Frequently Asked Questions

These are answers to the most common questions we’ve answered. Choosing a micro school is an important decision for your family and children. If you have any questions that are not answered below, please feel free to contact us and ask.

 The Basics

  • This is a child who can research things for himself, ask for clarification when she realizes she doesn’t understand things, follow instructions, participate in Socratic Circles, and search for other solutions when he realizes he has an obstacle in front of his path that leads to his goal.

  • We get this question a lot, mostly around math, so let’s answer it using math as an example!

    We don't rely on just one curriculum, on purpose, because we don't believe a skill is really learned until it's been reached from three different directions. Every skill gets taught through the same method: Learn It, Play It, Live It.

    Learn It: a fast, clear lesson with a short worksheet that checks whether it actually landed.

    Play It: hands-on cards and games that reinforce the same skill in a completely different, lower-stakes way.

    Live It: a celebrated moment where the skill gets used for something real (like a baking contest to celebrate mastering fractions).

    We don't use just one curriculum. Every skill gets taught three ways, so it's not just memorized, it's actually theirs.

  • No.

    Families are already stressed enough, your evenings are for family time. Go enjoy your kiddos!

    Our only exception to this is our 14 - 18 year olds (high school), they will have a number of books to read for their writing program. They can choose to read on Fridays or weekends or the weekday evenings. Please do what’s best for your family.

    (Now if your child wants to continue working on something once he or she gets home…it’s up to your family how you handle that.)

  • The self-directed trail your children will walk in our micro school will require them to have the ability to self-direct much of their education. Unfortunately, we have no professional training or expertise in the special needs area. We do believe that children with dyslexia can excel with special training or tutoring their parents provide them. We also know that many children diagnosed with ADD/ADHD will probably do very well with our learning design. Unfortunately, children who need a great deal of individualized attention would not thrive here. We're happy to talk through your children’s specific needs to see if our model is a fit.

  • We’ll allow new families to come in for a week long trial after each Quest. During the trial, the new learner will have a buddy who will help him or her with the schedule and be there for any small questions through the day (like if they forgot where the bathroom is). Our goal will be to see if new learners are ready to contribute to our learning environment, or if they need more time to become team players. If it seems like a good fit, then we’ll accept them and keep growing!

  • We’ve been graciously given some space from a tutoring center in Avalon Park until we reach 18 learners (that’s their max capacity). Once we have 18 we’ll re-locate to Oviedo into bigger space.

 Academics

  • Just like any homeschool mom realizes that her children learn in very different ways, we’ll be applying that to your children via our badge system (AKA your child's Trail Keeper's Journey).

    Let’s look at math, for example. A child who continues to show that he learns best via manipulatives will start out learning math with manipulatives in Kinder and can continue through high school calculus using different homeschool based curriculums that are made for children to discover math as they age.

    A child who needs to just see how to do something and needs some assistance with word problems will be sent on a path that helps her learn math very easily & quickly…with occasional mathematical story based problems.

    Whatever works best for your child will always be relayed back to you, the parent, and we’ll even encourage you to have a copy of the book we’re using at home so you can be right there with them on their trail!!

  • It's what we call our mastery-based badge system. Every learner is a Trail Keeper on their own trail who is earning badges as they master real skills, not just pass a test. A badge means true mastery (what public schools would grade a 95% or better), not just "good enough to move on."

    Trail Keeper badges track everything from core academics to the skills learners build during Quests, so progress is visible, personal, and something to actually be proud of. And because every learner's trail looks different, no two Trail Keeper's Journeys look the same… which is exactly the point.

  • Mastery > Grades. Our badge system (your child's Trail Keeper's Journey) will encourage children to actually master their work before moving on. What we would consider mastery is what public schools would grade at a 95% (A) or better. We can translate our badges into subjects and grades for learners who move away and need to attend another school and teens who are preparing for college.

  • Our founder has worked with children from public and private schools who “fell behind” (around here we just say they need more practice) and has successfully used her method to help them learn well and become successful. We’ll work with your child from day one to figure out where their gaps are and help them master concepts. Our badge system is unique to each learner and our goal is to help them love becoming a life long learner!

  • Yes, of course!

    We’re ready for cursive to be conquered at the end of the Wonder Workshop, but we also have cursive tools for teens who were never taught.

 Micro School Culture

  • Nope, to both.

    We believe in freedom of religion and respect all faiths. Just like how awesome interfaith families focus on shared values instead of faith differences, we'll focus on finding your child's purpose, their own Rites of the Trail, forgiveness, gratitude, conflict resolution, the Golden Rule (Treat your neighbor as you’d treat yourself.), and the Silver Rule (Don’t hurt people and don’t take their stuff.).

    Within history, we’ll cover world religions and how that has shaped various countries and cultures.

    DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion), CRT (Critical Race Theory), and Gender Studies are concepts that we don’t plan on including in our micro school. With teens, we may discuss their origins just like how we’ll discuss Carl Marx vs Free Market Capitalism, but that will be it.

    We’re focused on children having closer to a normal (& phone free) childhood, knowing themselves, setting goals for themselves, becoming amazing critical thinkers, and loving learning for the rest of their lives!

  • We believe the founders of our country had a great idea for liberty that would bring more happiness and freedom to all of its citizens. We will be examining those historical documents and experimenting with what life would be like if we had more or less freedoms.

  • We’re neither and both. We believe in political freedom. We’ll be using simulations, case based studies, and Socratic discussions/circles to help our learners feel placed in the shoes of political leaders during historical decisions.

  • Our short answer is no.

    Based on your child and your family, we’ll figure out how best to help your child learn.

    For those who prefer a low tech method, we’ll have books, papers, and games all set up for learning. A public computer will be available for a child to use if he or she gets ‘stuck’ on a problem and wants to look up other help to master the solution.

    For families who think an online learning method would work best for them, we’ll have an online option for your children to learn with. A google chrome type computer is all that’s needed for each learner to complete his or her work each day.

    We will not allow hours of gaming, social media scrolling, or surfing online to occur at our micro school.

    Once teenagers have reached the Summit workshop, they will need to use computers for certain subjects, but we will still have awesome books always available if they’d prefer to learn a subject that way.

  • Starting 5 minutes before the day starts, we’ll ask learners to put their phones in their bags and leave them there until pick up time. A mentor will always have a phone on him or her and you’ll be able to call them in an emergency.

    We ask that smart watches be left at home.

  • Absolutely! We’ll need parent volunteers for all our field trips, their expertise for cool things we’re learning, and for other random things going on!