As our family had been homeschooling for many years and as we added more and more “students” to our daily school time, Mom started to feel overwhelmed. The more overwhelmed she felt, the more she left out subjects that weren’t Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. She just didn’t have enough energy for everything.

Sadly, the subjects that were neglected were the very things everyone enjoyed most. A lot of the joy of homeschooling was missing.

Two different Scripture verses spoke to our hearts:

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9, ESV).

“The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother“ (Proverbs 29:15, ESV).

Both passages reminded us to spend time with our children each day. In order to make this fit Mom’s sinking energy levels, we needed to make this really practical. Our “Together School” plans are the result of this desire.

The purpose of “Together School” really isn’t to fill brains with information — so you won’t find in-depth treatment of foreign language, linguistics, music, or art history — but rather to fill the need for discussion and relationships — so you will find simple plans that fill hearts with Scripture and edifying words.

Topics Covered

Our curriculum combines all ages together for the following subjects each day.

• Hebrew — Our daily lesson plans (36 weeks) are not designed to be a full Hebrew course but rather an introduction to the aleph bet, to copying portions of the Hebrew Scriptures, to basic Hebrew vocabulary words, and to the basics of how to use Hebrew study materials (such as a lexicon). We use various texts (such as Psalm 119) to focus on one letter or concept each week, reviewing it in fun ways each day. We link to Hebrew4Christians and other free resources online.
• Music — Our daily lesson plans (36 weeks) are not designed to be a complete musical education but rather an introduction to basic music theory, vocal instruction, and music appreciation. We include styles of music from all over the world, through many time periods, and mentioning many composers, all with a biblical perspective. You’ll learn Scripture songs, folk songs, Messianic songs, and traditional hymns and Christian worship music. We occasionally include video instruction by Anne and family, to help you teach musical concepts to your family.
• Poetry — Our daily lesson plans (36 weeks) focus on one poem each week to introduce your children to styles of poetry from all over the world, both from classic children’s literature and from Scripture. Poems have been carefully chosen to be uplifting and honoring to YHWH.
• P.E./Health — Our daily lesson plans (36 weeks) focus on exercise, sports, and active games, as well as health and nutrition topics to study and discuss.
• Torah Crafts — Our weekly crafts go with each week’s Torah portion, appropriate for preschool and elementary school.
• Art — Weekly lessons in drawing and various mediums of art are appropriate for older elementary, middle school, and high school.

Need Help Teaching Together School?

We’d love to help! Send us an email if you’re having trouble understanding or explaining a topic. We’ll make a video and show you how we teach it at our house. That’s what community is for!

About Foundations Together School

Foundations Together School is copyright 2013 by Anne Elliott.

All rights reserved. No part of this curriculum may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. You do have permission to photocopy the curriculum for your own personal use. You may select individual pages to copy, or you may copy the entire curriculum! It is up to you how much of the information you want to copy and for how many children in your family you want to use it. You can copy this curriculum for use in your immediate family only; redistributing the book to other families is strictly prohibited.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible, unless otherwise noted.

Scripture taken from the English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them” (Matthew 7:12).

Published by Foundations Press.