At A Latere Academy, we believe children are best taught with the foundation of the universal truth of God the Father, as Creator, through his living and knowable son Jesus Christ, as defined in the Holy Scriptures  (see our statement of Faith).   With this knowledge, we see all of creation is interrelated and ultimately made to glorify Him.

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"...all things were created through (Jesus) and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together". - Colossians 1:16,17

 

With Jesus Christ as the center of our curriculum, we integrate classical teaching methods, which focus on a systematic study of subjects. This study is accomplished through a three-part training process known as the trivium, which is taught in a multi-day university model.

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Phases of Learning

 

Grammar – Grades K – 5th

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During this phase we take advantage of the child’s natural strength to memorize. Young children thrive learning songs and rhymes that provide the basic grammar of our subjects. They are challenged to memorize substantial subject matter. For example, in math, students memorize times tables, while in science they learn the parts of a cell and the various categories of living things. The Grammar Phase creates the knowledge or “subject grammar” used as foundational building blocks for the next two phases.  

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Dialectic or Logic – Grades 6th– 8th

 

During the middle school years, children begin to think independently and understanding the why of what they are learning becomes important in this phase. Students begin to understand the relationship of cause and effect and how the world is organized. Building upon the subject grammar learned in the first phase of learning, students are taught how to organize facts to form rational and logical ideas and arguments. The study of subjects begins to refine the ability of a student to build logical thoughts from the truths being taught. For instance, in language arts a student is now learning how to combine the various structural components and grammar rules into sentences, paragraphs and essays. While in science, they learn the logic of testing a hypothesis. In math, the introduction of more abstract concepts in algebra and geometry build upon the rules of mathematics learned in the Grammar Phase. Students are encouraged to think critically and make rational fact-based arguments built upon the mental library of knowledge and facts they have acquired

 

 

Rhetoric – Grades 9 th- 12th

 

Rhetoric is the art of communicating well and with mastery.  Once a student has obtained knowledge of the facts (grammar) and developed the skills necessary to arrange those facts into organized arguments (logic), the student is equipped to master subjects and communicate their ideas in an original manner. In the Rhetoric Phase students are prepared to think and articulate concepts to others.  

 

Cycles of learning

 

Classical mastery of subjects depends on repetition. This is done in three yearly cycles that are repeated.  As a result, a child that has gone through the Grammar Phase, has covered each cycle two times and is well-prepared for the Logic Phase, which will cycle only once.