Our Curriculum
“An observant child should be put in the way of things worth observing.” - Charlotte Mason
Math
The math curriculum we use is Right Start Math. 95% of math is meant to be understood, not simply memorized. Most math programs teach a series of math facts that are memorized while the student has misunderstood the material shortly after encountering it for the first time. Right Start Math relies heavily on manipulatives to help students visualize math concepts, so they know the WHY of math.
Art and Music and Poetry
We believe all children should encounter art and music on a daily basis. These inspirational subjects point us to our Creator and motivate us to soar! We memorize poems each month, and we participate in something called “Picture Study” every Tuesday. This is a time for us to study famous works of art in detail and then practice drawing. The students take a moment to quietly look at the painting for 60 seconds and then share with the group all the details they notice. “Picture Study” teaches children to slow down and SEE beauty in front of them. We also work with a music teacher on Fridays. We study major composers and listen to music from all over the world. We sing hymns every morning to begin the school day.
Phonics
It’s essential for children to learn to read, write, and spell well. Unfortunately, many students aren’t given proper materials to practice these important skills. We are thrilled to offer the very BEST phonics materials for our students. All K-2nd grade students go through our Foundations Program with The Logic of English. This program teaches single and multi letter phonograms, reading, and writing. Later, our 3rd-5th grades go through our Essentials Program. This is a rigorous spelling and writing program. Our early elementary students also go through a whole collection of readers called The American Language Series. These books are favorites of our students. *This curriculum is very effective for ESL (English as a Second Language) and Dyslexic students.
History
We offer a literature based history program called Beautiful Feet Books. The famous educator E.D. Hirsch said, “If we want our children to be broadly competent readers, thinkers, and problem solvers, they must have a rich, broad store of background knowledge to call upon.” By studying history through literature, children can study vast swaths of history in a way that is engaging and fun. For our Early American History Unit, we read over 40 picture books, studying the Vikings to the Civil War. The books are intricately illustrated and give an honest look into history. Our first cycle for K-2nd grade will cover Early American History and The American States.
Science
We want children to be curious about the world and to ask questions. Three days a week students participate in a hands-on science program called, Mystery Science. This curriculum uses a mixture of pictures, videos, and read-alouds to ask, ponder, and answer questions like: Why does a deer come to a playground in the middle of the night? Why does a bird go to a specific bird feeder? Was there once an ocean in a dessert? Do whales sing? How can we know?
Literature
We want to give children what we call “a book flood.” We want children to have a wide and varied access to literature throughout their time at MCA. Every month we have an author study where we shine a light on a specific author’s work. We also try to read through most of the literary genres in a year. From mystery to historical fiction to graphic novels and fantasy - there are so many fascinating stories for our children to enjoy. Like Sarah Mckenzie says, “If you want a child to know the truth, tell them the truth. If you want a child to LOVE the truth, tell them a story!”
Click here to read our FABULOUS list of stories for 3rd - 4th Grade
Bible
The first two years at MCA, students will read through a graphic novel storybook Bible called The Action Bible. Our goal is to teach the overarching narrative of the Bible before students begin reading Scripture itself in 2nd grade. When students complete 1st grade, they will have read through the whole story-book Bible two times! Every morning we sing hymns, pray, practice Scripture memory, and read our Bible. This will be supplemented with theological books like Big Truths for Little Kids, Little Pilgrim’s Progress, and the Good News for Little Hearts series. On Wednesdays we have Chapel. During this time, local pastors and Bible-study leaders, teach through a series of theological questions: What is the church? What is sin? Who is Christ? What is the Bible? and so on.
The Action Bible | Big Truths for Little Kids | Little Pilgrim’s Progress | Good News for Little Hearts | The New City Catechism