Branches & Vine Cottage School

If you desire a life-giving learning atmosphere for your child,
WE CAN HELP YOU.

If you're interested in a faith-based, high-quality private education with affordable rates for your family,
WE CAN HELP YOU.

If you have a homeschool curriculum but desire
additional enrichment and social learning opportunities,
WE CAN HELP YOU.

If you're longing to plug in to a vibrant learning community that offers genuine encouragement and support designed for your whole family,
WE CAN HELP YOU.

Nourishing the whole person with first-hand exposure to great and noble ideas.

Our 2021-2022 Academic Year Enrollment is now closed!
If you would like to be placed on our waiting list and contacted as soon as spots are opened, please contact us here!

Check out our 2021-2021 School Calendar!

See our Woodland Friends Offerings this year!

Click pic!

Our Summer Camps are now full!

SCHEDULE
In-Class: Mondays-Thursdays
At-Home: Fridays

FORMS
Woodland Friends - ages 4-6
(Mon, Tue, Wed mornings)
Form I - ages 6-9 (roughly 1st-3rd)
Form II - ages 9-12 (roughly 4th-6th)
Form III - ages 12-15 (roughly 7th-9th)
Form IV - ages 15-18 (roughly 10th-12th)

IN-CLASS OPTIONS & HOURS
Cottage Students Full Day:
8:15 am - 3:30 pm

Enrichment Half-Days:
11:30 am - 3:30 pm

We have a 5 acre country-like campus with a chicken coop, gardens, various creatures,
and open green space that facilitates generous outdoor exploration and play.

We are easily accessible (just four minutes off I-75) in South Dayton, close to many amenities.

"Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life."
~ Charlotte Mason (1842 – 1923)

Branches & Vine Approach

At Branches & Vine, we honor the child's dignity as a whole person designed in God's image.

Our educational approach nourishes the whole person with first-hand exposure to great and noble ideas through: "living books" in every subject, timeless literature and poetry, treasured handicrafts, Shakespeare plays, inspiring art, beautiful music, biblical worldview conversations, structured maths and sciences, Latin, Greek and classical studies, generous nature exploration, piano and violin study.

We believe life-giving education possesses "depth of relations" through a three-fold framework: "knowledge of God," "knowledge of man," and "knowledge of the universe." We help students build deepening relationships with God and His Word; with people from various eras, places, and cultures; and with nature and daily outdoor life, geography, and the sciences.

Chronological history comes alive through well-written books, source documents, captivating biographies, and literature selections which illuminate the era.

Focused attention at short, varied lessons keeps students' minds fresh, leaving free time for exploration of nature, personal interests, and life skills.

English skills develop beautifully through "copywork" (transcribing a portion of quality literature), and "dictation" of familiar passages. Memorization and "recitation" are approached, not as tools for repeating facts, but to give children rich words to ponder for a lifetime.

Instead of dry worksheets, students design and develop cherished "living notebooks" including: Book of Centuries (master timeline), Commonplace Book (literary quotations), Nature Notebook (observational sketches, paintings, and notes), Copybook (Scripture, poetry, and literature selections), Scripture Notebook (Bible readings, memory work, and favorite passages), Fortitude Journal, Latin Notebook ... among other notebook keep-sakes that take shape through the years.

"Narrating" (retelling) from living books teaches students to reflect upon and digest vital ideas.

Our teachers direct the course of study, but students assume personal responsibility for their own learning.

We seize every opportunity to experience wonder and delight. Along with intentional "habit formation," students appropriate true knowledge, understanding, and wisdom into a life of virtue.

Branches & Vine Mission

In partnership with families, and guided by the Word of God, we provide a rich and varied feast of ideas reflective of truth, goodness, and beauty, that equips students to lead lives of wisdom and virtue to the glory of Christ.

Discover the Difference of Branches & Vine

NURTURING A LIFE-GIVING ATMOSPHERE
INSPIRING HABITS OF WISDOM AND VIRTUE
NOURISHING MINDS WITH A GENEROUS FEAST OF LIVING IDEAS

JOINING THE GREAT CONVERSATION THROUGH THE GREAT BOOKS, GREAT THINKERS, AND GREAT WORKS OF THE WESTERN TRADITION

“We all have need to be trained to see, and to have our eyes opened
before we can take in the joy that is meant for us in this beautiful life.”

"We wish to place before the child open doors to many avenues of instruction and delight,
in each one of which he should find quickening thoughts."

~ Charlotte Mason (1842 – 1923)

APPLY TO BRANCHES & VINE COTTAGE SCHOOL FOR FALL 2021!

INFO@BVCOTTAGESCHOOL.COM
(937) 618 3030
3150 W ALEX BELL

'20-21 FAMILY HANDBOOK
OVERVIEW & BVCS TRADITIONS
ENROLLMENT PROCESS
APPLICATION FORM

All applicants and BVCS parents are strongly encouraged to read: For the Children's Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay and In Vital Harmony: Charlotte Mason and the Natural Laws of Education by Karen Glass. We encourage our families to be familiar with the philosophy of Charlotte Mason to ensure that your hopes for your children resonate with the hopes of the school and are in keeping with the philosophical distinctives of our work.

“I am the VINE, you are the BRANCHES. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5

Branches & Vine Cottage School is a four-day Classical Charlotte Mason school located in Dayton, Ohio. In partnership with families, and guided by the Word of God, we provide a rich and varied feast of ideas reflective of truth, goodness, and beauty that will equip students to lead lives of wisdom and virtue to the glory of Christ.

The Cottage School Branch of our TRUE VINE CM NETWORK
An educational initiative of Calvary South Dayton