Update!

Hello Charlotte Mason families,

I want you to know that a lot of hours have been spent on ENRICH. It started one way, morphed into something else I thought was going to be this huge thing and has now been brought back to a cross roads. At this time, I am going to scale back my ambitious plans and try to start this in a more relaxed and informal manner IF I get a few key things into place. Here are my key items: 

• I would like to stick with twice a month, with December off.

Fall Session Dates:

August 8, 22 (Dates moved to accommodate Labor Day Weekend)

September12, 26

October 10, 24

November 7, 21

Winter Session Dates:

January 9, 23

February 6, 20

March 6, 20

April 10, 24 (Dates moved to accommodate Easter Weekend)

• It is important to me that the families involved have children that are older, between the ages of 8-18. My own children that are participating are ages 8, 11, 14 and possibly my 17 year old. She will likely only participate if anyone has older kids who are interested. Sarah Strausbaugh is also going to continue with Toledo Schoolhouse which has a focus on littler kids and I don't want to take away from that. She also follows the Charlotte Mason methodology for those who are interested in that. *NOTE If you have a younger child, in addition to an older child, I would be open to having you join us. I am just looking to focus on the older ones in this instance. The younger one could join us if he/she is able to focus on the lessons and not be a distraction. 
  
  
• At this time, I would like our meetings to be hosted in each others homes in the Toledo area. If that is not possible for you, there are other options. When it is your turn to host, you could reserve a meeting room at the local library, plan to meet at a metropark if the weather is still nice, or a field trip could be coordinated on that day that would be a good compliment to our studies (theater, orchestra, nature center, etc...). Each family will need to plan to host once in the fall and once in the winter. Since there are 8 dates each time, I am thinking 8 families would be a goal for participation.
  
  
• I do have a Scope and Sequence written up for the fall term, but I am open to modifications and additions once we have the participating families established. Each mother will have a subject that they will lead the children in. This will be done in the Charlotte Mason methodology and I already have it figured out how this can be done easily. This is not meant to be difficult, require a lot of time and research. We will have a “teacher training day” where we will discuss how the material will be presented. Of course, if you have ideas, we will be open to receiving them, but the ultimate goal is to keep the workload light for each teacher. Most subjects only require about 20 minutes of time to teach.
  
  
• There will not be a cost to participate, but each family will need to purchase a few key supplies. Items such as watercolors, commonplace book, nature journal, and art prints. There may be a few other items as well which will be decided once the lesson plans are finalized. Each child will have identical supplies so that each one has the same quality tools. Just to give you an estimate of cost, it likely will be about $20 per child for the entire year.
  
  
• As of right now, I have planned the following subjects to cover: Folksong, Artist, Composer, Nature Study, Nature Journaling, Handicraft and Poetry. I would like to add in some sort of literature/book discussion if we have enough teachers. We could divide the kids up into reading groups so they would be in a group geared towards their reading ability. I am open to other suggestions for coursework but please keep in mind this is an enrichment group and I want to stay away from core subjects like history and science.
  
  
• Above all, each family that decides to participate will need to sign a form of commitment. Too often, people get excited about things like this, but then when life gets hectic, they drop out. I am looking for families that will be committed for the first term at minimum. Teachers must be present at all meetings or have a replacement should it be impossible to do so.
  
  
• If this sounds like something you are interested in, please contact me on facebook or email me at cmahmhprz@aol.com and we can discuss your thoughts, ideas, and questions.
  
  SCOPE AND SEQUENCE: 
  Please note, when I wrote this S/S it was when I had a different plans for the group. You'll notice I listed special guest speaker. That is still a possibility, but not a necessity. Once the participating families are assembled, we will modify this to suit the group as a whole, utilizing the resources and contacts each family brings to the table.