2026 Courses

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Hildegard’s Cottage has three ten week terms with a week for exams after each term. There are also two weeks of Christmas school.

Please note that Art and Nature Study courses are blocked into half a term (5 weeks).

  • Michaelmas Term : September 10th through November 12th (Home exams are the week of November 17th.)

  • Candlemas Term : January 5th through March 11th (Home exams are the week of March 15th.)

  • Easter Term : March 23rd - June 3rd (Spring Break 3/29-April 2) (Home exams are the week of June 6th.)

Please note that most courses have required supplies for the student to provide.

Exams: In a Charlotte Mason Education student have exams at the end of each term. These exams are designed to give students a chance to share what they know; they are not designed to quiz students and highlight gaps in their knowing. Parents can modify exams or choose not to give them as it alines with your homeschool. Teacher feedback will be given if desired.

The Forum

Forum Classes 

The Forum is a day when students meet to study Bible, Literature, and several other subjects that vary by level.  The day is focused on discussion and elements that are harder to duplicate in a homeschool.  Students will have several hours of work (varying by level)  to be completed at home each week.  This work will mostly be completed independently.

The time spent together will encourage students to engage rich ideas with joy in the company of friends.

Tuesdays 9:20-2:45

$275 each term ($825 for the year)

2026-2027 Levels :

  • Middle School Forum

    • Subjects: Bible, Literature, Citizenship (Plutarch), Chemistry, Geography (S. Am. and Africa), Poetry, and Composition

    • 3-4 hours of work (mostly reading, writing and drawing) to be completed at home each week

  • 3rd -5th Grade Forum

    • Subjects: Bible, Literature, Etiquette/Mythology, Geography, Poetry, and Composition

    • 2-3 hours of work (mostly reading, writing and drawing) to be completed at home each week

Year Long Electives

Spanish

Thursdays 3-4 pm

$360 for the Year

  • Listen to and read Spanish that is comprehensible

  • Engage in story creation using high-frequency verbs and practiced vocabulary

  • Learn and mimic proper pronunciation of words in rhymes and verses

  • Rehearse basic conversational phrases to begin moving from an interpretative mode of communication to an interpersonal mode

  • Become well-acquainted with one prescribed worship song in Spanish per term.

  • Read from and translate a novel written for Spanish learners (multi-term).

  • Learn basic Spanish grammar, but only insofar as it facilitates the achievement of effective communication.

Students will spend 15-20 minutes four days each week with curriculum work at home.


Other Electives

Entomology 4th* - 8th Grades

12:30 - 2:30 on Thursdays from September 10th - October 8th

$100

  • Learn to observe insect life in the wild and will learn the basics of collecting and pinning insects for close observation.

  • Explore and communicate their observations through drawing, dry-brush painting, and writing.

  • Read about the life of Maria Merian, learning how scientific observation leads to knowledge.

  • Dissect a grasshopper, learning how to use basic dissection tools and processes.

  • Observe a caterpillar transform to a butterfly.

  • Perform verses about insects together in Joyful Noise and discuss sound in poetry and insect life.

Albrecht Dürer and Print Making  4th - 8th Grades

12:30 - 2:30 on Thursdays from October 15 - November 12th

$125

  • Learn about the life of Albrect Dürer

  • Study five pictures by Dürer in detail (Five more will be given for optional home study.)

  • Tell back what they know of the studied prints through written and drawn narration

  • Learn about different methods of printmaking

  • Use lino cutting tools to make blocks for printing on paper and fabric

  • Use pre-prepared wood blocks to print

Christmas School 4th* - 8th Grades

December 1st and 8th 9:30-2:30

$125

  • Share Advent devotionals

  • Read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and discuss.

  • Learn about writing and reading dialogue.

  • Students will write and perform a reader’s theater version of A Christmas Carol 

  • Make a christmas treat each day

  • Create a handwork gift each day

Shakespeare 4th* - 8th Grades

Thursdays 12:30 - 2:30 pm from January 7 - March 4th

6 pm performance on March 5th

$125

  • Read a Shakespeare play in its entirety* 

  • Work on elocution and grow in execution of lines

  • Practice an abridged version of the play (All language students memorize will be straight from the text, but a narrator will bridge gaps as we shorten the play to make it a manageable length.)

  • Memorize assigned parts at home

  • Present final production on March 5th at 6 pm

*Play will be chosen based on the number of students in this class.

Picasso and Kandinsky : Painting and Collage 4th* - 8th Grades

Thursday 12:30 - 2:30 pm on March 25; April 8-April 29

$125

  • Learn about the lives of Picasso and Kandinsky

  • Study five pictures by these artists in detail

  • Spend the April 15th class at Milwaukee Art Museum looking at the artists’ work and sketching

  • Tell back what they know of the studied pictures through written and drawn narration

  • Learn about their methods of painting

  • Paint with acrylic on canvas

  • Learn about Picasso’s collage technique

  • Collage with various materials

Local Geology 4th* - 8th Grades

Thursday 12:30 - 2:30 pm from May 6 - June 3

$100

    • Learn about the Geology of Wisconsin

    • Spend two weeks at other locations exploring and discovering geological formation

    • Run various experiments to understand basic geological processes

    • Understand how rocks are formed

    • Discover how to identify rocks 

    • Learn what rocks are common in Wisconsin

2026 Courses

Enroll Now