Our families are new homeschoolers, veterans, and in between. We have small families and large families. We use a variety of curricula and teaching styles. One thing we do have in common, and require for membership, is agreement with our Statement of Faith (see box below). We are unapologetically Christian. We seek to honor Him in all we do.
First Baptist Church of Anoka
1235 Park Street
Anoka, MN 55303
Welcome to Anchor Homeschool Group
Our Purpose
Anchor Homeschool Group was formed by Christian homeschool educators in order to provide enrolled homeschooled students, as defined by Minnesota homeschool laws, with supplemental educational classes, field trips, and opportunities for friendships with other homeschool families in our community.
Our vision
1. Honor Christ in all our activities.
2. Support and encourage our families as they educate their children.
3. Provide supplemental classes and activities to help our families have a more enriching educational experience
What We Offer
Meetings
We meet two Fridays a month, from 9:00 am to 12:00pm. Co-op classes are for K through 12th grade. We also have a preschool program for 3-year old to Pre-Kindergarten children, as well as a staffed nursery for newborn through 2-year old children.
We offer 1-2 field trips per month and social gatherings.
Parent Support Group
We provide a parent’s support group each Anchor meeting for the moms who are not assisting in classes. In support group we share ideas to help each other in our home schooling, parenting, cooking, etc. We have a time of sharing and prayer. Though nursing infants are welcome, it is a time for adults to lend support to one another.
Requirements
Parents must be present during Anchor meetings.
For liability reasons, whether or not you have specific job duties, a parent must be on the premises at all times.
Class Assistants
Class assistants are essential to our program. Teachers and parent assistants, together, form the basis for our instruction. You will be assigned to assist in a class, the nursery or preschool once a month.
Agreement
All Anchor families must sign an agreement to Anchor's Statement of Faith.
Membership
All memberships are subject to approval by the Anchor Board.
Anchor currently has a waiting list. If you would like to be added to the waiting list, please Request Membership with the "Join" link found at the top of this page and someone on the Anchor Leadership Team will contact you as we are able to accomodate new families.
Statement of Faith
Anchor Homeschool Group Statement of Faith and Purpose*
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. Hebrews 6:19-20
“In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty; and in all things, charity.” Rupertius Meldenius
We ask that you read and prayerfully consider the Anchor Homeschool Group’s statement of faith and purpose. The leadership of Anchor agrees to the statement of faith prior to serving and agrees to make all decisions for the group based upon it. All members are also required to agree and purpose to uphold these statements at all Anchor activities.
Essentials:
- We believe that the Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the authoritative and powerful Word of God, verbally inspired by God, and without error in the original manuscripts. We believe that God’s intentions, revealed in the Bible, are the supreme and final authority in testing all claims about what is true and what is right. It is sufficient and nothing should be added to it, including new revelations of the Spirit nor traditions of men. In matters not addressed by the Bible, what is true and right is assessed by criteria consistent with the teachings of Scripture. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21, 3:16; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 14:37; Mark 13:31; John 8:31, 32; 14:26; 16:13–14; 17:17; 20:31; Acts 20:32; Matthew 22:29, 43–44; 24:35; Numbers 23:19; Proverbs 30:5; Psalm 12:6; 19:7–10; 119:9–16; Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2; 1 Timothy 4:13)
- We believe in the literal interpretation of the Scriptures and affirm the belief that the opening chapters of Genesis present the creation of earth in 6 literal days. We believe that man came by direct creation of God and not by evolution. (Genesis 1-2 and especially 1:31, Exodus 31:17, John 1:3, Colossians 1:16-17)
- We believe that there is only one living and true God, perfect in all His attributes, eternally existing in three persons- the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit- each equally deserving worship and obedience. (Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 45:5-7, 1 Corinthians 8:4, John 4:24, Matthew 23:19, 2nd Corinthians 13:14)
- God the Father is the first person of the Trinity. He is an infinite and personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. He created the universe and continually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and events. He saves from sin and death all who come to him through Jesus Christ. (Psalm 145:8-9, 1 Corinthians 8:6, 1 Chronicles 29:11, Ephesians 1:11, John 1:12, John 3:16, John 6:27)
- Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity, who has the same nature as the Father (co-equal, co-substantial, co-eternal),and in his incarnation took on all the essential characteristics of humanity and so became fully God and fully man. (John 10:30, John 14:9, Philippians 2:5-8, Colossians 2:9)
- We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in his virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in his substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for his people, and personal visible return to earth. (Matthew 1:18–25; Luke 1:26–38; 4:1–21; John 1:1; 20:28; Romans 3:21–26; 9:5; 8:46; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 2:1–2; 1 Peter 2:21–23; John 20:30, 31; Matthew 20:28; Ephesians 1:4; Acts 1:11; Romans 5:6–8; 6:9, 10; 7:25; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Timothy 3:16)
- The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. We believe that when Christ ascended into Heaven, he gave us the Spirit at Pentecost. It is the work of the Spirit to glorify Jesus Christ and to build the Church. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, baptizes believers into the body, gives spiritual gifts and transformers believers into the likeness of Christ. He indwells, sanctifies, instructs, empowers for service and seals believers for the day of redemption. (John 14:16-17, John 15:26, 1 Corinthians 12:13, John 16: 7-9, Acts 1:5, Acts 2:4, Romans 8:9, Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:6, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 1:13, Ephesians 2:22)
- We believe that man was created by God to glorify him and to enjoy him forever. Although God created Adam, the first man, morally upright, he chose to sin and to be led astray from the Word of God. His sin was imputed to all of humanity and humans came under the curse of death, the wrath of God and became inherently corrupt, incapable of choosing to please God. Man’s salvation is wholly through God’s grace through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Isaiah 43:7, Colossians 1:16, Revelation 4:11, Genesis 2:16-17, John 3:36, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 2:14, Ephesians 2:1-3, 1 John 1:8)
- We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography and rejection of one’s biological sex) is sinful and offensive to God. We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Anchor Homeschool Group as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the Anchor Homeschool Group participants and the community, it is imperative that all persons involved in Anchor Homeschool Group in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this statement on marriage, gender, and sexuality. (Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 2:18-25, 1 Corinthians 6:18, 1 Corinthians 7:2-5, Hebrews 13:4, Matthew 15:18-20, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Matthew 5:16, Philippians 2:14-16, 1 Thessalonians 5:22)
Non-Essentials and Charity
- We believe that in matters of secondary doctrine, such as the timing and mode of baptism, particular understanding of revival and the movement of the Holy Spirit, church governance, and style of worship there is liberty for the Christian to hold fast to his conscience. (Romans 14)
- Families who participate in Anchor Homeschool Group are from varied church denominations, with differences in secondary doctrinal practice, but we agree on the essentials of the gospel and the complete sufficiency of scripture as stated in point one.
- We believe that secondary doctrinal differences that may exist should not hinder the unity of Christian home educators in our goal to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
- If questions arise that are not covered in the statement of faith we encourage discussion, prayer and study of the word of God.
- Romans 15: 5-7 “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”
- Colossians 3:14 “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
Anchor’s Purpose
Anchor Homeschool Group seeks to provide enrolled homeschooled students, as defined by Minnesota homeschool laws, with supplemental educational classes, field trips, and opportunities for friendships with other homeschool families in our community.
K-6th Art: Sherri Rasmussen
We will be exploring a variety of art-making techniques inspired by famous artists this year. Students will explore watercolors, mixed media, collage, and paper cutting. There will be an emphasis on observation— how do we capture what we see in front of us? There will also be an emphasis on exploration— in other words, we won’t take our art too seriously and will learn from our mistakes!
K-6th Science: Gwen Malcom
Welcome to Science class where this year we will be looking at the amazing plants that God has created! His beauty is all around us. We will spend this year exploring it.
K-6th Gym: Anna Preston
Welcome to Gym Class with Anchor! For 50 minutes, students will participate in a variety of age-appropriate exercises, activities, sports, and games. My goal as the teacher is to give the students an opportunity to interact with their peers and develop communication skills, teamwork, and sportsmanship as well as physical fitness and basic athletic abilities, all the while having fun and getting some energy out!
7th-12th Introduction to Chemistry Lab: Marty Hage
This class is guaranteed to be a very hands on course, since, during each class period, after an introduction, name, purpose, and demonstration, students will have an opportunity to use all of the lab equipment commonly found in a college level chemistry lab, ca. sixty items over the entire course, although there will be only approximately a half dozen or so each day.
On some days, we will also conduct a fun physics or chemistry demonstration before we get into the lesson for the day. The goal of this class is for the students to enter college level lab courses feeling prepared, and also to encourage a love for science.
7th-12th Literature: Kris Hage
This fall, our focus will be on writing paragraphs explaining biblical principles we see in the novel we are reading. From September through December, the award-winning novel The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare will enlighten the students' understanding of life in Israel when Jesus walked on earth, adding a first-century Jewish worldview to their Bible reading. It's an adventure-filled historical fiction story of a young man who learns to give up his hate for the Romans and love his enemies as Jesus shows him to. The students will use verses from the Bible given in each unit of the Total Language Plus Student Study Guide (TLP) to write a paragraph applying the Scriptures to the story.
In the spring semester, the students will produce a convincing, fact-based persuasive essay. Beginning in January, we will be reading through the classic adventure by Jules Verne Around the World in Eighty Days. Using the Total Language Plus Student Study Guide, we will take one step at a time through writing a persuasive essay, which basically gives the students an introduction to Logic 101. All the TLP study guides are written from a Christian worldview and help us apply biblical principles to the novels we read.
Family Membership Fee: $65 (nonrefundable)
Tuition:
- Nursery is $ 75 per child for the year
- Preschool is $ 90 per child for the year
- K - 6th grade is $ 145 per child for the year
- 7th-12th grade is $160 per child for the year
Other optional expenses that may be incurred throughout the year are:
- Student supplies
- Field trip fees
- Science supplies
Due Dates
Anchor prefers tuition be paid in full prior to the start of classes, but if needed, we do offer the option of paying tuition in 2 equal payments. Tuition must be paid in full in order to continue to participate in Anchor classes and activities beyond the final deadline.
Fees / Tuition | Due Date |
Family Membership fee | Due with registration forms to hold your family's place |
First Tuition deadline | Fall Business meeting (August) |
Final Tuition deadline | Second meeting in October |
If this is putting undue strain on your family, please talk to us. We may be able to make arrangements, on a need basis.
- Registration forms cannot be processed until Family Membership fee is received.