Our Approach

Our summary of Northern Schoolhouse: An open-ended learning model rooted in classical literature, nature, and the arts. 

The timeless “one-room schoolhouse” model provides a recipe for upholding the culture we value. Mix in the educational philosophies of Socrates and Confucius, and the richness of the Schoolhouse takes shape. 

Our approach, divided into Form and Study, highlights the following attributes:

Our Form

  • Personalized-Learning Outcomes (open-ended experiences to help our advanced students progress further and faster, and our progressing students catch up)
  • Mixed-ages (into upper and lower cohorts)
  • Tech-free
  • Family emphasis
  • Character Map and Paths of Attention (Knowledge, Genius, Heart)
  • Assessment Forms: Experiential, Performative, and Mastery-Based Learning
  • Confucian “Corners” & Socratic Questioning

Our Study (Academics, Arts, & Culture)

  • The four classical pillars: poetry, literature, logic, ethics
  • Living books and storytelling
  • Nature-based science program
  • Language focus (French and Chinese, and Latin and Greek for upper students)
  • Arts and music
  • Friday Faires (real-world learning workshops), Summits (school-wide performances), and Amendments (standards of revision)
  • Rhetoric
  • Problem solving “Missions”

~ Academics ~

We study the following subjects during the daily morning lessons:

  • History through storytelling
  • Literature through high-level classics and poetry
  • Language and writing through time-tested practices (narration, dictation, recitation, copy work, composition, cursive, questioning and dialogue)
  • Personalized arithmetic program tailored to each individual’s skill level, up through 8th grade proficiency
  • Science through the direct observation of nature

~ Arts & Culture ~

We include the following areas of study in the daily afternoon arts and culture program:

  • Dance
  • Music, including lyre training, composer study, and voice training (folk, Italian opera, polyphony)
  • Art
  • Chinese
  • French
  • Latin & Greek primer (for upper students)

Please see our Parent Guide for more details on our curriculum and programs

Summer Camp