
UPPER ELEMENTARY - 4th-5th CLASSES
WRITING AND LANGUAGE ARTS
Elementary Write On!
Grades 4-5
$185 per semester (1 voucher)
Spring Semester will be focused on research writing with a twist. Students will create an engaging and beautiful ABC Book of Facts about the state of their choice. Along the way, they will learn to research, focus, organize, and summarize information gained from a variety of sources. This assignment will satisfy the required state project for this grade level, and the book created is sure to be a keepsake for many years to come. We will also take a field trip to the library as part of this project.
Teacher: Mary Frederick
email: messages2mary@att.net
phone/text: 916.990.3494
website: www.writeon4kids.com
Beginning Writer's Workshop
Grades 2-4
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
This exciting class will focus on teaching beginning writing skills and encouraging the love of writing. Students will participate in a variety of interactive, hands-on activities designed to increase their confidence, ability, and knowledge of the mechanics and art of writing. We will learn and practice everything from pencil position, handwriting, word placement, and spacing, to sentence structure, paragraphs, and punctuation. Join us and learn to LOVE writing!
Teacher: Mary Frederick
email: messages2mary@att.net
phone/text: 916.990.3494
website: www.writeon4kids.com
Writer's Workshop: The 5-Paragraph Essay
Grades 5-8
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
The focus of this class is teaching students how to respond to a prompt and write an effective, organized, well-developed five paragraph essay. Throughout their educational journey (including standardized testing), students will be required to write well-developed paragraphs or essays on-demand. This type of writing is completed in-class, in a limited amount of time. On-demand writing requires students to develop the ability to focus a topic, provide relevant evidence, select an appropriate organizational structure, and complete the task within one setting. This class is designed to provide practical, step-by-step instruction in how to approach in-class prompts and successfully write clear, concise, organized, and creative responses in a timely manner. We will begin with tactics for writing well-developed paragraphs, and move on to five-paragraph essays. The class will follow a writer’s workshop model, with brief topical instruction, followed by individualized writing support.
Teacher: Mary Frederick
email: messages2mary@att.net
phone/text: 916.990.3494
website: www.writeon4kids.com
Novel Study
Grades 5-8
$190 per semester (1 voucher)
This interactive class is completely literature-based and fun! We read, discuss, and analyze super engaging, age-level appropriate novels. Each week the students will read and annotate focusing on various aspects of the novel including mood, theme, characters, conflict, literary devices, and personal connections. There is optional homework students can complete for a grade to prepare them for discussion, increase their critical thinking skills, and satisfy state curriculum requirements. This class is perfect not only for students who love to read, but for students who are resistant readers as well. All books will be provided and are included in the class tuition. Spring semester novels will be To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. Come join us and READ ON!
Teacher: Mary Frederick
email: messages2mary@att.net
phone/text: 916.990.3494
website: www.writeon4kids.com
Journalism: FLA Newspaper
Grades 5-8
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
In this active class, students will become sleuths and reporters! We will learn and engage in the various aspects of journalism including interviews, research, investigation, article writing, editorials, photography, editing, publishing, reporting, and broadcasting. The class will work together to create a Foothill Learning Academy Newspaper which will be reproduced and distributed the last week of classes. Students will also get a flavor for broadcast journalism, as they script and film a news broadcast to be shown at the end of the year celebration. Class space is limited to 12 students.
Teacher: Mary Frederick
email: messages2mary@att.net
phone/text: 916.990.3494
website: www.writeon4kids.com
SCIENCE
Earth Science
Grades 4-5
$200 per semester (1 voucher)
Students learn about the Earth's layers and how movement of the plates have shaped the Earth's surface over the past 4.5 billion years. They will create clay fault models to illustrate the three fault types, perform earthquake activities, learn how a seismograph is used to measure movement, investigate the rock cycle using Starburst candy, and perform mineral testing and cupcake core sampling.
Teacher: Lisa Hindmarsh
email: lisahindmarsh@yahoo.com
phone/text: 530.313.3789
website: www.handsonsciencefun.com
Physics A
Grades 4-8
$200 per semester (1 voucher)
Students will explore simple machines (lever, pully, inclined plane, screw, wheel and axle, and wedge), magnetism, electricity, gravity, and flight through hand-on activities that illustrate these concepts.
Teacher: Lisa Hindmarsh
email: lisahindmarsh@yahoo.com
phone/text: 530.313.3789
website: www.handsonsciencefun.com
Science of Food
Grades 4-8
$200 per semester (1 voucher)
Food science includes examining the makeup of food, how to process or make it, and what packaging and conditions make it safe for us to eat. Students will use various methods to study the food we eat. Some topics to be covered include: sugar content of beverages, chemistry of baking, emulsion, flavor of organic chemistry, gummy worm chemistry, cookie taste testing, and viscosity. For students with food allergies: This class has labs that include eating various foods, however, no one is required to eat anything. Data can be obtained from other students.
Teacher: Lisa Hindmarsh
email: lisahindmarsh@yahoo.com
phone/text: 530.313.3789
website: www.handsonsciencefun.com
Oceanography
Grades 4-8
$200 per semester (1 voucher)
Students will dive in and explore the ocean and its inhabitants. Some of the topics to be covered through hands-on activities and models include bioluminescence, sea life adaptations, jellyfish life cycle, the ocean’s salinity, the sea floor, squid dissection, and marine food webs.
Teacher: Lisa Hindmarsh
email: lisahindmarsh@yahoo.com
phone/text: 530.313.3789
website: www.handsonsciencefun.com
SOCIAL SCIENCE AND HISTORY
US History
Grades 4-5
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
Students study the ideas, issues, and events from the framing of the Constitution (beginning with colonization) up to reconstruction following the Civil War. After reviewing the development of America's democratic institutions, particularly the shaping of the Constitution, students trace the development of American politics, society, culture, and economy and relate them to the emergence of major regional differences. They learn about the challenges facing the new nation, with an emphasis on the causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War. They make connections between the rise of industrialization and contemporary social and economic conditions.
Teacher: Laurie Chiappe
email: Lchiappe@comcast.net
phone/text: 916.293.8060
website: historyrockswithmrschiappe.com
California History
Grades 4-5
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
Through hands-on, project-based learning, students learn the story of their home state, unique in American history in terms of its vast and varied geography, its many waves of immigration beginning with pre-Columbian societies, its continuous diversity, economic energy, and rapid growth. In addition to the specific treatment of milestones in California history, students examine the state in the context of the rest of the nation, with an emphasis on the U.S. Constitution and the relationship between state and federal government.
Teacher: Laurie Chiappe
email: Lchiappe@comcast.net
phone/text: 916.293.8060
website: historyrockswithmrschiappe.com
American Cinema
Grades 4-8
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
In this course, students will participate in a survey of classic American cinema, from a historical and cultural perspective. The student will be exposed to various movie clips, such as Charlie Chaplin, 2001 Space Odyssey, and Gone with the Wind while discovering the films cultural context. Students will also explore the influence of media on the American experience and the importance of understand world view portrayed in cinema. This class is followed by Hamilton: An America Musical in the Spring.
Teacher: Laurie Chiappe
email: Lchiappe@comcast.net
phone/text: 916.293.8060
website: historyrockswithmrschiappe.com
Monuments of Freedom: STEM
Grades 4-8
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
Travel through history and across the United States visiting iconic monuments and memorials. Through hands-on, project based learning, students will be immersed in these wonders, becoming actual architects and engineers as they build replicas of the monuments! Through an examination of the American monuments, students will develop an appreciation and recognition of American history's greatest people and principles. In-class activities will serve as a springboard for further discovery and exploration of the United States, its history and culture. Throughout the semester we will focus on a different “Monuments of Freedom." This class enhances, and does not duplicate, material presented in US History.
Teacher: Laurie Chiappe
email: Lchiappe@comcast.net
phone/text: 916.293.8060
website: historyrockswithmrschiappe.com
MATH
Grades 4-5
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
The spring semester of 4-5 Math Skills is great for new and returning students! There will be new topics for returning students, and new students will fit right in because spring semester topics are not connected to the previous semester. New students are welcome, and returning students will be exposed to new material! Students will participate in fun, hands-on activities that create and strengthen a solid understanding of grade-level curriculum standards. Some of the topics we will be covering are: understanding geometric figures, problem solving with word problems, and math facts (for adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing). Curriculum will be based on California State Standards for 4th-5th grade students. This course will include visual examples, group activities and interactive games that will keep students thoroughly engaged. Students will have fun throughout the entire process, all the while strengthening valuable skills that ALL future math classes will build upon!
Teacher: Joe Vargas
email: YourFirstChoiceTutoring@gmail.com
phone/text: 916.805.7333
website: www.firstchoicetutoring.com
Math Lab: Decimals & Percentages
Grades 4-8
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
The spring semester of this class is great for new and returning students! There will be new topics for returning students, and new students will fit right in because spring semester topics are not connected to the previous semester. New students are welcome, and returning students will be exposed to new material!
Whether you are just learning about decimals or an expert, there’s always something new and exciting to learn! In this semester we will continue learning to master the art of using decimals and percentages. Students will learn percentages by using classroom coupons and purchasing items when they’re on sale. Students will also learn about decimals by using plastic money to make their purchases. Whether a student is struggling with a particular concept, or wants to take their decimal and percentage knowledge to the highest level possible, this class is a must!
Teacher: Joe Vargas
email: YourFirstChoiceTutoring@gmail.com
phone/text: 916.805.7333
website: www.firstchoicetutoring.com
Math Lab: Fun With Fractions
Grades 4-8
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
The spring semester of this class is great for new and returning students! There will be new topics for returning students, and new students will fit right in because spring semester topics are not connected to the previous semester. New students are welcome, and returning students will be exposed to new material!
Whether you are just learning about fractions or an expert, there’s always something new and exciting to learn! In this semester we will continue learning using hands activities in order to master the art of using fractions! Some classroom activities will consist of folding and cutting construction paper to teach the concept of ‘parts to a whole’. Other activities will have the students creating fractions themselves, by separating the class into smaller groups based on descriptions given by their peers. With a variety of many visuals and group activities, students will better understand how learning fractions can be both easy and fun!
Teacher: Joe Vargas
email: YourFirstChoiceTutoring@gmail.com
phone/text: 916.805.7333
website: www.firstchoicetutoring.com
Grades 4-8
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
The spring semester of this class is great for new and returning students! There will be new topics for returning students, and new students will fit right in because spring semester topics are not connected to the previous semester. New students are welcome, and returning students will be exposed to new material!
Students who enroll in this course will continue to design and build new three dimensional objects such as houses, vehicles and cities using cardboard cutouts, all the while learning about perimeter, area and volume! Geometry is a branch of mathematics that gets covered extensively in high school. What better way to get prepared than by participating in a math lab that covers all the basics! Anyone interested in general math or Geometry help is encouraged to join!
Teacher: Joe Vargas
email: YourFirstChoiceTutoring@gmail.com
phone/text: 916.805.7333
website: www.firstchoicetutoring.com
FINE ARTS AND ENRICHMENT
American Cinema
Grades 4-8
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
In this course, students will participate in a survey of classic American cinema, from a historical and cultural perspective. The student will be exposed to various movie clips, such as Charlie Chaplin, 2001 Space Odyssey, and Gone with the Wind while discovering the films cultural context. Students will also explore the influence of media on the American experience and the importance of understand world view portrayed in cinema. This class is followed by Hamilton: An America Musical in the Spring.
Teacher: Laurie Chiappe
email: Lchiappe@comcast.net
phone/text: 916.293.8060
website: historyrockswithmrschiappe.com
American Sign Language (ASL) 1
Grades 4-8
$175 per semester (1 voucher)
Students will begin to learn the basics of American Sign Language and Deaf Culture. They will learn basic communication skills through ABC's/ fingerspelling, numbers, ASL word order, sentence types, and verbs. We will play fun games and activities to help remember vocabulary.
Teacher: Jaime Layton
email: philandjaime@gmail.com
phone/text: 530-306-0786
American Sign Language (ASL) 2
Grades 4-8
$175 per semester (1 voucher)
Pre-requisite: ASL 1
This class will be a continuation of ASL 1 plus building on sentence types, time, duration, classifiers, pluralization, inflection, and describing rooms, objects and locations. I look forward to working with my returning students!
Teacher: Jaime Layton
email: philandjaime@gmail.com
phone/text: 530-306-0786
Bible
Grades 4-8
FREE
This is a non-secular class, taught from a Christian world view, involving prayer.
Teacher: Coordinated by Mary Frederick, taught by Christian volunteers
email: messages2mary@att.net
phone/text: 916.990.3494
Bridges and Buildings
Grades 4-8
$200 per semester (1 voucher)
Students will learn about the engineering design process and physics as they design and build popsicle stick bridges and straw buildings. Teams will compete to create the strongest structures.
Teacher: Lisa Hindmarsh
email: lisahindmarsh@yahoo.com
phone/text: 530.313.3789
website: www.handsonsciencefun.com
Choir: Intro to Voice
Grades 4-8
$180 per semester (2 vouchers at $90 each)
Wanna have fun singing through rounds, counter melodies and harmony in a variety of styles? Join the choir class!
Come open your mouths and sing!!
Teacher: Grace Hegy
email: gracesong28@yahoo.com
phone/text: 916.225.8822
website: www.gracesongs.wordpress.com
Computer Programming
Grades 4-8
$164 per semester (1 voucher)
Kids will explore the exciting world of computer programming through the interactive Scratch interface, and use their imaginations to create their own programs / video games! This class will teach students the basics of programming and video game design in a fun and easy-to-understand way. No previous computer experience is necessary.PLEASE NOTE: A laptop computer is required for this class.
Teacher: Asten Fallavollita
phone/text: 916.220.6798
FLA Newspaper
Grades 5-8
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
In this active class, students will become sleuths and reporters! We will learn and engage in the various aspects of journalism including interviews, research, investigation, article writing, editorials, photography, editing, publishing, reporting, and broadcasting. The class will work together to create a Foothill Learning Academy Newspaper which will be reproduced and distributed the last week of classes. Students will also get a flavor for broadcast journalism, as they script and film a news broadcast to be shown at the end of the year celebration. Class space is limited to 12 students.
Teacher: Mary Frederick
email: messages2mary@att.net
phone/text: 916.990.3494
website: www.writeon4kids.com
Grades 4-8
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
This class is a Math Lab with an emphasis on beginner and intermediate Geometry. Any students interested in general math help, as well as those who’d like to learn more about concepts in Geometry should consider joining!
Students who enroll in this course will design and build three dimensional objects such as houses and vehicles using cardboard cutouts, all the while learning about perimeter, area and volume! Geometry is a branch of mathematics that gets covered extensively in high school. What better way to get prepared than by participating in a math lab that covers all the basics! Anyone interested in general math or Geometry help is encouraged to join!
Teacher: Joe Vargas
email: YourFirstChoiceTutoring@gmail.com
phone/text: 916.805.7333
website: www.firstchoicetutoring.com
Guitar
Grades 4-8
$180 per semester (4 vouchers at $45 each)
In this class, students will not only learn how to read music, but will also learn to play by ear. Sheet music provides the fundamentals children need to grow in their musical ability, while playing by ear makes learning music fun and something they can do anywhere. The primary materials used for instruction will be Guitar for Kids - Hal Leonard Guitar Method and additional activities put together by the instructor.
PLEASE NOTE: Students are expected to bring their own guitars to class each week.
Teacher: Jonathan Jimmerson
email: jjmusiclessons1@gmail.com
phone/text: 505.720.4617
website: www.jjmusiclessons.com
Hand Sewing: Level 1
Grades 4-8
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
Hand sewing is a fun and creative activity that is also useful. In this class, students will learn this extremely valuable lifelong skill through a variety of engaging projects designed to teach traditional hand stitches. The project-based learning includes sewing a needle book, a pincushion, a button "tree", a felt mouse, and a drawstring bag. Additionally, throughout the class, students will be exposed to vocabulary unique to the world of sewing. Class fee includes a small personal sewing kit and fabric. This class will be followed by Hand Sewing: Level 2 spring semester.
Teacher: Lisa Hindmarsh
email: lisahindmarsh@yahoo.com
phone/text: 530.313.3789
website: www.handsonsciencefun.com
Hand Sewing: Level 2
Grades 4-8
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
This class is a continuation of Hand Sewing: Level 1. Students will continue to sew projects, including a quilt-block pillow, that will help them improve their sewing skills. Class fee includes a small sewing kit and fabric. New students can join this class if they have some basic sewing skills.
Teacher: Lisa Hindmarsh
email: lisahindmarsh@yahoo.com
phone/text: 530.313.3789
website: www.handsonsciencefun.com
Introduction to Photography
Grades 4-8
$182 per semester (4 vouchers at $45.50 each)
Photography is exciting! It allows us to capture a memory and freeze it in time. This introductory class is designed to help students gain confidence in their ability to use the functions of their camera. We will learn the basics of photography including: light, exposure, and composition. Each class will offer a new project-based lesson. So, let's go capture some memories. Students will need to bring their own digital camera (not a cell phone camera) to class each week. If a student does not have a camera, a shared camera will be available for class use.
Teacher: Sara Diggs
phone/text: 916.502.6470
LEGOS: STEM Challenge with LEGO® Materials
Grades 4-8
$197 per semester (1 voucher)
Level up your engineering skills with Play-Well TEKnologies and tens of thousands of LEGO® parts! Apply real-world concepts in physics, engineering, and architecture through engineer-designed projects such as Belt-Drive Cars, Truss Bridges, Rail Racers, and Pneumatic Forklifts! Design and build as never before, and explore your craziest ideas in a supportive environment.
Teacher: Lynda Weiss (or other Play-Well TEKnologies instructor)
phone/text: 916.390.6530
website: www.play-well.org
Mixed-Media Art
Grades 4-8
$190 per semester (1 voucher)
Express your creativity through amazing art! Doing art has been shown to improve motor skills, teach decision-making, develop a sense of inventiveness and innovation, develop engineering skills (sculpture) and improve academic skills. This class will introduce students to various 2-D and 3-D art forms through fun and inspiring art projects, such as papier mache´ sculpture, collage, clay, relief work, mask-making , mono-printing and more. Fine art skills are taught in a fun and engaging way. Class fee includes all supplies.
Teacher: Brenda Williams
email: brenda@brendawilliamsstudio.com
Phone/text: 916.337.1990
website: www.BrendaWilliamsStudio.co
Music Theory
Grades 4-8
$180 per semester (4 vouchers at $45 each)
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. Music theory is frequently concerned with describing how musicians and composers make music, including tuning systems and composition methods among other topics. It is the science and theory of how music works in western composition. Any student that is interested in how music works will find themselves enjoying this course. Music theory also explores the practical application of harmony and composition. In other words, those that love music will find themselves enjoying this course. The students who take this course will also learn how to read sheet music and compose themselves using the tricks and tools of the trade.
Teacher: Jonathan Jimmerson
email: jjmusiclessons1@gmail.com
phone/text: 505.720.4617
website: www.jjmusiclessons.com
No-Bake Cake Decorating
Grades 4-8
$192 per semester (4 vouchers at $48 each)
In this introductory class, students will learn the basics of cake decorating, along with mastering homemade frosting recipes. We will work on: frosting a cake, different piping techniques, using fondant, hand painting, and creating sugar flowers. Each week will have a different theme. All cakes will be store bought, as well as any other food items used in projects. We will not be using any ingredients that contain nuts. However, we will be using dairy products, and cakes will contain gluten. If students are unable to consume these ingredients, they are still welcome to participate to learn the decorating skills.
Teacher: Sara Diggs
phone/text: 916.502.6470
Spanish (Cameron Park)
Grades 4-8
$200 per semester
In this program, children will learn to develop the foundation of vocabulary and practical phrases for conversational Spanish. This dynamic class will keep kids active and engaged while they explore stations which highlight: crafts, games, role-playing, songs, and special worksheets to take home and practice Spanish. Lots of conversation, literacy and writing in Spanish will be encouraged during this class.
Teacher: Blanca Lawton
email: BLawton@thespanishimmersion.com
phone: 916.486.8276
website: www.thespanishimmersion.com
Spanish: Conversational (Placerville)
Grades 4-6
$180 per semester (1 voucher)
This semester the students will continue to expand the knowledge of Spanish by learning vocabulary pertaining to the following topics: “Months of the Year”, “Seasons”, “Articles of Clothing”, “Parts of the Body”, and “Travel”. Students will participate in interactive games and activities designed to enhance the ability to speak, read, and write Spanish. Students will also learn about the Mayan and Aztec ancient civilizations of Mexico, as well as the cultural traditions some of the Spanish-speaking countries in our world. Learn Spanish the fun way!
Teacher: Debbie Heiden
email: dkhlovesbooks@gmail.com
phone: 916.817.1821
STEM: Student Engineering
Grades 4-8
$195 per semester (1 voucher)
STEM Student Engineering is a blended learning environment where Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are applied by students to everyday life. STEM teaches students computational thinking and focuses on the real world applications of problem solving. Through hands on activities, the students work individually and collaboratively as engineers. Engineering involves the application of creativity in partnership with other disciplines to search for quicker, better, and less expensive ways to use the forces and materials of nature to meet today's challenges. The STEM Student Engineers are problem solvers who use various resources to bring into existence things and ideas that they imagine.
Teacher: Laurie Chiappe
email: Lchiappe@comcast.net
phone/text: 916.293.8060
website: historyrockswithmrschiappe.com
Theater Arts
Grades 4-8
$164 per semester (1 voucher)
A fun and exciting musical theater class with an emphasis on building confidence and public speaking skills! Students will explore the world of drama, acting, song, and dance, and work as a team to create a performance. All students will receive a character/lines, and no previous experience is necessary!
Teacher: Asten Fallavollita
email: atfallavol@gmail.com
phone/text: 916.220.6798
Wide World of Sports
Grades 4-8
$160 per semester (1 Voucher)
From Badminton to Rugby, explore the wide world of sports while honing the valuable life skills of teamwork and sportsmanship! Each week, the class will focus on the rules and history of a new and engaging World sport. The students will have an opportunity to play the game they studied and possibly develop an undiscovered passion.
Teacher: Joe Vargas
email: YourFirstChoiceTutoring@gmail.com
phone/text: 916.805.7333
website: www.firstchoicetutoring.com