Hearthstone education plan

HEARTHSTONE EDUCATION PLAN

Educating Hearts and Souls

The emotional bond between a mother and child makes

her the most qualified to educate the heart.

THE INFLUENCE OF MOTHERS

Find curriculum -This usually results in mother burn-out, especially if home

schooling more than one child.

TYPICAL FIRST STEP

Math

Science

Language Arts

History

Spelling

What if there was a simpler way

to homeschool?

What do I want my children to learn

before they become adults?

A DIFFERENT APPROACH

Do any of these

objectives resonate with you?

1. Faith in God

2. Strong moral character

3. Leadership skills that may be used in their future homes and communities

4. Skills in self-reliance

5. Love of learning to propel them towards academic achievement in their chosen fields of study.

WHAT DO I WANT MY CHILDREN TO LEARN?

Less busywork

Fewer textbooksFewer

worksheets

Trust in the Simple . . .

More time to learn from real life, real

events and real people.

More creativity and ingenuity

More faith in God

LESS IS MORE

#1

Structured Time

#2

The Garden Allegory

ACCOMPLISH MORE . . . WITH 3 SIMPLE PRIORITIES

#3

Well Rounded Educatio

n

Create a schedule with “structured school time” in your home.

PRIORITY #1: STRUCTURED TIME

1. Structure time – not content. Guard this time – do not allow for interruptions.

2. Be present and engage with children. Do not wash dishes, fold laundry, talk on phone, etc.

3. Keep it special

4. Keep it simple

5. Plan weekly objectives

5 RULES OF ENGAGEMENT*

*From Mary Ann Johnson, The Home School Coach

Simple method for

sharing powerful education principles

Master Gardeners create a nurturing environment for

seeds to grow to full maturity.

Every seed contains all the genetic coding necessary to

reach full potential.

PRIORITY #2: GARDEN ALLEGORY

STRUCTURED TIME: THE VINEYARD

Light and Water

Cultivate, Nourish, Weed out

Share Harvest

Multi-denominational Resources for

Religion

History includes:

Family history

State history

National history

World history

LIGHT AND WATER: RELIGION AND HISTORY

• “Hook Dates” make it very easy to organize and compile historical events into the mind.

HOOK DATE HISTORY

• Each segment of history is organized into 10 Hook Dates including an important personality and event that connects to that time period.

Main focus for Junior A age group (ages 0-8)

Revisited each year as children progress

• Relationship before scholarship

• Family routines, standards and values

• Children learn the difference between right and wrong; truth and error

• Preserve the Joy of learning at this age

• Discover the value of “Spark Stations” (Mary Ann Johnson)

PREPARE THE SOIL

• Prepare the soil

• Plant the seed

• Nurture and Cultivate

• Capture the Sunshine

• Weeding• Harvest

As students move into the Junior B and Senior classes they will learn to follow the full gardening cycle in their education

• Principle and Value based learning

• Carry the principle or value through the full cycle of seed planting to harvest

THE GARDENING CYCLE

Soil Preparati

on

Seed Selection

Cultivate and

Nourish

Weed It Out

Share the Harvest

The Garden Allegory

The 5 R’s o f Memory Retent ion

THE LEARNING PROCESS – BY ANY NAME . . .

Principle Defined

Define objective

Discovery

Skill Practice

Evaluate and discuss

Serve, teach, and share

Seed Selection

Soil Preparation

Cultivate and Nourish

Weed it Out

Share the Harvest

Recognize

Record

Rehearse

Recall

Reconstruct

The Garden Allegory

THE GARDEN ALLEGORY AND THE GREAT BRAIN PROJECT*

The Great Brain Project

Choose a Topic

Build Questions

Study

Imagine, Create, Invent

Share Your Project

Seed Selection

Soil Preparation

Cultivate and Nourish

Weed it Out

Share the Harvest*The Great Brain Project was developed by Lynn Stoddard and explained in the book: Educating for Human Greatness

Moving principles from mind to heart

Mind

Heart

An intellectual understanding of the principles of liberty will not be enough . . .

The blessings of life, liberty, and happiness can only be

maintained by people who live with

the fires of faith,the valor of virtue,

and the power of patriotismburning in their hearts.

SCIENCE

Discovering how and why God created the universe

1st Day: Light and Physics

2nd Day: Water and Chemistry

3rd Day: Geology and Botany

4th Day: Astronomy

5th Day: Zoology and Biology

6th Day: Physiology and Biology

CREATION SCIENCE

• 3 year rotation based on the days of the creation

• One semester of study will be dedicated to each day of the creation

• Allows the family to work on science together

Participate in Science Labs and Field Trips

Enjoy discovery with *“Spark Stations”

Create a scrapbook to record their discoveries

JUNIOR A (3-8)

*Learn more about “Spark Stations” from Mary Ann Johnson at: http://home-school-coach.com/

Participate in Science Labs and Field Trips

Create a textbook to teach others about each field of science

Participate in a “Great Brain Project” in a chosen field of science

Practice writing essays and research papers to include in their textbooks

JUNIOR B AND SENIOR (8-18)

GARDEN ALLEGORY PRINCIPLES

MATH

God’s method of using patterns and numbers to create order in the universe.

Discover Heavenly Father’s favorite numbers and patterns

Hands on math experiences with Spark Stations and Math games

Application of math and geometry in everyday life and career choices

Have fun with math!

JUNIOR A (3-8)

Principle based learning – Practical application

Students will carry a principle through the full garden cycle. From their experience, they will not only have a deeper understanding of math, but they will also learn to become self-

governing



LANGUAGE ARTS

Academic Service Projects bring purpose to developing skills in language arts. Literature is

based on the classics with the Bible as the foundation classic.

Relationship before scholarship:

Parents bond with children with stories, music, nursery rhymes, read-a-loud books

Develop a love for books and language

Child’s readiness determines when reading and writing practice begins

JUNIOR A (3-8)

Focus on Classics: Book

discussions with parents, teachers and

peers

McGuffey Readers and Bible stories

develop moral character and

language skills simultaneously


Academic Service Projects:

• Writing letters, essays, speeches, and research papers

• Public speaking and recitations from memory

• Creating word games• Developing good

penmanship and cursive writing skills

• Broaden communication with foreign language skills


Our Criteria: 1. We select resources

that are compatible with the garden allegory method of teaching

2. We look for resources that teach faith, virtue and patriotism

3. Simplicity in presentation – allowing more creativity within the family

CURRICULUM CHOICES AT HEARTHSTONE

Class Road Maps:

When 2 or more resources are recommended in one subject – we create a class road map to coordinate the lessons in a logical sequence

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.” Luke

2: 52Heart Might

Mind Strength

PRIORITY #3: WELL ROUNDED EDUCATION

Four components of the soul as described in the

Bible

“The heart constitutes the significant decision making center of the human

personality; it manifests itself as character or disposition – prevailing

tendency, dominating mood, or governing inclination . . .

WHAT IS THE HEART?

The heart is the core, the innermost aspect of the person, the human being

itself. It is subject to growth, development, and change as it is

influenced by those choices. The heart is distinct from the mind. The two are different, but intimately interrelated,

aspects of human nature. “As he thinketh in his heart so is he” (Proverbs 23:7)

-Neil Flinders, Teach the Children

WHAT IS THE HEART?

Our emotions merely serve as indicators to the condition of the heart, just as the instrument panel on the car serves as an indicator to the condition of the engine.

THE HEART IS LIKE AN INTERNAL ENGINE . . .

The heart empowers us to act on, think about and choose to respond to life’s experiences.

Just as our physical hearts pump life sustaining blood and nutrients to the

physical body . . .

THE HEART IS LIKE A VALUES PUMP . . .

. . . Our internal heart pumps values and beliefs to the decision making center of our souls.

WHAT IS THE “MIND”?

• The mind is man’s capacity to become aware of things as they are, as they have been, or as they will be.

• The mind is subject to the management and leadership of the heart.

• The mind as an instrument of the heart may select, categorize, classify, and store, but it does not choose in the sense that the heart makes choices. It is a collector but not a commander.

Neil Flinders, Teach the Children

MightMight refers to the resources – both temporal and spiritual—

that are legitimately

accessible to a particular

person.

StrengthDenotes the

physical properties

associated with an individual’s body that are instruments of

power in a bodily sense.

MIGHT AND STRENGTH ARE EXTENSIONS OF A FUNCTIONING MIND AND HEART.

Neil Flinders, Teach the Children

A HEART AND SOUL EDUCATION

HeartMindMight

Strength

The Hearthsto

ne Education

Plan

Liberty’s Hope

Liberty’s Hope

A youth achievement program designed to develop the Heart, Might, Mind, and

Strength of a growing child

Ages 3-8 Ages 8-14 Ages 14+

Adds elective courses to the Hearthstone Education Plan

Compatible with Quest Clubs (uniforms, badges and award pins available

through Quest Clubs)

Customized achievements to emphasize patriotism

and “heart and soul” development

LIBERTY’S HOPE

LIBERTY’S HOPE PROJECTS

Heart

• Values• Religion• Heritage• Hook Date

History• Service• Leadership• Family

Relations• Life skills

Mind

• Classics• Constitution

and Government

• Financial Literacy

• Science• Math

Might

• Craftsmanship

• Fabric Arts• Fine Arts• Performing

Arts• Communicat

ion skills• Computer

Technology• Foreign

language

Strength

• Culinary Arts

• Gardening• Healthy

Living• Fitness and

Recreation• Health Care• Whole foods

nutrition

• A portfolio is a place where you can record assignments and test scores and track the progress of your child from year to year.

• The student portfolio is an excellent medium for “mentor meetings” where you and your child can plan curriculum, choose books, and discuss their work and progress throughout the year.

PORTFOLIOS AND PLANNERS

By combining the portfolio with planning pages it can serve a dual purpose for tracking goals and

assignments as well as progress and achievements.

Individual Planner

Quarterly Goals (Heart, Might, Mind

and Strength)

3 Month Calendar

Weekly Compass

Family Planner

Year at a glance school calendar

Monthly Family Education Plan

Weekly Family Education Plan

PORTFOLIOS AND PLANNERS

Section 3 : Elective Courses (5+ page dividers)

Include achievements, projects, experiences in specific topics

PORTFOLIO SECTIONS

Section 1: (5 page dividers)

• Planning Calendars

• Evaluations • Experiences/

Activities• RSLL Charts

(Reading, Service, Leadership, and Life Skills)

• Awards/Recognition

Section 2: Core Courses (5 page dividers)

• Religious Studies• Language Arts• Math• Science• History

HEARTHSTONE EDUCATION PLAN

Planning for a “heart and soul” education

hearthstoneplan.org