose the ones we believe will be the most nourishing for our students. These are Living Books--books written by a single author who is a master of both the subject matter and the written word, whose passion for the subject is contagious, and whose narrative style causes ideas to live in the mind of the reader. Living books are infinitely more engaging and delightful than textbooks.
The few pre-packaged programs that we do use are concept-driven and hands-on. Examples include Right Start Mathematics in the elementary and middle grades and the Interactive Mathematics Program in high school.
We also believe that children need a wider variety of subjects than what they are typically given. At Willow Tree, you will not find that reading, math, and science trump all other areas of study. Our approach is much wider and more balanced:
The few pre-packaged programs that we do use are concept-driven and hands-on. Examples include Right Start Mathematics in the elementary and middle grades and the Interactive Mathematics Program in high school.
We also believe that children need a wider variety of subjects than what they are typically given. At Willow Tree, you will not find that reading, math, and science trump all other areas of study. Our approach is much wider and more balanced:
List of SubjectsWorld, U.S., and Local Histories
Citizenship Literature Poetry Penmanship Copywork Dictation Recitation Spanish Maths Science Nature Study Natural History Geography Art Artist Study Music Theory Composer Study Handwork Architecture Physical Education Bible Composition Grammar Latin Shakespeare |
Partial List of AuthorsE. B. White
Maya Angelou Aesop Plutarch Charles Dickens William Shakespeare Thomas More William Wordsworth Annie Dillard Isaac Asimov David Macaulay Jean Craighead George Madeleine L'Engle Jules Verne Nathaniel Hawthorne George Macdonald Wendell Berry Andrew Lang David McCullough J.R.R. Tolkien C.S. Lewis Charlotte Mason Lewis Carroll Rudyard Kipling Thomas Bulfinch and many, many more... |