Mother of Divine Grace School Syllabi for grades K-8

by Laura Berquist

Mother of Divine Grace School

Many parents who read Laura Berquist’s book, Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum, feel they need additional help to implement the ideas. Laura has provided that help with Syllabi for each grade level K-8 and selected high school subjects. Each Syllabus provides day-by-day lesson plans for all subjects for a full school year. Subject areas covered are religion (Catholic), math, phonics, language arts, poetry, science, history, geography, foreign language (Latin and Greek), art, and music. Younger students will need more one-on-one interaction than will older students. You might combine subject areas like history, science, music, and art with children close in grade level, drawing from only one Syllabus for your lesson plans in those areas. I particularly appreciate the detailed planning for the arts since this is an area frequently given short shrift in both planning and actual learning.

Recommended resources are primarily those described in Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum such as TAN history books, Wordly Wise, English from the Roots Up, Our Roman Roots, A Beka Arithmetic, and Saxon Math. Many supplementary “real” books are also suggested.

The format of each Syllabus is somewhat similar to that of Sonlight Curriculum’s grade level teacher manuals with specific instructions for what to do each day in each subject area. A major difference between the two would be the classical approach’s emphasis on memorization in the early grades and the inclusion of Catholic religious instruction rather than Protestant. Another difference is that composition skills are developed through regular oral and written composition activities rather than skill instruction through most levels, although skill instruction does occur at some grade levels. Most composition activity occurs within history and religion assignments.

To maintain consistent worldview instruction, Protestants can substitute other resources for religion, and they might also wish to substitute for some of the selected history books. In doing so, parents will have to create their own lesson plans for those resources, but they can follow the patterns for use of the other resources.