​​We are not a modern private school program following current trends and educational theories

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​We do not seek to provide “test prep” for standardized tests

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​We do not seek to provide “cutting edge technology” for students, since we believe most students do not need increased time engaged with technology at this time (see The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt)

We are a three day per week hybrid homeschool program that will provide a full week's worth of work for your student to complete either in class with us or at home with your involvement and oversight.

Our goal is not to design our curriculum toward test performance but rather to enrich students’ lives and feed their innate love of learning. 

Rather than providing traditional “letter grades,” our assessments and exams are designed to determine what the student has learned, and if necessary, what we need to adjust or address. Enrollment in the two day program includes a three day Charlotte Mason “homeschool teacher training” offered in the summer

We are not a mere hands-off program that requires little-to-no involvement from you and little communication from us.

​​We do not seek to replicate exactly Charlotte Mason schools from the past or other communities today.

While we deeply love the wisdom that we have received from Miss Mason, we are not Charlotte Mason “purists” in the sense that one sometimes may see on social media or other websites. 

We believe that Miss Mason would have continued to grow and change how she taught and what materials she incorporated into her schools based on what has been discovered and produced over the last century.

We see ourselves as co-workers with you in educating your children and will seek every opportunity to develop that with you in our communication and in your schooling days at home. 

We do not believe in teaching that a Western canon contains the highest ideals of art, literature, philosophy, etc. 

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We do not hold to the concept of the Trivium, i.e.,

A) We do not utilize rote memorization of facts and data in place of true contextual gain of knowledge,

B) We do not believe that a student’s ability to think and put knowledge in its appropriate and true context is divided into separate phases

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We do not seek to feed competition or comparison between students in their abilities and giftings but see each student as a whole person worthy of honor and acceptance.

Orchard Blossom Academy is a classically-based Charlotte Mason hybrid school/homeschool program; more information on how Charlotte Mason’s philosophy is true classical education, can be found in this podcast episode of The Mason Jar with Cindy Rollins and Karen Glass  here.

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We seek to incorporate materials from around the world with a well-rounded understanding of different cultures and people groups, and utilize books and resources from ages past as well more recent options. We are neither stuck in the past, nor do we glorify the present. 

​We are not a homeschool “co-op” with parents dividing the classes and teaching from a varied or eclectic set of educational philosophies.

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We have seen many descriptions of the term “Charlotte Mason education” which has led to misunderstandings about what Charlotte Mason actually said and taught.  We are not “running barefoot through the meadows,” nor do we spend every day entirely outdoors in the forest collecting moss and ferns (as lovely as that may sound).

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We are not convinced that a child-led education is of the greatest benefit to a child, although we do hope that they will delight in the structures, scope, and sequence we have prepared for their minds to feast upon. ​

Orchard Blossom Academy is neither driven by the students' interests, nor the teacher's but follows an established sequence of reading and study along with training and expectations for orderly conduct. As eating from all the food groups provides your body a variety of nutrients, our Feast will provide the mind with the food it needs to mature and grow and make connections.

Additionally, as we would not come to the table with poor and rude manners, so we work to come to the table of education with conduct befitting our surroundings.