Teaching kids to become independent learners is one of the foundations of our homeschool philosophy. For my 16yo daughter Alina, this means that, in addition to our all-together schooling time, Alina is also pursuing her own studies independently. Here's a snapshot of Alina's study plan for the coming school year.
Alina's 2023-24 Scholar Contract
Each semester, Alina and I agree on a Scholar Contract. The purpose of the Scholar Contract is to document Alina's learning goals, the changes to her overall list of responsibilities, and her plan for achieving her self-directed Scholar goals.
This school year, Alina is planning to do three hours of Scholar Time daily Mon-Fri. This is in addition to our morning SmithSchool block, which includes some math, history, and science throughout the week.
Below is Alina's Scholar Contract for Sept 2023-May 2024. She plans to take things easier in late November/December when she will be working on Christmas presents and decorations. There is more about how to create a Scholar Contract in Leadership Education: The Phases of Learning.
Alina's Sept 2023-May 2024 Book List and Learning Plan
Alina developed her own curriculum of reading, writing, and math for the coming school year (with my guidance). Since we are focusing on 1500-1850 in history this year, Alina has chosen to focus on that era in her independent studies as well.
Several of the books Alina has chosen will include using Mentoring in the Classics (MIC) content for further engagement. I will also be reading some of these books alongside Alina so that we can discuss the books together.
Since Alina aspires to be an author, she has included several hours of writing time weekly. She will also be writing one essay each semester about a topic of her choice.
Alina finds that having incentives throughout the semester helps her stay motivated to meet her goals. So she has selected a few incentives that she will get to enjoy for every 5 books she completes.
Sewing and Arts
Besides reading and writing, Alina's Scholar Time also gives her a chance to work on her hand sewing, art projects, and Alina's Adorables business. Alina finds that it works well to engage in these projects while listening to audio books/Mentoring in the Classics audios.
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