Competence
academic & practical skills
Mastering life skills to grow confident and capable.
Academic and practical skills are cumulative—they’re not mastered overnight, but shaped gently over time. From reading comprehension to budgeting to folding laundry, these skills develop through consistent exposure, practice and patience.
Practical life skills are best learned not through structured lessons, but in the quiet rhythm of daily family life—side by side in the kitchen, during bedtime routines, or on bike ride to the park. Academic skills, on the other hand, often need more explicit instruction and do well with dedicated time outside of regular daily life to develop.
Therefore, we encourage parents to carefully select academic resources that suit their own children and family needs while passing on practical knowledge in natural, loving ways.
In terms of rewarding curios for this track, we recommend laying out very specific and measurable goals for children to reach, then rewarding a curio upon their completion. For example, the “mastery packs” found within the Club Curio membership are for memorizing various concrete facts that are useful for life. These are easy to measure, and therefore are also easy to reward.
MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES MASTERY PACKS FOR LEVEL 1 (ages 1-3) LEVEL 2 (ages 4-7) AND LEVEL 3 (ages 8+)
Example Mastery Packs:
Daily Poems
(Level 1 - Ages 1-3)
✨ Brief Explanation
What it is: A collection of short, rhythmic poems for children to memorize and recite during everyday moments—mealtimes, waking, resting, play, and transitions.
Why it matters: Integrating poetry into daily rhythms builds memory, nurtures language, fosters gratitude, and helps children feel anchored in beauty. When practiced regularly, the poems become natural cues for mindfulness and belonging.
📖 Core Poems by Routine
🌞 Morning Poem (Waking Up)
"Good morning, sun, so bright and new,
The world awakens just like you.
With open eyes and hearts to start,
We greet the day with joy and art."
🥖 Mealtime Poem (Giving Thanks)
"The silver rain, the shining sun,
The fields where scarlet poppies run.
And all the ripples in the wheat,
Are in the bread that we do eat.
So when we sit for every meal,
And say a grace we often feel,
That we are eating rain and sun,
And fields where scarlet poppies run."
🌿 Before Play (Outdoor Time)
"The grass is green, the sky is blue,
The earth is wide and calls us too.
We run, we jump, we laugh, we sing,
Our joy belongs to everything."
🧸 Tidying Up
"Work together, hand in hand,
To clear and clean the playroom land.
Each toy at rest, each book asleep,
A tidy home is ours to keep."
🌙 Evening Poem (Bedtime)
"Now the stars begin to peep,
Time to close our eyes and sleep.
Moonlight hums its lullaby,
While dreams drift gently from the sky."
🧠 Memory-Building Tips
Consistency: Use the same poem at the same time each day—children will soon cue themselves.
Gestures: Add motions (hands folded for mealtime, stretching arms for morning, etc.).
Choral Recitation: Say them together as a family, so kids hear the rhythm repeatedly.
Pause & Prompt: Leave out the last word of a line so the child can fill it in.
Link to Nature: Step outside for the play poem, point to the sky for bedtime—let the world reinforce the words.
🌟 Mastery Goal
By practicing these poems daily, children will be able to:
Recite each poem from memory with rhythm and expression.
Associate poems with daily routines (mealtime, bedtime, etc.).
Develop a love of poetry as part of everyday life.
Build sequencing and memory through rhyme and repetition.
The Bill of Rights
(Level 3 - Ages 8+)
Matching Game
Instructions:
Match the Amendment number with its description/rights it protects.
Column A: Amendment
1st Amendment
2nd Amendment
3rd Amendment
4th Amendment
5th Amendment
6th Amendment
7th Amendment
8th Amendment
9th Amendment
10th Amendment
Column B: Description
A. Right to a jury trial in civil cases.
B. Right to freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition.
C. Right to bear arms.
D. Protection from cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail.
E. Protects rights not specifically listed in the Constitution.
F. Right to a speedy and public trial with an impartial jury.
G. Limits the powers of the federal government to those listed in the Constitution.
H. Protection from self-incrimination and double jeopardy; right to due process.
I. Protection from unreasonable searches and seizures.
J. Soldiers cannot be housed in private homes without the owner’s consent.
Answer Key
1 → B
2 → C
3 → J
4 → I
5 → H
6 → F
7 → A
8 → D
9 → E
10 → G