FAQ
“The entire object of true education is to make people not merely do the right things, but enjoy the right things – not merely industrious, but to love industry – not merely learned, but to love knowledge – not merely pure, but to love purity – not merely just, but to hunger and thirst after justice.”
John Ruskin
What day of the week does the co-op meet? How long is the school year?
Seattle Classical Co-op meets on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. We meet for 25 weeks over the course of the school year (September-May) with breaks after each five-week term, over Christmas, and on Good Friday.
How is Seattle Classical Cooperative different from other homeschool groups?
SCC is unique in many ways. Our distinctive attributes include having a close-knit, high involvement group of families who work together to create a rich and diverse learning experience for our students. Every member serves a teaching role, and without each one’s individual strengths we would not be able to provide such a high-quality education. We are unapologetically a Christ-centered, grace-filled group with a commitment to academic excellence.
What subjects do we study at SCC?
The subjects we study at SCC are Bible, history, and science. We follow the four-year cycle laid out in The Well Trained Mind.
Year 1 (2021/22)
History: Ancients (5000 B.C. – A.D. 400)
Science: Biology
Bible: Genesis through Ruth
Year 2 (2022/23)
History: Middle Ages (400- 1600)
Science: Astronomy/Geology
Bible: Prophets and Wisdom Literature
Year 3 (2023/24)
History: Late Renaissance/Enlightenment (1600-1850)
Science: Chemistry
Bible: Gospels
Year 4 (2024/25)
History: Modern (1850-present)
Science: Physics
Bible: Acts, Epistles, Revelation
How are class levels decided? What does each level look like?
Class sizes and splits vary each year depending on the needs of our students. In general, these are the classes we offer:
We love our youngest “born persons” here at SCC and provide thoughtful, consistent rhythms for our youngest members. In nursery, this might look like playtime, storytime, and doing our best to help naps happen. In preschool, this looks like storytime, free play, stories, crafts, games, and as much time outside as the weather allows! Please do reach out to ask any specific questions about the younger students. We care deeply about loving them well.
In Class:
At this age, we lean into wonder and experiential learning. We use good books, enthusiasm, and embodied experiences when we set up classes for this age. This is a time to set our children’s feet in a large room, as Charlotte Mason would say; we want them to taste and see that the feast of learning is good. We group students ages 5-11 into our grammar class. Depending upon enrollment, we further divide this into multiple classes based on age and student readiness. This split often looks like a class for our 5-8 year old students and a class for our 9-11 year old students.
At Home:
The yearly parent pack contains weekly reading and many optional resources. Students will get the most out of our day together if they have read (or listened to you read) the weekly readings listed in the parent pack. Oral and/or written narrations of those readings are highly encouraged. Working at home on any memory work will also help your student participate in the weekly activities. Beyond that, the parent pack contains loads of optional material to support your homeschool.
Students in the grammar levels should expect 3-5 hours of work at home per week.
In Class:
This class consists of our 12-14 year olds. At this level, the demands on the student increase. They are assigned more reading and writing and are expected to maintain an organized notebook of their assignments. We begin to offer them coaching in the skills of close reading, biblical study, and scientific analysis. We continue to care deeply about beauty, wonder, and hands-on science experiments, and we use narration, outlines, and special projects to further their experience and mastery of writing and presenting.
At Home:
Our Middle School/Logic level students are given a syllabus at the beginning of each term, outlining their work for the next five weeks. This work includes reading, narrations, science sketches, and memory work.
Students in the logic level should expect 7-8 hours of work at home each week (mostly independent).
In Class:
Our high school students continue along the trajectory set in the younger years. Assignments and readings continue to deepen in complexity, but our commitment to wonder, curiosity, and the spirit of inquiry remain. Students are offered rich readings across subjects and respond to them through writing, class discussions, sketches, labs, and other projects.
At Home:
Rhetoric/High School students receive a syllabus each term outlining their readings, narrations, study questions, sketches, and any other work each week. Our co-op is committed to gentle rigor. At this level, you can expect your student to have a substantial amount of work to complete at home.
Students in the rhetoric level should expect 15-16 hours of work at home per week (mostly independent).
What is expected of teachers at SCC?
Every one of us teaches. But we teach in teams–every classroom has at least two teachers sharing the teaching load. Experienced teachers mentor and offer support to teachers joining the co-op. Teachers are given a chance to list their top three teaching choices. The types of work involved vary by subject and level. We have an archive of past lesson plans and ideas for each subject and level, and a group of enthusiastic teachers that come alongside one another. Please do reach out with questions about what each teaching role might look like, and know that we value each teacher and seek to support each other well.
Can you give me some examples of the learning that takes place during an SCC day?
–Partaking in a medieval feast
–Nailing Martin Luther’s 95 Theses to a door and discussing their importance
–Memorizing the 21 brightest stars in the universe and the stories behind constellations
–Studying, designing, building, and launching rockets (it was awesome!)
–Assembling a jumbo periodic table correctly
–Acting out scenes from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
–Creating a 3-D model of a salt molecule
–Reenactments of the first Passover and the crossing of the Red Sea (yes, really!)
–Gathering manna
–Sailing the “Mediterranean” on a Phoenician ship, establishing colonies, and trading goods
–Following Daedalus’s magic yarn through the Labyrinth to fight the Minotaur
–Discussion of the Crusades, wrongful actions within and outside of Christianity
–Creating a journal from the point of view of Marco Polo on his travels
–Examining cells through microscopes
–Sketching the systems of the human body
–Lively discussions about Anna Karenina
–Learning about and practicing Lectio Divina and Examen
–Dissecting frogs (!), dissecting sheep eyeballs (!!), and mummifying chickens (!!!)
–Reading biographies from a wide variety of voices, times, and places
Is SCC affiliated with any other organization?
Seattle Classical Cooperative is a completely independent non-profit organization, and we are not officially affiliated with any other organizations. We have an independent board that makes decisions on behalf of the co-op, and all members are welcome to attend board meetings to give input and feedback on issues of importance, although voting privileges are restricted to official board members. We value transparency and the collaborative process of steering our co-op in whatever direction is fitting for the majority of our members.
Can I visit?
We hold open house days each February for the following academic year, because the best way to learn more about us is to come and see us in action. Please contact us for more information.
How do I sign up!?
Complete the registration paperwork and hold your spot with the $300 registration fee. The total fee per family, for 2024-2025, is $600. Your registration fee will be counted towards that total. Registration for 2024-2025 is due on March 15th.
Once your paperwork and fee are turned in, you’ll be contacted for an interview to help us get to know each other better and ensure a good fit.
Registration for the 2024-2025 school year is now closed.
Thank you so much for considering Seattle Classical Co-op. We look forward to meeting you and answering any additional questions you might have!