Classical Education in the Grammar Stage

Grammar Stage (Kindergarten — 5^th Grade)

The Lower School years are full of joy and excitement. Here strong foundations are laid for life-long learning. Our Lower School curriculum is built upon proven and time-honored methods of pedagogy which give important tools for future learning. We call this the grammar stage.

At the grammar stage, emphasis is laid on review and repetition. One important way young children learn is through songs, chants, jingles, and rhymes. Historical information, timelines, science terms, rules of grammar, scripture—all these can be taught through songs and jingles. Because the very young rely so keenly on their senses, we direct our content to the eyes, ears, hands, and even bodies.

	Early Grammar Stage (K-2nd)	Late Grammar Stage (3rd-5th)
Student Characteristics	excited about learning shorter attention span enjoys games, stories, songs, projects wants to touch, taste, feel, smell, see imaginative, creative	excited about new interesting facts easily memorizes likes to explain, figure out, talk wants to relate own experiences to topic, or just to tell a story likes collections, organizing items assimilates language well
Teaching Methods	guided discovery tactile teaching short creative projects sing, play games, chant, recite, color, draw, paint, build show and tell, drama, hear/read/tell stories field trips	lots of hands-on work, projects field trips, drama make collections, displays, and models research projects recitations, memorization drills, games oral/written presentations

Classical Education in the Grammar Stage

Academics