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ABOUT US

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​Our Curriculum

 

In an effort to achieve our goals, we will use a variety of academic resources and standardized curriculums to help guide our studies. The techniques used to engage the students will follow a classical liberal arts philosophy, infused with Charlotte Mason’s guiding principles.

 

Our class blocks will be offered two days per week. Families can select a single day enrollment, or they can choose to attend both days. Each day will consist of separate academic courses as well as morning meetings, character lessons, electives, and a FREE period for lunch and recess.   Parents will receive a syllabus every 5 weeks outlining the coursework that will be done in class as well as the suggested studies to be done at home. 

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Niche offers a K-12 Program, and with that we do have some slight adjustments in our schedule depending on the age of students.  Below is a sampling of what a day at Niche looks like!

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Class Block Wednesday

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Lang Arts  (60 Min)

Reading/Literature

Grammar

Writing

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Science  (60 Min)

Concept Intro

Lab Experiments

Research

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Electives:  (60 Min)

Possibilities include but not limited to...

Music

PE

Art

Handiwork

Foreign Lang

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Class Block Thursday

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History  (60 Min)

Timeline

Mapwork

US History Studies

 

Math:  (60 Min)

Concept Intro/Review

Games

Practice

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Electives:  (60 Min)

Possibilities include but not limited to...

Music

PE

Art

Handiwork

Foreign Lang

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​Our Philosophy

 

The Niche works hard to blend a classical style education with  some of Charlotte Mason's key strategies.  We believe that this combination gives our students a very well rounded approach to learning.  Below we have highlighted some of the key details about each method that we have used to develop our Niche program.

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Charlotte Mason

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Charlotte Mason was a champion for education during the late 1800's.  Miss Mason believed that all children regardless of of social class deserved a "liberal" education which included fine arts and literature.  She believed that a child is a whole person and must be educated accordingly.  The Charlotte Mason Method is three pronged.  She stated that, "Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.  

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*  Atmosphere:  Miss Mason's reference to atmosphere specifically addresses her belief in the importance of the surroundings in which a child learns and grows.  

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*  Discipline:  Charlotte's focus on the whole child is highlighted in this principal as she believed in developing a child's character and teaching them habits and skills that they can carry throughout their lives.  

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*  Life:  Another key concept Charlotte emphasized was the importance of bringing learning to life for children vs focusing their education on facts alone.  

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Classical Education

 

A classical education centers around the idea that the goal of education is is to teach children to think and learn for themselves.  Classical education models focus of the Trivium which includes the three basic tools listed below.  the Trivium outlines how children use these components as building blocks to equip the students as they progress through the stages of their education.  

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*  Grammar Stage:  This stage of learning encourages young students to gain a mastery of facts and rules.  It utilizes a childs natural ability to soak up information and encourages the use of various strategies to memorize the essential information. (Elementary)

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*  Logic Stage: In this step of the Trivium, students use logic and reason.  These tools help them to begin to make connections and analyze information on their own. 

(Middle School)

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*  Rhetoric Stage:  The final piece of the Classical approach to learning is where students show the ability to use their knowledge and draw conclusions for themselves.  They begin to use their skills to express themselves and develop sound arguments supporting their beliefs on various topics.

(High School)

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While The Niche is confident in our curriculum choices for the upcoming school year it is important to remember that these classes are not meant to replace your homeschool curriculum or disrupt your school routines. The Niche is designed to serve as a kickstart to your studies at home each week and to make use of the synergy that comes from peer groups engaging in the learning process. The Niche will introduce concepts and teach information in our class settings that should be used as a launching pad for you throughout the following week of school. Families are not required to use the suggested curriculums outside of class, although families will be asked to participate in activities designed to reinforce or expand the concepts introduced.

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The Niche will not require specific reading or math programs to families as we understand those are very personal choices and best designed by parents based on their students individual needs. During math class, we will be doing grade level activities including games, concept tricks, and clues which are designed specifically to reinforce general concepts. These activities are not intended to take the place of your students daily math lessons at home.

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