A child-centered approach

Sprouting Seeds Language Arts is a reading, writing and grammar focused online homeschool program that uses a creative, open-ended and classic literature based approach to learning.

Few children thrive in a cookie cutter education model, whether that is in a classroom or at home. But with Sprouting Seeds Language Arts, all homework assignments have multiple ways for the child to engage - write a short story, create a comic strip, draw a picture, etc.! A freedom of choice in education begets a sense of responsibility and enjoyment in education.

A good writer must first be a good reader and, with Sprouting Seeds Language Arts, students spend the year reading from multiple authors of classic literature. These authors include E. Nesbit, Rudyard Kipling, Thornton Burgess, Francis Hodgson Burnett, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and more. However, reading is empty without a true comprehension of the text. Therefore, multiple assignments are incorporated to examine the meaning of the text and what it means to each child personally.

A good writer must also write! And, with Sprouting Seeds Language Arts, students write constantly. Students start with writing excellent sentences and paragraphs and are soon writing full essays. However, a solid understanding of grammar is the foundation to clear and concise writing. And, from adjectives and adverbs to using clauses and phrases, Sprouting Seeds Language Arts uses an extremely thorough and “building-upon-itself” approach to teaching grammar.

It starts with your child.

A journey with Sprouting Seeds Language Arts begins with a free assessment class.

You child’s academic level will be assessed, and they will be be paired with a class that is appropriate for their academic needs.

Each week costs $25 - $40 per week at a sliding scale rate. Sprouting Seeds Language Arts believes that an excellent education and exposure to literature and poetry should be more readily accessible to everyone. Therefore, simply state the amount that is right for your family, and it will be accepted - no questions asked or proof of income needed.

Students are not required to commit to the entire year, but are expected to stay for a full five-week unit. New students can join at the beginning of a new unit.

“Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth, and a feeling of responsibility—these three forces are the very nerve of education.”

-Rudolf Steiner

How it Works & FAQs

What classic literature does Sprouting Seeds use?

Sprouting Seeds Language Arts carefully selects British and American Literature from the 19th century and before.

Literature included in Sprouting Seeds Language Arts units include:

4th Grade Level

Old Mother West Wind (excerpts) by Thornton Burgess

Just So Stories (excerpts) by Rudyard Kipling

5th Grade Level

The Five Children and It - E. Nesbit

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

6th Grade Level

A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Christmas Carol (abridged) - Charle Dickens

Kidnapped! - Robert Louis Stevenson

7th Grade Level

The Story of my Life - Helen Keller

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain

The Lost Prince (Excerpts) - George MacDonald

8th Grade Level

The Call of the Wild - Jack London

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (excerpts) - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Macbeth - Shakespeare

12th Night - Shakespeare

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Excerpts) - Frederick Douglass

Grades 4th - 8th

One unit (five weeks) of each grade level is focused entirely on poetry where an extensive selection of poems are covered.

One Unit (five weeks) of each grade level is a writing workshop where 3 full length essays are written during this time.

What is open-ended homework? 

In the world of “fill-in-the-blank” education, students can become robots who simply “learn” and parrot the answers required to get good grades. However, is this true learning?

Rudolf Steiner, the founder of the Waldorf eduction model, believed that true education requires three things: imagination, truth, and responsibility. Homework with Sprouting Seeds Language Arts starts with the child and asks them to think for themselves. They are asked to imagine and to create how they want to respond to the lessons they are learning. They are given the responsibility of making their education their own and to produce work they are proud of. And, together, we uncover, discuss and take to heart the lifelong truths embedded in the rich literature and poetry we read together.

I often find students asking me exactly what they need to do for their homework, but I do not “teach-to-the-test,” and I do not just give them answers to memorize. Instead, I invite them to make their learning their own, and respond to their learning in a way that excites them.

A common vocabulary assignment might look like this:

Vocabulary words: 

  1. Hilarious 

  2. Historic 

  3. Horizontal 

  4. Hostile 

  5. Huddle 

  6. Identify

Please use the assigned vocabulary words to complete ONE of the homework assignments below: 

  • write a short story that incorporates each vocabulary word

  • OR draw a comic strip and incorporate each word 

  • OR draw one, or several, pictures that incorporate the idea of each word and write the words in the picture/pictures

  • OR write at least one sentence for each word 

  • OR write and act out a short skit, or several, involving each word at least once

  • OR come up with some other way to show that you understand what each of these words mean

Does Sprouting Seeds Language Arts grade homework? 

Instead of a simple letter grade with errors marked, I return all homework with detailed notes regarding what was done well and what needs improvement. Multiple studies abound with evidence demonstrating that non-graded education results in significantly higher academic achievement and better student mental health and self esteem(1).

Along with open-ended homework assignments, the absence of graded homework allows the student to truly think for themselves and produce homework they are interested in producing. I encourage all of my students to focus on only one thing with their homework - to produce work they are proud of. The true purpose of homework is not to simply earn a “good grade,” but to demonstrate a true understanding of the material. Non-graded homework assignments foster an environment where students can make mistakes, receive constructive feedback, and make improvements. 

 (1)https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/the-benefits-of-nongraded-schools

What happens if a student “fails”?

The only time an assignment is failed is when it is not done.

But, I have never had a student “fail” an assignment they completed. Sometimes the child does not fully understand the topic, and, therefore, we make room to review it again. Other times I receive homework that was done hurriedly or carelessly, I return it to the student with detailed comments, and I ask for it to be corrected or resubmitted. And I usually find that, after a thorough review, a second submission then demonstrates adequate knowledge of the topic. 

Why does Sprouting Seeds Language Arts reference Common-Core standards in each unit syllabus?

Sprouting Seeds Language Arts uses Common-Core standards solely as a reference list for what grammar, reading and writing points to cover in each grade level. 

Homeschooling parents, in most states, must send a yearly and/or quarterly report to their local school district stating the work that their child has completed. Therefore, I want to make my program simple for parents. At the end of each unit, I write a detailed review of the student’s work and their performance. Each of the topics covered in class meet grade-level, Common-Core State Standards that I include in the review. Therefore, parents can confidently use these reviews as part of their reports to their school district. 

How much homework can my child expect? 

Classes are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Grades 3-5 can expect 30-45 minutes per day on non-class days. 

Grades 6-8 can expect 45-60 minutes per day on non-class days. 

What does each class time look like? 

Although each class may be structured a little differently, most classes will be structured as follows. 

Welcome & Review (5-15 minutes) opening poem, brief homework review from the last class

Reading (15-25 minutes) analyzing the text, making text predictions, using context clues to define new vocabulary, making inferences from the text, discussing characters in the story, etc. 

Grammar (10-20 minutes) learning new grammar points, diagramming sentences, conjugation verbs, playing a grammar based review game, etc. 

Writing (10-15 minutes) Current writing assignment are briefly reviewed in class

Closing and Homework Assignments (5 minutes) New homework assignments are discussed and asigned

For any other questions, please feel free to contact me!