Homeschool Classes
Art Camp 504’s Homeschool Program offers a creative, hands-on learning community where students explore academics through storytelling, invention, art, science, and real-world problem solving. Through weekly classes like Storytelling Workshop, Inventors Lab, Community Lunch, and Homeschool Social, students build skills, confidence, friendships, and independence in a supportive multi-age environment.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Each session is 5 weeks long. Your group meets on the same day and time each week. Sign up for one, two or all three days! Advance registration required. Each day is 12:00-3:30pm. Community Lunch included with tuition.
TRY IT OUT: DROP IN SEPT 14 & 15
MONDAYS: Storytelling Workshop (Ages 7-14)
Session 1: Sept 21 - Oct 26, 5 weeks | $215 | No class Oct 12
Session 2: Nov 2 - Dec 7, 5 weeks | $215 | No class Nov 23
TUESDAYS: INVENTORS LAB (AGES 7-14)
Session 1: Sept 22 - Oct 27, 5 weeks | $215 | No class Oct 13
Session 2: Nov 3 - Dec 8, 5 weeks | $215 | No class Nov 24
WEDNESDAYS: Homeschool Social (Ages 5-14)
Sept 16 - Dec 9 | $30/day | Register by the day | No social Oct 14, Nov 25
Register for five or more socials at a time to save 20%
Enrollment closes 72 hours before each social begins.
Family welcome to stay or drop off!
Community Lunch
Community Lunch is an opportunity for students to build friendships while practicing valuable life skills. Together, students prepare and enjoy a midday meal, learning cooperation, responsibility, and teamwork along the way.
Students bring their own reusable meal set (plate, cup, utensils, etc.) and are responsible for cleaning and storing it after lunch. Depending on the week, meals may be prepared collaboratively using family-donated ingredients or individually using student-provided lunches.
Each lunch also includes a fun conversation prompt that encourages curiosity, communication, and connection. Questions might include:
If you had a time machine, where would you go?
If you were the teacher for a day, what rules would you make?
If you had a robot that could only do one chore, what would you choose?
ABOUT THE CURRICULUM
Storytelling Workshop
Stories help us understand ourselves and the world around us. In Storytelling Workshop, students explore a variety of storytelling formats—including creative writing, theater, filmmaking, and oral storytelling—while developing strong communication and literacy skills.
Students practice multiple styles of writing, including narrative, descriptive, persuasive, and informational writing, while exploring connections to history, geography, culture, and current events. Through the writing process, they learn how stories both shape and reflect the communities and cultures around us.
Inventors Lab
Inventors Lab challenges students to become creative problem-solvers by applying the scientific method to real-world questions.
Working independently or in small teams, students identify problems, research solutions, develop hypotheses, build prototypes, test their ideas, analyze results, and present their discoveries. Along the way, they naturally integrate concepts from science, math, engineering, technology, and social studies while developing collaboration, perseverance, and critical thinking skills.
Homeschool Social
Our weekly Homeschool Social gives students time to connect, create, and play in a relaxed, multi-age environment. Families register for this drop-in session on a week-by-week basis. Families may drop off or stay on site to connect with other parents.
Students can enjoy:
Board games
Outdoor play
Open art and craft stations
Sensory activities for younger learners
A guided multi-age creative project each week
Each facilitated activity introduces a new artistic material or technique. The following week, that material remains available for independent exploration, encouraging students to continue experimenting, teaching one another, and building confidence through creative play. Activities are adapted for different age groups and interests, with multiple projects offered as participation grows.
Meet the lead instructor
Julie Devita
Julie Devita (they/her) is a homeschooling parent who has been an educator for 15 years. Julie has experience teaching across preschool, elementary, and middle school settings in a variety of roles, including lead special education teacher, preschool therapy assistant, classroom paraprofessional, and K–2 intervention teacher. Most recently, she has focused on homeschooling her own children and other students. Julie also teaches circus arts to students of all ages, including kindergarten through fifth grade at ISL. Her work in circus education has shaped a teaching style that blends movement, creativity, and play to build confidence, strengthen engagement, and support academic growth. Julie believes that each student can achieve in a rigorous educational environment with the proper tools and support. She is excited to collaborate with Art Camp 504 to develop a homeschool environment based in community, connection and creativity.
Storytelling WORKSHOP
CURRICULUM OUTLINE
Introduce writing process (prewrite, writing, revise, rewrite, proofread, publish) and kinds of writing (Expository, descriptive, persuasive, narrative)
Collaborative story activity used to demonstrate.
Collectively create anchor charts for reference throughout the workshop.
Introduce kinds of writing with a sorting activity. Provide titles and synopsis have students sort
Written Personal Narratives and portraits.
Prompt: tell a story from a time you interacted with someone in a different generation.
Students will create personal narratives utilizing the writing process, they will also create a self portrait with diverse materials.
Fables/Myths retelling plays (2 weeks)
Greeking out, Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest, and Mythical Creatures for Kids (prework)
Fables/Myths retelling plays (2 weeks)
Students will explore examples of fables and myths from diverse cultures
The group will examine ways that these stories can tell us about culture of origin
The group will examine on maps where stories originate, and we will evaluate environmental factors.
Students will plan, create and execute a retelling of an existing myth or fable. Students can embellish story with costumes, props and/or set pieces
Informational/how to Videos (2 weeks)
Students will create a how to video for something they understand how to do very well.
Comparative oral arguments (2weeks)
Smash, boom, best podcast (prework)
Comparative oral arguments (2 weeks)
Students will create comparative oral presentations to assert formulated arguments
Students will research topics to formulate a comparative argument.
Fictional narrative told in choice format (3 weeks)
This will be a student driven project. The goal is to use the writing process and different storytelling formats to create the final project.
Inventors Lab:
The format and pace of this class will be highly dependent on those who sign up. Depending on age, developmental level and academic skill students will address an observed problem with a new invention. They will then create a prototype.
Scientific method overview/ What is an inventor
Do experiment using scientific methods
Observation/questions
Interview community, collect data
Decide on problem
Form hypothesis
Formulate invention concept and ideas how it will solve problem
Test/experiment
Students will begin to build prototype
Lab work (alpha testing)
Data/results
Lab work (beta testing)
Conclusion
Students will use beta test results to make conclusion
Labwork
Publish
Each student will create a presentation of their work. This might look like a trifold, a commercial, other marketing material, ect.