Grammar School (PreK - 6th)

List of 6 items.

• Collaborative Model

  From the time a child is welcomed into the world, his parents serve as his primary teachers, chosen by God’s design for relationship and guidance. As parents seek to educate their children in the collaborative model, faculty at Providence equip and support parents as co-teachers through training, workshops, quality lesson plans, and close collaboration.  Parents know and love their children best, while professional teachers bring curriculum knowledge, understanding of child development, and academic experience to the partnership.   

  PreK-4th grade students attend school on campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays reserved for at-home lessons.  Fridays are shorter home days, suited for field trips, library visits, play dates, reteaching or further study on a topic of the students’ interest.  5th-6th grade students attend school on campus Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, with Monday and Wednesday at-home lessons that are roughly the same length of time as a regular school day.  During home days, parents can grow in relationship with their children through reading together, lesson activities, and discussions, allowing for more opportunities to shape character, disciple, and just enjoy one another. Sibling bonds can flourish with increased time at home together as lessons, stories, and lunches are shared.  Through the collaborative model, with support of caring faculty, families can experience together what educator Charlotte Mason meant when she said, “Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life.” 

• Integrated Learning

  God’s world is interrelated, so teachers actively seek opportunities to integrate learning to help students connect ideas and draw conclusions about the world around them.  While studying Isaac Newton and his historic scientific contributions, students stop and discuss his First and Third Laws of Motion, spending time with experiments to build understanding.  While studying botany, students draw the cross-section of a tree trunk in nature journals, noticing the unique artistry of each one. Fourth graders study a poem to experience the features of tigers they are currently studying in Zoology class in a different way.  Teachers help students see how ideas relate, dismantling conventional barriers between subjects and allowing students to better see God’s interconnected world.

• Classic Literature

  Grammar School students are saturated in classic literature through a variety of means in hopes of drawing students toward a love of reading great books. Pre-K and Kindergarten classes use the Five in a Row curriculum, integrating topical studies such as geography and science through classic children’s picture books. Teachers and co-teachers read great works aloud to students, and students themselves are encouraged to read classic books in their independent reading time through our grade level "100 Great Texts" selections.  Shakespeare, fairy tales, and poetry are introduced to students through readings assigned by grade level in first through sixth grades.  As students move through the grades, students grow from simple enjoyment and comprehension of a storyline to a deeper appreciation of the nuanced meanings and significant messages intended by an author.

• Expression

  Children who have learned naturally desire to share this new information with others, and this sharing fuels their passion even further.  Thoughtfully providing ways for this expression to happen in the classroom helps students refine their knowledge and grow in their rhetorical skills from even the youngest grades. Daily, students grow in understanding by simply retelling what they’ve heard or read through a process called narration. Recitation in front of the class is normalized as students grow in overcoming fears of speaking publicly.  Further opportunity for growth and challenge in recitation is offered through an annual Speech Meet in which students compete for awards in reciting poetry, scripture, prose, and historic speeches. Students engage with excitement as they prepare and present age-appropriate projects through the grades, beginning in Kindergarten with the beloved Arctic Animal project and culminating with the History Fair as 6th graders research, outline, and creatively design an educational history project to present to students in lower grades. Additionally, students express themselves musically and artistically, culminating in end of semester music performances and art shows.

• Problem Solving

  John Milton Gregory wrote that, in order to learn, “a student must become a discoverer of truth.” Through problem solving, we create curiosity, encourage students to hypothesize possible solutions, and make attempts to discover the solution.   These actions, which are the heart of classical education, occur daily in our rigorous math curriculum, but are also applied to the sciences as well. Math in Focus, a Singapore-based curriculum, guides the conceptual progress of our students through a concrete-pictorial-abstract progression in lessons. There are 8 mathematical habits that Math in Focus works to develop in students:
  

  • Persevere in solving problems
  • Use mathematical reasoning
  • Construct viable arguments
  • Use mathematical models
  • Use tools strategically
  • Use precise mathematical language
  • Make use of structure
  • Look for patterns

  Our goal in mathematics is to build a strong foundation for problem solving with students mastering the core content of the curriculum, while at the same time growing as fluent mathematical thinkers.

• History

  Through the study of chronological history in a four year cycle, students experience some of the big ideas of the four major historical time periods: ancient, middle ages and Renaissance, early modern and modern.  Studying the same time period together in grades 1-4 allows co-teachers to gather these younger children for coordinated home lessons.  Students memorize informational songs, rhymes, and historical quotes and chant history pegs, which are bits of timeline information tucked away for current and future reference.  Students find geographical locations on the world map, including the continents, countries, and seas being studied.  The fascinating stories of history experienced through Story of the World, Mystery of History, and living books help students relate to the people and culture of the time period, and the actions of historical people become the basis for discussion of virtue and man’s need for a Savior.