Monday, February 19, 2024

Is Christ the King Academy Homeschool Co-op in KCMO a Good Fit for Your Family?


Welcome to the general information page for Christ the King Academy Homeschool Co-op in KCMO, located at 85th and Wornall Road! We are so glad you decided to see what we're about!

You can find our Mission Statement here and Who We Are here.

Below you’ll find out more about our amenities, extras, cost, time commitment, examples of classes, and dress code information. At the very end, you can find contact information!

Please know that we are not a multi-denominational homeschool co-op at this time and we do require a copy of your VIRTUS certificate upon enrollment so we can keep that on file. Most classes are held on either the 2nd floor of the school building or the basement, and there is no elevator.

*We will close registration for the 2024/2025 school year on July 1, 2024.*

Amenities

·       Catechesis of the Good Shepherd room

·       Fully stocked Art room

·       Full library with books appropriate for grades K-8 with a prayer area just around the corner

·       Gymnasium (new floor as of 2021 with huge ceiling fan; main level)

·       Nursery

·       Science room

·       Teacher's Room with coffee, hot chocolate, and bottled water, as well as various hygiene items, first aid kits, paper, binders, and any office supply you could ever dream up!

Events, Activities, and Opportunities

·       Back-to-School Picnic

·       Field Day every May after co-op classes end for the year

·       Graduation ceremony (after Mass in May) and celebration for 8th and 12th graders each year

·       Mass at noon weekly, followed by Lunch and then Recess

·       Service opportunities: Junior High kids (some years) clean cafeteria tables after lunch; High Schoolers mop the school every other week

·       Student Council (past years have included activities such as: praying a rosary in front of the church; Laps 4 Life fundraiser at Sunnyside Park with money going to a crisis pregnancy center; dodgeball tournaments as fundraisers, dances, trivia day, buddy day, spirit day [Go, Chiefs!], and more!)

·       Yearbook (a full-color book in hardcover or softback)

·       Yearbook-signing event

Cost

There are five parts to our fees: 

1.     An insurance fee of approximately $16 per year PER FAMILY. This cost comes directly from the diocese. If you are already part of another KCMO group that pays this, please let us know.

2.     A base supply fee of $100, which is used for copy paper, toner, bathroom supplies, general teaching supplies, cleaning supplies, hosting for our school website, etc. PER FAMILY. (You’ll place a nonrefundable $35 deposit when you sign up to hold your spot.)

3.     A donation to the church of $200, which goes directly to the church to help offset costs of lights, air conditioning, heat, maintenance, water, etc. PER FAMILY. This fee is due at the August Work Day and is also nonrefundable if your family chooses to stop attending co-op for any reason.

4.     Class fees (optional), depending on what you choose to enroll your children in. These range from approximately $10 (for a pre-made IEW binder) to approximately $40 (for a year of Chemistry). Some years we also have the blessing of outside teachers, who might charge between $50-100 per semester for a class such as Religion, Latin, etc.

5.     Books needed for classes. This is at the discretion of each teacher, as we don’t use one set curriculum for the entire co-op.

Yes, this means that whether you have one child or ten children, whether you attend part-time or full-time, the most you will pay for base fees for an entire school year is $300 plus the low insurance fee.

Example: Mary has 6 children and comes to co-op part-time (just three hours out of the five available hours). Three of her kids are in an Art class that has a $10 fee for the entire year. All of the children are either in the Nursery, PreK classes, or in classes that don’t need books or have any extra fees. Mary’s total cost for the year looks like this:

$200 (church) + $100 (supply) + $16 (insurance) + $30 (3 kids in Art classes) = $346

In the past, CTK Academy held classes two full days per week for a total of 10 class hours. The base cost is the same no matter how many hours are held per week. Currently, we are holding classes only on Wednesdays for 5 hours, from 8:45 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

Your Time Commitment

Our co-op model requires parents to remain on campus with their children. This year we are only meeting on Wednesdays from 8:45-3:30, which includes 5 class periods, as well as Mass, Lunch, and Recess. We generally meet in September (after Labor Day) through mid-May, with some High School classes meeting starting in mid-August.

A point system has been established to ensure that parents contribute, according to the time their children spend at the co-op. Points are PER FAMILY (not per child).

If you teach one class, you earn 2 service points for that class.

As an aide and permanent substitute, you earn 1 service point per class.

If you are in the Nursery for one class period, you earn 1 service point.

Various other points are awarded for jobs only after all teacher/helper jobs have been filled. These other jobs include: mop coordinator, bathroom cleaner, yearbook coordinator, librarian, cafeteria cleaner, altar server coordinator, and more.

Example: Mary has 6 children. They attend co-op 3rd hour, 4th hour and 5th hour. This means Mary needs 3 service points. She agrees to teach 5th/6th grade Science Experiments for 2 points for the entire year, and Drama to the High Schoolers only 2nd semester. This earns Mary the 3 service points she needs to be a member in good standing. Of course, Mary is free to take on more points if she’d like! She’s also happy to step in as a substitute teacher during one of her free hours when needed, help out if another mom is on maternity leave, or pop in to help out in some other way.

Examples of Classes

Below is a general idea of classes that have been offered or might be offered for the coming school year. Please see the contact information at the end of this post if you’re interested in seeing the entire schedule as it now stands. The way grades are combined depends on enrollment numbers. Some classes are only held for one semester.

Nursery is typically provided

PreK-K: Morning Basket, Phonics, Saints around the World, Story/Craft, Physical Education and Play, Catechesis of the Good Shephard

1st and 2nd grade: Reading, Science, Physical Education, Musical Theater

3rd and 4th grade: History, Games, Art, Physical Education, Literature, Musical Theater

5th and 6th grade: Physical Education, Art, IEW Writing, Musical Theater

7th and 8th grade: Physical Education, Judo, Art, Musical Theater, IEW Writing (8th graders can enter some high school classes), Biology

High School: Physics, Spanish, Latin, American Sign Language, IEW Writing, Government

*All high school classes will provide a grade; all high school teachers will use our Homeschool-Life system to send assignments and enter grades.

Dress Code Information

Students wear uniforms, which are required during all times that co-op is in session, including Mass, lunch, and recess. You can find the entire Dress Code Policy here. We do have many donated co-op uniform pieces available for free.

Please contact Michelle (Mikki) Wise, our Academic Coordinator, at jmhaawise@yahoo.com, and she can send over the schedule as it currently stands, as well as set up a shadow/tour day and answer any other questions you have. You can also request an emailed copy of our Student and Parent Handbook.

We look forward to meeting you!

Friday, July 1, 2022

106 Christ the King Academy Homeschool Co-op Class Ideas ... Past, Present, Possibilities

 

We don't want to throw anyone into something they don't feel ready for, and many moms like to get an idea of how things work at the co-op before they choose to teach something.

All moms are expected to teach at least one class after they have been at Christ the King Academy Homeschool Co-op for one year. 

Of course, if you are brand new to our co-op and would like to teach one or more classes, that would also be fantastic.

Homeschooling moms have brains full of so many things that it can be difficult to think of what to teach. Further, if you are new to the co-op, how will you know what has already been done? We hope this list of co-op classes from the past and present, as well as possibilities, will be helpful!

If you are here for class ideas for your own co-op — welcome! We hope you find something inspirational 🙏

And if you'd like more information about our co-op and would like to discern if we are a good fit for your family, you can visit this post, which includes next steps if you do feel led to come for a tour or talk to someone over the phone or by email.


GENERAL ELECTIVES

1.     ACT/SAT Prep

2.     American Government (high school). Wohletz taught 2020/21.

3.     Art (all grades)

4.     Business Law (high school)

5.     Business Management (high school)

6.     Catholic Schoolhouse (K-2)

7.     Choir

8.     Classical Enrichment (2nd-4th taught by Sinclair 2020/21; 5th-6th taught by Madl 2019/20) (one semester)

9.     Cooking/Baking (2 hours) (Advanced or Basic)

10.  Consumer Education (high school)

11.  Debate (middle and high school). Taught by Strange one semester 2020/21.

12.  Drama (all grades) (one semester)

13.  Drawing (middle and high school). Taught by Neiderhiser one semester 2021/22.

14.  Emotional Health Class (Neiderhiser)

15.  Handicrafts (7 Benefits of Homeschool Handicrafts: Handicrafts, part 1 — Simply Charlotte Mason)

16.  Health and Nutrition (one semester)

17.  Health for the Whole Person (high school). High School Health for the Whole Person - 7sistershomeschool.com

18.  Hospitality (7th through 12th) (one semester) Taught by Wohletz 2019/20

19.  How Media Influenced the 20th Century

20.  Improv (high school kids loved this with Lueckenotte) (one semester or all year)

21.  Leadership (2010/11)

22.  Liberty, Justice and Economics (5th through 8th) Taught 2018/19

23.  Logic (and Critical Thinking; Informal) (one semester)

24.  Medieval Projects (one semester) (2018/19)

25.  Morning Basket

26.  Music and Movement (PreK through elementary)

27.  Music Appreciation

28.  Photography (middle and high school). Taught by Neiderhiser one semester 2021/22.

29.  Physical Education (all grades)

30.  School Newspaper Class (published monthly)

31.  Sociology (high school)

32.  Study Skills (middle and high school) (one or two semesters). Taught by Harkins 2016/17; Letzig 2019/20. Resources were: (first semester) Study Smarter, Not Harder and (second semester) What Color is Your Parachute for Teens

33.  Theology of the Body for Teens (middle school through high school; two-hour class one day or one hour each Monday/Wednesday)

34.  Yearbook Class

 

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

35.  American Sign Language

36.  French

37.  Latin (First Form)

38.  Latin (Henle)

39.  Spanish (all grades)

 

GEOGRAPHY

40.  American Geography (all ages).

41.  World Geography 7-12 taught by Madl 2021/22.

 

HISTORY (also includes some Literature, Philosophy, Fine Arts)

42.  American (5-9) Neiderhiser 2020/21 using Hakim books we have in Room 202

43.  American History (high school) Heppner taught 2020/21

44.  Ancient/Literature (2013/14) (outside teacher Kuemmerlein)

45.  Art History

46.  Church (outside teacher Frank Dinovo)

47.  Greek History/Literature taught by Heppner 2018/19

48.  Egyptian Mummification (one semester; middle school) (2010/11)

49.  History and Philosophy of the Western World (7 Sisters Homeschool)

50.  History of Fine Arts (middle and high school) (one semester) Taught by Madl 2018/19

51.  Medieval History/Literature (2013/14)

52.  Missouri (2010/11)

53.  Modern World History (7th through 12th). McLoughlin taught 2021/22; next time Light to the Nations but 9-12

54.  Roman History/Literature taught by Heppner 2019/20

 

LANGUAGE ARTS (some Literature combined with HISTORY)

55.  Book Discussion/Book Club

56.  Creative Writing (all grades) (one semester)

57.  English

58.  English Grammar and Composition (high school). McLoughlin taught 2021/22.

59.  Fairy Tales (K-1st) (2016/17)

60.  Film as Literature (high school). Kerrie has info on this.

61.  Great American Short Stories (high school)

62.  Great Books. Books can be acquired on Amazon, ABE Books, ThriftBooks, eBay, etc. (Sample lesson plans for Series 6-8 on the Homeschool-Life website). Can be paired with Art with younger grades into one class. (Has been taught by Connors, Madl, Wise)

63.  IEW Writing (2016/17)

64.  Letter of the Week (preK-1)

65.  Literature, American (high school). Heppner taught 2020/21. McLoughlin teaches 2022/23.

66.  Literature, World (high school)

67.  Modern Literature/History

68.  Phonics/Reading

69.  Socratic Book Club (middle and high school) (one semester) Taught by Madl 2018/19.

70.  Speech (one semester). Letzig taught Spring 2020; needed again. 7 Sisters Homeschool has a good program.

71.  Storytime (preK)

72.  World Literature (Seton, Memoria Press, etc.)

 

MATH (middle/high school classes not generally taught at co-op anymore)

73.  Accounting

74.  Algebra

75.  Build a Business (5-8; high school (one semester) Taught by Wise 2019/20.

76.  Economics (high school). Wohletz taught 2021/22.

77.  Geometry

78.  Personal Finance (high school; Dave Ramsey). Ousley taught 2018/19 and would let us borrow the DVDs. Kids buy workbooks. McLoughlin teaches 2022/23.

 

RELIGION/VIRTUES

79.  Apologetics/Sacraments (high school). Wohletz taught 2020/21.

80.  Bible History and Catechism (1st through 4th). Wohletz taught 2020/21.

81.  Bible Timeline (high school) (2017/18)

82.  Book of Virtues (Based on The Book of Virtues by William J. Bennett … huge book and could cover all 10 virtues in stories and activities over a year. Book of Virtues - Shiver Academy)

83.  Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. We have a wonderful CGS room set up in the basement but need trained teachers. Can bring in outside teachers if parents share the cost.

84.  Faith and Morality (outside teacher Frank Dinovo)

85.  Intro to Catholicism (outside teacher Frank Dinovo)

86.  Lessons with Father Mike (high school) (one semester) Taught by Letzig 2019/20 (cut short).

87.  Little Flowers (2010/11)

88.  Religion. We have some Faith &Life series grades, some with a teacher’s manual; we can get more.

89.  Saints (Jenifer Strange found some great saint books in the teacher’s lounge that she grabbed to possibly teach something in the future)

90.  Understanding Scripture (outside teacher Frank Dinovo)

 

SCIENCE

91.  Astronomy

92.  Biology (middle school). Wise taught 2021/22.

93.  Chemistry (high school). Wise taught 2020/21.

94.  General Science (Apologia) (7th?)

95.  Human Anatomy and Physiology (high school). Lueckenotte taught 2021/22.

96.  Life Science (CHC) (optional workbook and lab manual) (7th grade)

97.  Physical Science (middle school). Wise taught 2020/21

98.  Physics (high school)

99.  Psychology (high school). Wohletz taught 2019/20.

100.         Science Experiments

101.         Science Lab (to coincide with a Monday class)

 

STEM

102.         Engineering, Introduction to (one semester)

103.         LEGO Robotics (one semester)

104.         Math Games

105.         Project-Based Learning (create a zoo, build a city, etc.)

106.         STEM Projects (all grades)

 More ideas!

Homeschool Co-op Class Ideas- [Over 50 Classes] Elementary to High School (rookiemoms.com)

The Ultimate List of Homeschool Co-op Class Ideas - Walking by the Way

100+ Homeschool Co-op Class Ideas – Line upon Line Learning (rebeccareid.com)

The Unlikely Homeschool: Mega List of Homeschool Co-op Class Ideas (sign up to get it by email)

150+ Excellent Topic Ideas for Your Homeschool Co-op Classes (reallifeathome.com)

Homeschool Co-op Class Ideas ~ The Ultimate List! - Teach Beside Me

Is Christ the King Academy Homeschool Co-op in KCMO a Good Fit for Your Family?

Welcome to the general information page for Christ the King Academy Homeschool Co-op in KCMO, located at 85th and Wornall Road! We are so gl...