I’m new to homeschooling, so where do I even start?!
This is a very common question. Families are often concerned about legalities and wonder if they can even do homeschooling and we’re here to support you. You can do it! I’ve written a few articles to help out, so if you would like more information, see this blog article for a plan of action.
What does Learn Beyond The Book have to offer?
Learn Beyond The Book exists to provide support for all your independent education and homeschool needs in a caring environment. We help each child grow at their own pace, academically and emotionally. We provide engaging classes, as well as social clubs, field trips, camping trips, information meetings, and workshops about homeschooling. We also provide private one-on-one tutoring and music lessons and a few other services that you can check out on the Media and Resources pages.
What makes Learn Beyond The Book unique?
We offer hands-on, fun, and engaging classes while still having real learning occurring. Sometimes classes for homeschoolers are advertised as “fun” and hands-on, even project-based, but the students don’t learn much or don’t remember what the relationship was between the subject matter and the projects, but at Learn Beyond The Book we strive to connect the learning with the projects and we have received very positive feedback about this.
We take great care in selecting highly qualified and caring teachers and mentors. All our staff is live-scanned and teachers are experts in the field that they’re teaching. This way their passion spills over to the students! They are also kind and respectful mentors that parents love to have around their children.
Parents love the fact that they can pick specific classes that they feel their student needs or topics they don’t want to teach themselves and they know it is taught by a passionate and caring teacher.
Our class sizes don’t exceed 12 students to make sure everyone gets a high level of interaction with the teacher and the teacher understands each child’s needs. We care about the whole child, not just their academic needs. We work really hard on creating a physically and emotionally safe environment where everyone can grow and learn at their own pace. We do not tolerate bullying, but encourage kind and positive behavior. We always welcome input and feedback from parents and students as well.
Parents also love that there is NO registration fee or materials fee that is in addition to tuition costs. It is an all-inclusive price and makes it financially more viable, whether students enroll in just one or several classes.
What kinds of classes are offered?
We offer:
- All the core classes for different levels (Language Arts, Math, Science & Social Studies)
- Tons of enrichment, such as
- Music classes (Homeschool Band, Guitar, Strings, Piano, Ukulele, Voice, Drums, and more),
- Technology classes (Technology, Programming, Video Game Design, 3D Modeling, Graphic Design),
- Performing Arts (Theater, Improv, Readers Theater),
- Fine Arts (lots of Art classes, even cross-curricular, Art History, Ceramics),
- Home Economics (Cooking, Sewing),
- Film Genres
- Public Speaking and Debate
- PE
- Foreign Language (Spanish, Japanese, ASL) and more.
For more details, feel free to check out our schedules for the different locations.
Do teachers use a specific curriculum for teaching?
Every teacher has the freedom to design a curriculum and syllabus that uses any resources they find the most helpful in conveying the information they are teaching. There is no standard curriculum. Sometimes, a class might list a specific curriculum, e.g. some of our writing courses uses IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing) and then it will be listed in the name. Usually teachers use multiple resources in a class.
How do I decide which classes are right for my kids?
As homeschoolers, we all have different approaches to teaching and every child has their own individual learning style as well. We try to accommodate everyone’s differences and styles as best we can (another reason for small class sizes). Most of the time you will know which classes will work best for your children and the age range on the schedule is a good rule of thumb. However, if you are not sure, you are welcome to contact us, because every child is so unique and we can discuss what the best option for them will be.
I am most frequently asked about Math placement. To decide, consider what level they most recently mastered and then go down this list of sequential math classes to decide which level would be best for them. Again, if you are unsure, contact me, so we can do a placement assessment or do one yourself with our assessments.
Place Value, Addition, Subtraction, Reading clocks, Simple measuring, Money
Multiplication & Division
Decimals,% and Fractions
Integers, Measurements & Word Problems
Pre-Algebra (year-long course)
Algebra 1 (year-long course)
Geometry (year-long course)
Algebra 2 (year-long course)
Pre-Calculus & Trigonometry (year-long course)
Does Learn Beyond The Book work with children with special needs?
There are some students with special needs who are able to function great in our group classes, but it is hard to tell without specific input from a parent. We are not trained in special needs specifically, but our classes often is ideal if a student is high functioning. We evaluate it on a case-by-case basis. We often will direct students to private tutoring instead if a class situation isn’t working well.
How does it work if my child has more than one class in a row? Are they supervised during the 10-minute breaks between classes and during the 40-minute lunch break?
Every site has one or more site managers who are there to supervise students during the breaks if they have classes before and after the break. If they do not have a class after a break, parents can come and stay with them on the play grounds until they are ready to leave, but if they have a class after as well, they can stay without parents having to return.
I have a younger child, how will they know where to go for a second class if they have more than one class in a row?
Site managers help students to make it to their next class. We ask that parents print their schedules out (available in their parent portal) and send it with their student, so we can easily see which class they need to be going to and we don’t need to look it up, but we can also look it up and help them get to the correct class.
What is offered for high school students?
We have a good number of high school students enrolled. Because the high school years are crucial years for friendships, we provide a good forum for making connections and fostering a healthy social environment. The high school classes are always high quality and taught by an expert in their field (either a single-subject high school credentialed teacher or other qualified professional). This commitment to high-level instruction can aid students in fulfilling high school graduation requirements and get them ready for college.
We also offer companion courses for community college courses to offer dual credit for high school and college courses!
We are very excited about our College Prep and Leadership Series, which is focused on helping teens learn the skills necessary for succeeding in school, college, work, and life. We also often have a high school social group that will meet for games and events like bowling, rock climbing, go-kart racing, ice skating, and more. Our teens also participate in volunteer work, teen dances, and even a homeschool prom. We offer internships for high school students, if we have any available. Last, but not least, we have a fun teen game night and social events for building lasting friendships!
We’re committed to setting our teens up for the future!
How do I pay for classes?
Since we do not charge any registration and materials fees, families often find that their dollars go further than usual. That being said, there are several ways to pay for tuition.
We are vendors for all the main charter schools serving homeschoolers in Santa Clarita and surrounding areas, so many of our families in charter schools use their funds to pay for classes, some of them driving quite far from all over LA County. All the schools we are vendors for are listed on our pricing and tuition page.
Many others pay cash for classes upfront and others pay tuition in 4 equal payments per semester, payable before the 10th of each month, which makes it more affordable.
How will I know what my kids did in class?
Every teacher is required to update learning records weekly on a Google doc in a Google classroom and those will be emailed to enrolled families at the start of the semester and they can check back as frequently as necessary. Parents use these learning records to complete their monthly charter school records as well as expanding on learning at home.
Students will also be bringing home some work samples for most classes and that is another way for parents to know what they’re working on in class and can be used for charter school requirements.
How does Learn Beyond The Book deal with behavioral issues or problems between students that come up in a class?
Community is a huge priority for us and we do not ever want behavioral issues or conflicts to go unresolved. We have a restorative justice way of doing things where we try to get to the bottom of the problem and the root causes rather than just a superficial solution. We often would ask both parties about their experiences and, when possible, have the parties work through the situation in a mediated situation with our staff. When there is a behavioral issue that happens in a class, we will always address it with the student first and if that is not successful in rectifying the situation, we will contact parents, who we see as partners in the education process. If all that doesn’t resolve the issue, a student might need to take a break from classes until they can resolve it. Peace and emotional/mental health is a top priority in any such situations.
What does a class at Learn Beyond The Book look like?
Take a look 🙂
Any other questions? Email us at LearnBeyondTheBook@gmail.com