STAGE I OF THE TRIVIUM
The years of wonder, and of work.
The Grammar School is built on the foundations: phonics, penmanship, arithmetic, the catechism, and the memory work that will serve a student for the rest of his life. Children at this age can — and want to — memorize a great deal. We give them a great deal worth memorizing.
Latin begins in kindergarten. Cursive begins in the third. Traditional fairy tales and saints' lives are read throughout the week. Mass is offered to the school every morning; even the youngest Grammar students attend.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Hallmarks of the program
I.
Phonics & penmanship
Children learn to read by sound and to write by hand. Cursive is taught from the third grade; printed letters from kindergarten.
II.
Memory work
Poems, psalms, prayers, the Beatitudes, math facts — recited together, learned for life.
III.
Latin from Kindergarten
Latin starts in kindergarten with Latin prayers, songs, games, and vocabulary. Formal study begins in second grade with Prima Latina and continues through the Forms series from Memoria Press.
IV.
Whole books
Even the youngest students read whole works — Charlotte's Web, The Hobbit, The Chronicles of Narnia — not workbook excerpts.
V.
Sacramental Preparation
In second grade students prepare for and receive the sacraments of First Reconciliation and Holy Communion. In fifth grade students receive the Holy Spirit at Confirmation.
VI.
Art & music every week
Drawing from observation, sacred music, beginning solfège. The hand and the ear are formed alongside the mind.
VII.
Leveled math
Students are grouped by proficiency rather than grade alone, so each child is challenged at the right pace — mastering fundamentals before moving on.
WHAT GRAMMAR-SCHOOL STUDENTS STUDY
A small sampling.
01
RELIGION/
THEOLOGY
THEOLOGY
- ✦Catechism
- ✦Saints' lives
- ✦Sacred Scripture stories
- ✦Daily Mass attendance
02
LITERACY/
LITERATURE
LITERATURE
- ✦Phonics & reading
- ✦D'Nealian Cursive and penmanship
- ✦Traditional spelling
- ✦Composition (Grade 3+)
03
MATHEMATICS
- ✦Number sense
- ✦Tables (addition through division)
- ✦Geometry of the regular figures
- ✦Arithmetic, fractions, decimals
04
LATIN
- ✦Vocabulary & declensions (Gr 1–5)
- ✦Latin songs and games
- ✦Liturgical Latin
- ✦Memorized prayers in Latin
05
HISTORY
- ✦Ancient & Roman
- ✦Medieval
- ✦Renaissance to founding
- ✦Geography & map-work
06
NATURE STUDIES
- ✦Natural history
- ✦The seasons, plants, animals
- ✦Drawing from nature
- ✦Beginning physical science
07
MUSIC & ART
- ✦Sacred music & chant
- ✦Beginning solfège
- ✦Drawing from observation
- ✦Attention to detail
08
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
- ✦Movement & games
- ✦Team sport fundamentals
- ✦Field days
- ✦Sportsmanship & virtue
The first six years matter most.
The Grammar School lays the foundations for everything that follows. Come and see the foundation as we lay it.