Children are our gifts from God, one that we are trusted with until the day we must give them back. It is our job to ensure that they are molded and formed in a way that will get them to heaven. For many children the path to heaven will involve vocations that require academic and trade skills.
At Christus Vincit Academy we have put our time into researching brain based curriculums that are designed to work with your child where they are at. You will see below our reasoning in our choices and the research to back them up. As always, our model is student driven so if you are concerned that a curriculum will not meet your student's needs you can talk with one of our teachers who will work with you to find a curriculum that is the right fit.
At Christus Vincit Academy we know the foundations of the faith are the foundations for salvation. Students shall learn these essential facts through the study of the Baltimore Catechsim. There are many formats to do so and our teachers will help you find what works best for your student.
Knowing the faith and the virtues is a foundation, but we all need examples of how to apply them to our daily life. Christus Vincit Academy offers multiple Saint studies to do just that. All our Saint studies include a variety of saints from different cultures, backgrounds and economic status to give your child the most comprehensive view of Catholic faith in practice.
English doesn't have to be a guessing game or filled with exceptions. Logic of English presents the rules and phonograms in an easy to understand format so that students with dyslexia and gifted students alike will benefit from its systematic approach.
Other reasons we love Logic of English:
-It is play based for young learners.
-It is a comprehensive 4k-2 Language Arts program including handwriting, language structure, phonics, reading, writing and grammar.
-It can be taught from a paper version or with online videos.
-Minimal pre-lesson prep
-Review through games
We suggest choosing the cursive first option with this curriculum because it:
-Improves handwriting by eliminating the spacing between letters vs. words skill
-It is difficult to reverse letters
-All lowercase letters begin in the same spot
-As you write cursive letters the pencil is going forwards and backwards, resulting in a cross the midline effect, helping the brain to strengthen and engage with the task.
Never hear, "I don't know what to write" ever again. IEW teaches students HOW to write, meaning that they can have the tools to identify WHAT to write. IEW teaches the structure of writing such as outlines, note taking and essays along with the style of using strong verbs, descriptive adjectives and much more.
This is a perfect curriculum to supplement Logic of English. We suggest starting it between 2nd and 4th grade, but there are options for starting it sooner for students who just love to share their thoughts!
Right Start Math deempahsizes counting, but rather relys on visualization and strategies through hands-on tools. We love this curriculum for the number sense that students expand upon and how each grade level covers what would be expected and yet stretches it much farther. Level A can be done as a 4k or 5k program. If following an average pace of one level per year, students will complete pre-algebra in 7th Grade and will have already covered many geometry concepts, setting them up for success at the highschool level. After Completing Right Start Level H we recommend Mr. D's Math for Algebra.
RC History is a Catholic History program that views history through the lense of the faith and the church. We love that it follows a classical approach to history, following a chronological pattern and the classical learning stages which allows all students to learn the topics together but at their own level. Your students will love that it is lit based and uses living books with minimal textbook reading. We will also provide you with resources to substitute TAN Story of Civilization CDs for the text book readings if you prefer. Assessments can be done through the RC History projects or the TAN test book.
We do recommend that regardless of what program fits your child best, you study the same time period with our school. Your child will benefit from this with the themed fieldtrips we will be providing as well as the optional online supplemental classes that is designed to compliment the work students are completing A-synchronously. If you feel your child has factors outside of CVA (co-op, family trip, previously covered time periods) that would out weigh the benefits of sticking with our time period you should talk about this with your teacher.
Grades 4k-5
TAN's Foundation of Science works for grades 4k-5. It views the physical world through a Catholic lense, paralleling the faith with God's creation and noting its reflection. We suggest that you study the same topic as the rest of the elementary school. Your child will benefit from this with the themed fieldtrips we will be providing.
Concerned that Foundations of Science will not provide enough problem solving skills or hands on experiments? Our teachers will also be providing you with the appropriate Mystery Science lessons for your student. We love these lessons because they require little assistance from the parent other than perhaps printing a worksheet or gathering a few materials. They are secular, but our teachers will be previewing them for any questionable material before sharing with you.
Grades 6-8
Novare Science works within a paradigm of wonder, integration and mastery. It moves away from meeting minimum requirements and shifts a focus toward curiosity, and life long learning. This curriculum comes from a God centered perspective, working in concepts like grace and relating everything back to Our Creator.
Our middle schoolers are all encouraged to study the same curriculum subject so that they can best benefit from subject related fieldtrips and online classes.
CVA is happy to purchase curriculums that enhance student learning beyond the core subjects. These may be done as independent study or contracted with a local teacher. Options include foreign language, physical education, music, art, and typing.
One program we encourage middle school students to consider is the SKIP program. SKills to Inherit Property, or SKIP as it is known, is a program of life skills that can benefit kids through real life. It is arranged as different levels, but many of the first level (sand badges) are appropriate for middle school students, with supervision.
We suggest completing one sand badge per semester. As we grow our program we are looking to provide more in person days to teach these skills, so ask your teacher which topics might be offered during the year. Other factors to consider when choosing a topic would be what resources you have or what work needs tending to around your home or the home of a friend or relative.
*Note: While parts of SKIP work for middle and high schoolers, it was designed as an adult program. The blog is full of valuable information but a site you want to preview and view with your child. Know that if you purchase the book it does have some less than edifying sketches that you may want to edit. We hope to remedy this with the publisher as our program continues to grow and we have more purchasing power.
Some examples include:
-Natural Building
-Woodland Care
-Round Woodworking
-Tool Care
-Dimensional Lumber Woodworking
-Food prep and preservation
-Animal Care
-Foraging
-Textiles
-Plumbing
-Natural Medicine
-Nest (Home Keeping)
(designed for city/apartment living)
-Roundwood working
-Dimensional Woodworking
-Food Prep and Preseration
-Animal Care
-Foraging
-Greywater
-Natural Medicine
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Christus Vincit Academy admits students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
