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Lower Grammar
Kindergarten: The Cradle of Civilization First Grade: The Greeks Second Grade: The Romans |
Upper Grammar
Third Grade: The Medievals Fourth Grade: The Moderns Fifth Grade: America |
Logic (Middle School)
Sixth Grade: The Ancients Seventh Grade: Christendom Eighth Grade: The New World |
The Cradle of Civilization
Kindergarten
The story of civilization begins at the cradle of humanity. In Kindergarten, students are introduced to the first great cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Assyria, Persia, and the early Mediterranean peoples. These civilizations pioneered agriculture, writing, art, architecture, and technology — preparing the way for the cultural flowering of Greece and Rome. This study also gives the background needed to understand how Israel, called by God to be His Chosen People, was set apart from the nations that surrounded them. Myths, kings, and ancient art help children see the difference between worldly power and the divine call that shaped salvation history.
Kindergarten
The story of civilization begins at the cradle of humanity. In Kindergarten, students are introduced to the first great cultures of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Assyria, Persia, and the early Mediterranean peoples. These civilizations pioneered agriculture, writing, art, architecture, and technology — preparing the way for the cultural flowering of Greece and Rome. This study also gives the background needed to understand how Israel, called by God to be His Chosen People, was set apart from the nations that surrounded them. Myths, kings, and ancient art help children see the difference between worldly power and the divine call that shaped salvation history.
The Ancient Greeks
First & Sixth Grades
Ancient Greek civilization is foundational for the West. Philosophy, politics, art, and literature from Greece have inspired and instructed generations. The Greeks sought wisdom about virtue, beauty, truth, and the meaning of a good life. They pioneered mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and natural science. Their myths and epics reveal ideals of courage and nobility, while their political experiments shaped future nations. The eventual spread of Greek thought through conquest made it a permanent inheritance of the Mediterranean world. Into this setting came Rome — and later Christianity — both deeply marked by the Greek mind. Even today, our ways of thinking and learning bear the imprint of Greece.
First & Sixth Grades
Ancient Greek civilization is foundational for the West. Philosophy, politics, art, and literature from Greece have inspired and instructed generations. The Greeks sought wisdom about virtue, beauty, truth, and the meaning of a good life. They pioneered mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and natural science. Their myths and epics reveal ideals of courage and nobility, while their political experiments shaped future nations. The eventual spread of Greek thought through conquest made it a permanent inheritance of the Mediterranean world. Into this setting came Rome — and later Christianity — both deeply marked by the Greek mind. Even today, our ways of thinking and learning bear the imprint of Greece.
The Romans
Second & Sixth Grades
The Roman year introduces students to the greatness of Rome, its universal mission, and its role in preparing the world for Christ. Roman ideals of law and nobility, combined with Greece’s intellectual gifts, created a civilization ready for the Incarnation. Christ, the “desire of the nations” (Hag 2:7), came in the fullness of time, and in Him Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome converge. The Cross itself bore inscriptions in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek — a sign of God’s plan to unite all peoples in His Church. The Roman year begins with Greece and culminates in the birth of the Church, her saints and martyrs, and the unlikely triumph of the Gospel over the empire. In this way, students see how God’s providence works through history.
Second & Sixth Grades
The Roman year introduces students to the greatness of Rome, its universal mission, and its role in preparing the world for Christ. Roman ideals of law and nobility, combined with Greece’s intellectual gifts, created a civilization ready for the Incarnation. Christ, the “desire of the nations” (Hag 2:7), came in the fullness of time, and in Him Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome converge. The Cross itself bore inscriptions in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek — a sign of God’s plan to unite all peoples in His Church. The Roman year begins with Greece and culminates in the birth of the Church, her saints and martyrs, and the unlikely triumph of the Gospel over the empire. In this way, students see how God’s providence works through history.
The Middle Ages
Fourth & Seventh Grades
The Medieval centuries are the “Christian Ages,” when the Church gathered the remnants of the Roman world and forged a new Christendom from warring tribes. Biblical faith, Greek reason, and Roman order were synthesized into a culture centered on Christ. The Medieval worldview saw all of reality as charged with God’s presence. This sacramental vision shaped their cathedrals, monasteries, art, music, and literature. Life was understood as a pilgrimage toward heaven, with chivalry, epic quests, and poetry reflecting this longing. From this worldview grew the first universities and hospitals, advances in philosophy, and enduring cultural achievements. The works of Lewis and Tolkien later drew on this inheritance, showing how the Medieval imagination continues to inspire.
Fourth & Seventh Grades
The Medieval centuries are the “Christian Ages,” when the Church gathered the remnants of the Roman world and forged a new Christendom from warring tribes. Biblical faith, Greek reason, and Roman order were synthesized into a culture centered on Christ. The Medieval worldview saw all of reality as charged with God’s presence. This sacramental vision shaped their cathedrals, monasteries, art, music, and literature. Life was understood as a pilgrimage toward heaven, with chivalry, epic quests, and poetry reflecting this longing. From this worldview grew the first universities and hospitals, advances in philosophy, and enduring cultural achievements. The works of Lewis and Tolkien later drew on this inheritance, showing how the Medieval imagination continues to inspire.
The Renaissance
Fourth & Eighth Grades
The Renaissance renewed many aspects of Greek and Roman learning, while at times turning away from the symbolic cosmology of the Middle Ages. Alongside its magnificent art and architecture, it also prepared the way for the upheavals of the Reformation and the emergence of the modern secular state. Thinkers such as Bacon and Descartes shifted the focus of science to practical control of nature, while Machiavelli and Hobbes replaced noble ideals with politics grounded in power and self-interest. Yet even within this shift, the beauty of Renaissance art and the genius of its learning left an enduring mark. The encounter of Europe with the New World during this period also extended the reach of the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Fourth & Eighth Grades
The Renaissance renewed many aspects of Greek and Roman learning, while at times turning away from the symbolic cosmology of the Middle Ages. Alongside its magnificent art and architecture, it also prepared the way for the upheavals of the Reformation and the emergence of the modern secular state. Thinkers such as Bacon and Descartes shifted the focus of science to practical control of nature, while Machiavelli and Hobbes replaced noble ideals with politics grounded in power and self-interest. Yet even within this shift, the beauty of Renaissance art and the genius of its learning left an enduring mark. The encounter of Europe with the New World during this period also extended the reach of the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
America & The New World
Fifth & Eighth Grades
The American Year gives students the chance to understand their own nation in light of its Christian and classical roots. America is unique as the first nation founded upon the idea of the equality of all persons — a vision grounded in the natural law. Students learn the stories, songs, and folklore of the New World, seeing how successive generations of immigrants built a republic ordered to liberty. The Founders, deeply shaped by the heritage of Greece, Rome, and Christendom, declared a “great proposition”: that all are created equal. Throughout American history, competing visions of equality and freedom have tested this founding principle. By studying these struggles, students see more clearly the dignity of the human person and the responsibility of preserving a republic ordered to the common good.
Fifth & Eighth Grades
The American Year gives students the chance to understand their own nation in light of its Christian and classical roots. America is unique as the first nation founded upon the idea of the equality of all persons — a vision grounded in the natural law. Students learn the stories, songs, and folklore of the New World, seeing how successive generations of immigrants built a republic ordered to liberty. The Founders, deeply shaped by the heritage of Greece, Rome, and Christendom, declared a “great proposition”: that all are created equal. Throughout American history, competing visions of equality and freedom have tested this founding principle. By studying these struggles, students see more clearly the dignity of the human person and the responsibility of preserving a republic ordered to the common good.
