Grammar Through Story & Art, Grades 1-4*~ Thursdays This class is designed to teach the basics of grammar through imagination and art, teaching the parts of speech in a concrete rather than an abstract manner. The act of drawing gives the child an opportunity to absorb what is being taught, thus gaining an understanding of the material that goes far beyond memorizing a definition. Materials will be provided. The finished drawings can form the basis of a Lesson Book which can be added to with further written work at home if desired. For the 2019 Spring Session, both new and returning students are welcome to join the class. During the second semester, students will review lessons from the previous session, complete the parts of speech, and practice their newly acquired grammar skills through interactive games and writing practice. The second semester may also include some form drawing and copy work.
Book Study / Writing / Language Arts, Grades 5-8*~ Thursdays This interactive class is designed to enhance students' comprehension and higher-critical thinking skills, while enjoying a great book! For the 2019 Winter-Spring Session, students will read A Wrinkle in Timeby Madeleine L'Engle. With a strong female lead character, students will explore themes of knowledge, wisdom, communication, free will, love and fear. Reading each week outside of class, students will review their reading during class with comprehension and reflection questions both through writing and in-class discussions. Class includes pre- and post-reading homework. What to bring: Students should bring their book, notepaper/binder and pens/pencils to class each week.
Readers' Theatre, Grades 2-4*~ Thursdays Readers’ Theatre introduces students of all ages to the wonder of language and its many nuances. Students become more aware of phonetics, alliteration, rhyme and rhythm in language. They learn how to work together as a group and support one another. Readers’ Theatre sharpens students’ listening skills as well; they must listen for their ‘cue’ to come in for their part, individually or as a group. Readers’ Theatre include both reading and performing. However, there are generally no props, no costumes, no blocking and no stage set. The readers stand or sit in semi-circle fashion and read together as a whole, in small groups or individual parts from a lively text. The text may include poems or excerpts adapted from classic or popular literature, focusing on scenes that include action and/or interesting language. Both emerging (beginning) and fluent readers will benefit from participation in this class. Learn more about Readers' Theatre and its many benefits here.
Spanish, Grades 2-4 & 5-8*~ Thursdays For the lower grades, students experience the Spanish language through movement, song, and stories presented in a variety of ways. Cultural experiences add depth and breadth to class. Students will engage in a variety of rich, varied activities to bring language to life such as food, dancing, music and celebration. Upper grades students will go further into the language through written work and grammar.
WLR varies/rotates the schedule based on available resources and interests of our participating families.
Classes marked with * are offered in the current/upcoming session. Check the Schedules page for the days/times these classes are offered.
American Sign Language Through this active class, students will use movement to learn American Sign Language (ASL) through songs, activities and games. Each class will focus on a vocabulary topic and include review, finger spelling and sentence building. Topics will be based on the children’s interests (animals, nature, food, family, colors, emotions, and more.) Students may practice sign language after class by using an ASL notebook that they will create in class. Parents are welcome and encouraged to attend with their children.
Art of Speaking, Grades 4-8 For the older students, the focus will be on desirable speaking skills, including the elements of tone, facial expression, eye contact, and voice projection. Students will develop these skills by working with spoken language in the form of poems, verses, Readers' Theatre, and more in order to increase their skill and confidence with oral communication.
Basic Grammar Through Story & Art* This class is designed to teach the basics of grammar through imagination and art, teaching the parts of speech in a concrete rather than an abstract manner. The act of drawing gives the child an opportunity to absorb what is being taught, thus gaining an understanding of the material that goes far beyond memorizing a definition. Materials will be provided. The finished drawings can form the basis of a Lesson Book which can be added to with further written work at home if desired. During the second semester, students will review lessons from the previous session, complete the parts of speech, and practice their newly acquired grammar skills through interactive games and writing practice. The second semester may also include some form drawing and copy work.
Book Study / Writing / Language Arts, Grades 6-8* This interactive class is designed to enhance students' comprehension and higher-critical thinking skills, while enjoying a great book! For the 2019 Winter-Spring Session, students will read A Wrinkle in Timeby Madeleine L'Engle. With a strong female lead character, students will explore themes of knowledge, wisdom, communication, free will, love and fear. Reading each week outside of class, students will review their reading during class with comprehension and reflection questions both through writing and in-class discussions. Class includes pre- and post-reading homework. What to bring: Students should bring their book, notepaper/binder and pens/pencils to class each week.
Classical Writing, Grades 6 - 8 (minimum age 12) While the emphasis of this course will be on persuasive composition, the concepts are applicable to all forms of writing. Students will learn key skills (rather than formulas) and thinking tools. This structured program starts slowly to ensure comprehension of foundational concepts before moving to more advanced applications. The class is about 2 hours long, providing time for lively discussions and exploration of the emerging intellect of this developmental stage. Classical Writing is a full-year course. Semester 1 will run for 12 weeks. Semester 2 will run for 12-15 weeks. Weekly homework will be assigned. Prerequisite: Knowledge of basic English grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Heroes & Fables • Grades 1-3 Children in the early grades are learning to increase their independence. This is the perfect time to bring them fables (with hidden lessons), tall tales and stories with heroes that exemplify the best of humanity: kindness, compassion, courage. Through storytelling, the children will build inner pictures of characters from tales such as Johnny Appleseed and The Lion and the Mouse. Students will retell the story in their own words (building memory and sequencing skills) and also "live into" the stories and images creatively through a variety of medium such as acting out a scene, modeling with beeswax or illustrating the story with colored pencils or beeswax crayons. As a group, students will compose a sentence or two about each story which the teacher will write on the board. Depending on individual skills, students will have the opportunity to copy a word, sentence or more into their lesson books, creating a page for each story. Although there is no "real" homework for this class, parents are requested to have their student retell the story to you the day after class. In this way, the story will "sleep" with the child and enter into the consciousness in a deep way. By retelling the next day, your student will be able to deepen his relationship with the characters and messages of the stories. Heroes & Fables combines Language Arts, Drama and History.
Joy of Speaking, Grades 1-3 This class will facilitate literacy / oral language development through the use of poems, verses, tongue twisters & more. Memorization skills will be developed / enhanced, and students will increase phonemic awareness as an aide to literacy development. Emphasizing the joy of language, students will gain confidence in their speaking abilities.
Joyful Rhythm, Movement & Speech • Grades 1-4 Learning through movement and spatial awareness helps build strength, balance and coordination while encouraging sensory integration. Using joyful language (verses, rhymes, tongue twisters) and activities such as hand clapping and rhythm stick games, students will increase speaking confidence and memorization skills while engaging in brain enhancing movement. In addition, the class helps build social skills by enhancing the development of communication, cooperation, respect, and sharing.
Nature Stories & Crafts In this lively class, students will engage the imagination through storytelling and crafts. Stories will focus on the seasons, Native American tales and the natural environment. Each story will be paired with a craft such as making seed balls for birds, stringing “Indian Corn,” and making an ornament out of wheat. Although not ingested, crafts will include exposure to flour, oats, millet, birdseed, honey and corn. Class integrates language arts, science, arts and crafts.
Spanish* Students experience the Spanish language through movement, song, and stories presented in a variety of ways. Cultural experiences add depth and breadth to class. Students will engage in a variety of rich, varied activities to bring language to life such as food, dancing, music and celebration.
Story & Narration* Through a combination of listening and retelling of stories by the students, this class will help develop language skills, strengthen memory and vocabulary, and stimulate curiosity and creativity. The King of Ireland's Son will be used as the primary text in this class. This book is a favorite and has been called, “one of the classics of Irish children's literature.”
Storytelling & Drama Grades 1-3 In each class, we will create our own story: the characters, the obstacle, the crisis, the solution, the ending. It will be a process where we play/act our way through the plot. As a group we will discover the narration, dialogue, movement, and possibly music, living into the group imagination in a playful and creative activity. No homework is required, as each story process will be contained within the class period.
Writing: Imagination & the Basics, Grades 4-8 In this writers’ workshop for Grades 4-8, students will experience playing with dialogue, using descriptive language, and learning word games and activities. With their new skills, students will combine sentences to create more complex and interesting writing. Designed for both enthusiastic writers and those who would rather do anything than write, this class will deepen students' relationship to language, showing how sensory images make writing come to life. Students will have opportunities to share their work and ask questions about each other’s writing in a supportive environment, while enhancing the process of revision. Along the way, students will learn the answers to these questions:
What is a sentence?
Where do I punctuate?
How do I write a paragraph? (topic sentence, closing sentence, starting a new paragraph)