Our Process and Curriculum

The Four Winds' curriculum is designed to provide a balance between rigorous training in basic academic skills and the freedom for students to explore their own interests.

Upon entry, students are evaluated in all areas of their basic studies. Each student's individualized academic program is designed on the basis of these evaluations and the student's learning techniques. This individualized program is organized and effected through the use of the bi-weekly.

Bi-Weekly

Every two weeks, students meet with their instructor to draw up a set of goals in each subject area. At the end of this period, another meeting is held to assess the progress of the two weeks completed and to set goals for the next bi-weekly.

During each bi-weekly, students are free to choose what to work on at any given time, but are responsible for the completion of all the work by the end of the bi-weekly. This structure allows students considerable freedom to determine the use of their time while providing a structure and supervision that ensures students successfully meet their goals for each bi-weekly study period. Students learn the invaluable skills of time and task allocation.

In addition, the completed bi-weekly form provides students and their families with a progress report every two weeks.

Structure of the Day

MORNINGS: Mornings are given exclusively to work in Basic Studies.

WRITING
Four Winds begins each day with a poem. Students also write daily. Many work on stories over the course of weeks. After working silently in a comfortable spot, students and teachers come together to share their stories and poems. Though students are never required to read aloud, most choose to share. The group observes a few basic rules to assure that writers feel comfortable and respected. Writers get useful and supportive feedback and find that listening to their peers is as engaging as writing their own stories.

VOCABULARY/ SPELLING
The Wordly Wise series is used to challenge and expand students' vocabularies. In addition, a program of study for correcting and developing spelling, which involves daily practice, is developed for each student.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Latin is a powerful tool for teaching the mechanics and structure of language. To that end, all students take Latin at Four Winds. The study of Latin prepares students for more rapid progress in learning "living" languages and strengthens understanding of our native tongue.

Arrangements can be made for those students who have already begun the study of a foreign language and would like to continue those studies.

MATH
Working in the Hake/ Saxon Incremental Math series, students practice math as a larger discipline rather than a series of discrete skills. From the evaluation, each student is placed in a math program suited to his or her level of achievement. Math lessons incorporate drills with math facts and problem solving, as well as a continual review of previously learned concepts.

LITERATURE
At Four Winds, students are always reading. Readings that relate to the year's theme are assigned to the whole school throughout the year. In addition, students also select books that reflect their own interests.

AFTERNOONS: Work in the afternoon is pencil and textbook free. This is the time we focus on our work in Humanities and Sciences.

THEMES
The school runs a three-year cycle of themes: 20th Century America, Pre-colonial and Colonial Massachusetts, and The Development of Human Civilization. These themes direct the topics examined in Humanities and Sciences and inform the choice of literature.

SCIENCE
Students participate in weekly science labs and are expected to turn in lab reports. The school also has a three-year cycle of science topics: Physical Science, Earth Science, and Life Science.

TRIPS
Afternoons are frequently spent out of the classroom building. The school travels to visit people, places, events, exhibits, and demonstrations that have a bearing on the studies of the moment.

The size and schedule of Four Winds enables the school to see and experience things that most school programs are neither flexible nor mobile enough to undertake. We also take advantage of the research libraries at our local public and private institutions of higher learning.

INTEREST STUDIES
It is a tenet of Four Winds' philosophy that a child's own curiosity is the most powerful and effective force in a student's intellectual development. Themes in Humanities and Sciences are designed to excite students' interest in potential topics for individual Interest Study projects.

Interest Studies hone skills in research, writing, and communicating.

Work in the afternoon results in students taking on a project, a paper, or demonstration that is shared with classmates and others. However, in keeping with the school's philosophy that a student's best teacher is their own curiosity, students are encouraged to pursue any topic that captures their imagination.