Services
Consultation With Families
Imagining a Change, Exploring Possibilities, Mapping a Path
Sharing and Learning will join you for the whole journey — point A to point F — or you can choose the portion of support that makes sense for your family.
A - Clarifying Vision
Who you are as a family should determine the particulars
of your shared learning journey, not the other way around.
What is important to you? How do you define an educated person?
What changes and growth do you hope this path might bring
to your family’s life? These questions are the core of an
initial, exploratory conversation that lays the groundwork
for everything to follow. I’ll get to know you, you’ll have
a better feel for what I offer and can then decide whether
to continue with Shared Learning and Living.
B - Getting Specific
Informed by the vision emerging from the initial conversation,
we meet to explore the many structures or styles of shared
living and learning possible and consider which approach
best serves your goals and values. We will also review the
legal requirements and the various ways to satisfy them.
C - Generating Ideas
Joined by the young person(s) involved, the planning turns
to specifics. What activities inspire them? What questions,
interests, skills, experiences do they hope to investigate?
Shared Living and Learning will help to generate ideas for
a six-month to year-long time frame. The resulting resource
packet from Shared Living and Learning will offer a path(s)
for your family and an annotated, researched, thorough list
of resources.
D - Describing Your Path
Shared Living and Learning is available to turn your plan
into the Proposed Education Objectives document that is submitted
to your school district. We speak that “language” and can
translate your thinking into a document that translates well
to school district officials. We will also help you to create
an effective, easy-to-use record-keeping system.
E - Adjusting as Necessary
We will reconvene monthly to answer questions, review next
steps, and make adjustments, helping you to move forward
on the path that best meets your vision.
F - Preparing the Portfolio and Reviewing Growth
Building on the records you have kept, we will guide you
in building a portfolio that meaningfully reflects the year’s
experience. Shared Living and Learning will then provide
an evaluation as mandated by PA law, providing the required
certification to your school district.
Picking and Choosing
Perhaps you already have a path in mind, yet would benefit from specific, targeted support. Sharing Living and Learning has many years experience working with young people in and out of school and offers a la carte service.
- We will take a deep dive into a topic or subject of interest to your young person/family and prepare an annotated resource list (books, online resources, potential field trips and activities) that will open up exciting possibilities.
- We will review curricular materials and programs in a variety of areas and offer feedback regarding developmental appropriateness and the match for a particular young person, analysis of the material’s strengths and challenges, and suggestions for implementation. We can also offer comparative analysis for as many as three different materials.
- Portfolios tell the story of a young person’s development and discoveries and can be so much more meaningful than a box checked. We can meet with you early in the process to plan what to save and create an easy-to-use recording system. Toward the end of the school year, we will meet again and create a meaningful structure for the portfolio.
- A homeschooling transcript translates a young person’s unique educational path, documenting their story for colleges, apprenticeships, and internships. Shared Living and Learning can help build that transcript.
- We are qualified to serve as a Pennsylvania homeschool evaluator for your family. Shared Living and Learning will use that opportunity to encourage each young person and the family to reflect on successes and areas for growth, and to imagine next steps along their path.
Workshops
Shared Living and Learning can be contracted to provide interactive workshops on any of the following topics:
- A Portfolio Tells a Story: Building a Record that Works for You
- Description vs. Evaluation: The Power of Observation
- Shared Travel: Inviting Everyone into the Driver’s Seat
- Hip-to-Hip Learning: a Case for Meaningful Collaboration
- Curriculum is a Path: Engaging in Hip-to-Hip and Emergent Learning at Every Stage
- Parenting is a Long Walk in a Deep Forest
Workshops can be shared by a group of families or a related organization.
