Our Curriculum

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Classical Lutheran Education (CLE) seeks to cultivate in students self-knowledge, tools for learning, the ability to contemplate great ideas, and an understanding of the world in which the student lives: all for the love and service of others. Above all, classical and Lutheran education inclines a child toward truth, goodness, and beauty found fully and eternally in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The term 'classical education' has been used in Western culture for several centuries, with each era modifying the definition and adding its own selection of topics. By the end of the 18th century, in addition to the trivium and quadrivium of the Middle Ages the definition of a classical education embraced the study of literature, poetry, drama, philosophy, history, art, and languages.  

Our school has been using Saxon Math in all grades. Our math textbooks are content-oriented, filled with examples and problems. Mathematics in a classical education is more than the mere development of computational skills and application of concepts to practical situations. Math, while having objective immutable qualities, also meets with the human story. Children should become familiar with mathematics as well as learning the story behind Pythagoras, Euclid, Archimedes, Pascal, Newton, Euler, Bernoulli, and others. The mathematics curriculum should supplement concrete operations with abstract investigations such as "Fermat's Last Theorem." Also, students should get a sampling of math's strong ties with symbolic logic, understanding mathematics as a unique language. The way we reason and speak have direct connections with mathematical thought. 

Our science curriculum covers the four basic science groups: biology, chemistry, earth sciences and physics. They are all studied in such a way that the math and reading skills which students have acquired independently are joined in the science curriculum to hands-on activities and observations according to their appropriate age levels. In addition, history and literature are used to provide a human perspective so that the study of science does not lapse into scientism, a cold, mathematical outlook on reality. 

A 70 point time-line is the backbone of our history curriculum, adapted from the Steven LittleJohn time-line and the Veritas Academy history cards. The time-line is to be memorized by our students in increments beginning in Kindergarten. History, civics, and geography are studied rather than the current trend of "social studies" textbooks which direct children more toward world economics than to understanding various nations in the context of world history. 

We expressly prefer primary, unabridged sources, encouraging the reading of fairy tales and folk tales at early stages and progressing toward the Great Books of the Western World. Reading is more that just a process. It is primarily the communication of ideas and content. We want our children not merely to read well, but to be well-read.

Latin serves as a natural and logical follow-up to phonics and series to enrich the student's vocabulary, grammar, and understanding the roots of culture. Beginning in the lower grades, students chant Latin paradigms daily, learning basic vocabulary and common Latin phrases used in English-speaking contexts.

Our Latin program at St. Paul's utilizes two textbooks. Students at the mid-level grades use "Latin for Children". This curriculum is a strong, inviting and creative program designed to introduce students as young as 3rd and 4th grade to Latin. When used as a whole, this series trains students in Latin grammar and vocabulary as well as English derivatives in a lively, interactive way. For the upper grades, we use "Lingua Latina". This textbook promotes a more natural way of learning Latin where students learn grammar and vocabulary intuitively through extended contextual reading and an innovative system of marginal notes. It is the only textbook currently available that gives students the opportunity to learn Latin without resorting to translation, but allows them to "think" in the language.