Academics
Our curriculum supports Heritage Classical Academy's Christ-centered and classical approach to education to create life-long learners, well-equipped thinkers, and effective communicators who better know, glorify, and enjoy God. The good, true, and beautiful things students learn will fill them with wonder, shape their affections, ground them in truth, and equip them for purpose.
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Bible
Each morning, we gather for a school-wide assembly where we praise, prayer, and pledge. Through the New City Catechism, we focus on Christ using classical methods like memorization and discussion and will promote parental partnership, as parents, equipped with the tool, can discuss and reinforce the catechism at home.
As Tim Keller explains in this brief video, catechism is “a perfect way for parents to train their children up in the truth of God’s Word…You’ll have certain roots-certain anchors-you might say-in God’s truth and you’ll know what to do when things come at you.” And isn’t that a hope for our children?
Kindergarten classroom Bible time uses The Jesus Storybook Bible. This curriculum teaches students the beautiful story-from the beginning to the end-of God’s plan of redemption and restoration in Christ! What a joy to teach how “every story whispers His name”!
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Our first graders are each given their own ESV Bible that they will keep during their time at HCA for their study of Genesis. Using resources such as Kay Arthur’s Inductive Bible Studies for Kids, students read and take notes through the first book of the Bible, discovering God as both Creator and Covenant Keeper. Second grade continues to study the faithfulness of God in His deliverance of His people in the book of Exodus. Third grade's systematic study will move out of the Old Testament and into the New Testament, with the gospel of Luke.
In all grades, students will hide God's Word in their heart with weekly Bible verse memorization.
Language Arts
For the kindergarten and first grade language arts curriculum, we have chosen the Logic of English's Foundations (LOE), a complete phonics, reading, handwriting, and spelling program.
Developed by Denise Eide, LOE combines "the science of reading with the joy of learning." The curriculum builds on phonemic awareness, systematic phonics, fluency, vocabulary development, and reading comprehension.
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Students learn the 75 basic phonograms which explain 98% of English words. Eides explains, "When the phonograms and rules of English are taught in a systematic manner...we will be on our way to solving the literacy crisis for all its current victims and preventing it in future generations."
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Cursive handwriting instruction begins in kindergarten. Not only does cursive handwriting have advantages over manuscript, cursive is simply more beautiful. In classical education, we continually draw students’ attention to the beauty of the world, even the written word on the page.
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Having completed LOE's Foundations A and B in kindergarten, we continue with the curriculum in first grade with Foundations C and D. For details and a scope and sequence of A-D, visit Logic of English.
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For second grade, we continue our comprehensive study of LOE with Essentials, “an integrated language arts curriculum where each of the language arts subjects reinforce and build upon the others!” For details and a scope and sequence of units 1-30 visit, Logic of English.
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Using excerpts from classical literature and poetry to pique curiosity and enjoyment, third grade students deepen their understanding of grammar and parts of speech with Classical Academic Press (CAP)'s Well-Ordered Language. CAP explains, "The curriculum is designed for teachers and students to actively engage with each other and with the grammatical concepts in each lesson, using language skills—reading, writing, speaking, and listening—along with physical movement, songs, and chants.”
Third graders begin to learn the skill of writing through imitation of excellent writing with CAP's Writing & Rhetoric. Using the classical concept of the Progymnasmata, our students follow “a step-by-step apprenticeship in the art of writing and rhetoric.” In Book 1, students study and practice writing fables and in Book 2, move onto the first half of narrative.
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Reading/Literature
Kindergarten starts reading in Abeka’s Basic Phonics Readers in November. With our first grade reading curriculum, we do as Read Aloud Revival's Sarah MacKenzie suggests, use "early reading books that can ignite our children’s imagination while they’re learning the skill of reading," by using early readers that "inspire and give them a hunger and thirst for reading." We incorporate some of the LOE literature set, in addition to Memoria Press's Storytime Treasures and More Storytime Treasures. We cultivate a love of reading in the hearts and minds of our first graders through the power of beautiful language and compelling story.
Second and third grade move onto classic chapter books chosen with Charlotte Mason's viewpoint, "To introduce children to literature is to install them in a very rich and glorious kingdom, to bring a continual holiday to their doors, to lay before them a feast exquisitely served. But they must learn to know literature by being familiar with it from the very first. A child's intercourse must always be with good books, the best that we can find.”
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Math
Like many of the top classical Christian schools in the nation, we use the Singapore Math curriculum. Introduced to the United States in 1998, the Singapore math method was developed by Singapore's Ministry of Education. The method transformed Singapore's math program as they now consistently rank at the top in international math testing.
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The Singapore math method includes the CPA (Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract) approach, number bonds, bar modeling, and mental math. View the Dimensions scope and sequence.
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To learn more, view Hillsdale College's excellent videos about Singapore Math. You can start here.
Enrichment
Our enrichment curriculum fulfills a distinction of classical education by integrating subjects and celebrating God's creation of nature, man, art, and story. Using Memoria Press's Enrichment Curriculum and additional read-aloud books, each week kindergarten and first grade students study science, art, poetry, and music centered on a connecting read-aloud book.
Tanya Colburn, Highlands Latin School's kindergarten teacher, enthusiastically describes, "The Memoria Press Enrichment Program can use one read-aloud to springboard into math, geography, science, history, and world-famous artists and composers."
Science
After two years of introduction to scientific topics through interesting read-alouds in kindergarten and first grade, our older elementary students “will become true scientists as they observe nature, participate in experiments, and document all that they learn” with the award-winning science series from Apologia, Young Explorer Series. The Young Explorer Series is developed to “capture both a child’s heart and mind,” by creating a fascination by science “that allows them to be completely in awe of God’s creation” and to discover the “order to our universe…[as] a means to understanding everything around them.” Second grade will study Botany and third grade will complete Astronomy.
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History
Through wonderful read-aloud books, we teach American history first. We do not focus on what divides us but what unites us. Our American story is taught through a Christ-centered worldview that acknowledges the complexity of the fallen nature of man and the image bearing of God, the striving of man and the Sovereignty of God, the triumphs and failings of man and the faithful redemption of God. We teach our students most importantly, all of history is HIS-story.
In kindergarten, the curriculum spans from early exploration to 1860. Students are introduced to Columbus, Pocahontas, the pilgrims, Squanto, Benjamin Banneker, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, John and Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Betsy Ross, James Madison, Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea, John J. Audobon, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Buffalo Bill Cody. Students learn about our founding documents and branches of government and memorize the preamble to the Constitution.
​In first grade, we pick up with the Civil War to the present. Students study times of adventure, expansion, immigration, and invention through events like the Transcontinental Railroad, the gifting of the Statue of Liberty, and people like Buffalo Bill Cody, George Washington Carver, the Wright brothers, Amelia Earhart, Theodore Roosevelt, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, the “sky boys,” Edwin Binney, and Neil Armstrong. Students see creativity, courage, perseverance, and sacrifice in difficult times through Abraham Lincoln, Booker T. Washington, Clara Barton, Wilson Bentley, Helen Keller, Tony Sarq, the Great Depression, Walt Disney, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo Codebreakers, the Berlin Airlift, Jackie Robinson, Sammy Lee, Ruby Bridges, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the fireboat, John J. Harvey.
​Rea Berg of Beautiful Feet Books explains, “As a student becomes more aware of her place within her family and her community, the stories of American heroes and events become personal to her as she begins to identify herself as a citizen of this country...If we can appreciate the heroism, sacrifice, struggles, mistakes, and traditions of our own history, we will have a framework upon which to build an appreciation of the remarkable contributions of other cultures.”
Following a two year chronological introduction to US History in kindergarten and first grade, our second and third graders begin their first of two cycles (of K-12 career) through world history with The Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor. The textbook is supplemented by corresponding read alouds, as well.
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Latin
Our second graders begin their study of Latin with Song School Latin. As Classical Academic Press explains, Song School Latin is a program which matches “the energy, developmental level, and fun-loving nature of your youngest students…with songs, enjoyable vocabulary, illustrations, handwriting practice, stories, games, and engaging activities. Children will love learning Latin!” Third grade continues with Song School Latin 2.
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