OUR PROGRAM
All the details you need to know...
PARENT EXPECTATIONS
Bramblewood is wonderful because of the amazing parents in our community, and we highly recommend being involved! In the 2-day program, parents typically volunteer for one half-day, leaving the other day and a half as a drop-off. This allows our program to function more smoothly, and also gives parents more visibility into the wonderful things their child is doing in class. We really value the partnership between families and the program!
SUBJECTSÂ COVERED
At Bramblewood we always have long term science and history projects, where children learn the topics through real-world, collaborative investigation. In addition, we also have writing workshops, Socratic discussions, book club, and math circle. While some families choose to supplement their science and history projects, many just choose to do math and language arts at home and leave the rest for Bramblewood!
PORTFOLIOS
As homeschool parents, ourselves, we are motivated to take care of as much at Bramblewood as we can, to leave less on our individual plates. We use the Seesaw app to build portfolios as we go throughout the year. Both children and mentors will be able to post pictures, videos, and documents that parents can view and comment on, and then at the end of the year, parents can just pull up the app to view all of the student work. We have heard many evaluators say they love this app because it makes the whole process so simple!
ARE YOU RELIGIOUS OR SECULAR?
In a world that is increasingly tribal, we are seeking to carve out a community where we place our value on each other over any ideological labels - political or religious. As such, our families hold a variety of beliefs and opinions - sometimes strong! - but must be able to set that aside to work with and support one another.
Our projects and instruction will not be religious in nature or have religious undertones, and in that way it is a secular program. However, we will not shy away from children sharing experiences and thoughts, which might mean that discussions occasionally mention religion. We have children from multiple faith backgrounds and will be respectful of all views and cultures. We will attempt to communicate with parents if controversial topics are brought up so that they can follow up at home. Additionally, there may be religious art or decorations present in the classroom unrelated to the class.
METHODS - HOW DO WE TEACH?
Bramblewood Learning Community is inquiry- and project-based at its heart. While each day may look slightly different, and schedules vary in the different levels, there are four main methods used in our program.
MENTORSHIP
We intentionally call our adult leaders "mentors," because that is their role, rather than "teachers." Mentors walk alongside our students, often guiding from behind and letting the students lead out. We often teach through asking questions and guided reflection. Mentorship also has an individual component, where we help students achieve their individual goals and find their own purpose and passions in life.
DEEP DISCUSSIONS
Discussion-based learning is a core practice at Bramblewood. We have crew meetings, where class decisions are made and we reflect on ourselves as a group;Â character discussions, where mentors help students catch a vision of where they are headed and how to become the people they want to be; and many classes also have current event or other topical discussions. Each week all classes have a Socratic discussion, where we discuss high quality, meaty material, allowing our minds to wrestle with great ideas.
INVITATIONS & INQUIRIES
Throughout the year we have rotating workshops that students may choose from on Wednesday afternoons. These are offered by parent volunteers, community members, or sometimes other students, on areas of expertise or passion. These allow children to gain exposure to many fields and skills, find new hobbies, and explore the world. Some workshops offered in the past include art, map-making, music production, cooking, pickleball, and theater.
AUTHENTIC PROJECTS
Each semester, classes work on at least one major project. Usually each year there is one project roughly corresponding to each subject - social studies and science - though all are interdisciplinary and involve multiple skills. We try and plan projects with authentic, real-world value whenever possible. Some projects we have done in the past include creating a plan and prototype for a treehouse, making a podcast on world religions, producing a Shakespeare play, and creating educational manipulatives for middle school biology classrooms.