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HOW DO I START

Most frequent questions and answers on hosting a group

“You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment…”

(Matthew 10:9-10, The Message)

To become a coach, you will need a space for your team to meet (most people use their kitchen table!) and a heart for educating the next generation! The materials that you use will be the same materials you would use in educating your own children. Find a team and name them! Then compete!

Each coach sets its own timetable. You just choose 4.5 hours in the week that fit your schedule. (Elementary groups only meet 2.5 hours.) Some families may prefer to run their team times from  8:00-12:30. Some may meet from 10-3:30 with a one hour lunch. You can choose any day of the week. It’s all up to you!

Teams must have at least three members to compete, but four members are recommended. Teams are also allowed up to two alternates that they can substitute in throughout the game. Hosts can register up to three teams in their home. (For example, a host could register 12 students as 3 teams of 4 members, or 2 teams of 4 members with 2 alternates each.) 

Besides the satisfaction of coaching a team to victory (okay, we may be a tad competitive), being a host is super beneficial to your own homeschool. It is so easy to become distracted with the “day to day” operations. Coaching a team puts you directly in touch with what your children are learning!

A teacher has the option of hosting three different groups: elementary (3rd-5th), middle school (6th-8th), or high school (9th-12th) Elementary students  all work on the same curriculum for Bible, science, and history, and rotate through a three year cycle. Middle school students all work on the same curriculum for Bible, science, and history and rotate through a three year cycle. Math and language are taught on at grade level at home, and the time at Illumination is used to sharpen the skills they are working on. High School runs on a four year cycle in a similar manner. When the program is completed, students will have fulfilled all graduation requirements.

Upon registration, there will be one name declared on the form as “head coach”. Hosts are welcome, however, to develop their own network of assistant coaches and helpers. It will be up to each individual team how they divide the team funds.

It is up to each individual host to decide how to use the tuition money. The tuition is to ensure that you do not incur any out-of-pocket expenses to lead the group. This may include the purchase of DVD or resource sets, lab supplies, teacher manuals, copy expenses, etc. 

Absolutely! Parents may find that one mom has a better “practice location” while another mom prefers to just come in and teach and not worry about how many dishes are in the sink.

THE GAME

Most frequent questions and answers on Masterminds

Illumination is an accountbility program. To participate in our program, your team is required to compete at the end of the year.

Upon registration each team will receive a digital file (that can be shared with team members) that includes every question on the quiz bowl portion of Masterminds. Although the team math problems (for middle and high school) will vary every year, each team will have access to multiple sample problems.

Students in 3rd-5th grade will gather at the end of the year for a round-robin quiz bowl. All subjects are cumulatively integrated. For example, a math question may be followed by a literature question. Students will compete by buzzing in with the correct answer.

Students in 6th-8th grade will gather at the end of the year for a round-robin quiz bowl. Bible, Science, History, and Language questions are cumulatively integrated. Students will compete by buzzing in with the correct answer. Math operates as a separate category where students are given a “real life” scenario that they must solve as a team and then present to a panel of judges.

Students in 9th-12th grade come together for a weekend of fun where they are tested by subject on all their core material. The challenge is divided into five sections: Bible (quiz bowl), History (quiz bowl), Science (quiz bowl), Math (team problem solving), and Language (a themed short story contest). 

 

THE MONEY

Most frequent questions and answers

The cost of tuition is $155/student for the year.

There is also a team fee of $120 in the fall and again in the spring that gets divided across all the students. So, for example, if you had a team of 6, the team fee would be $20/person in the fall, and $20/person in the spring.

Each coach sets their own due date for tuition. The coaches are responsible for paying their registration by August 1st in the fall and March 1st in the spring.

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Most frequent questions and answers

If you only have one of your children enrolled on an Illumination team, siblings are still welcome to join us for big group field trips. 

There will be some field trips that are age specific, but if it is a general trip,  (i.e.: NC Zoo) all members of your family are welcome.