"To introduce children to literature is to install them in a very rich and glorious kingdom,

to bring a continual holiday to their doors, to lay before them a feast exquisitely served.

But they must learn to know literature by being familiar with it from the very first.

A child's intercourse must always be with good books, the best that we can find."

~Charlotte Mason~

 

Foundations Morning Core:  Bible, Literature, and English

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The purpose of the morning core classes for the beginning primary grades is to present young children with beautiful quality literature, begin laying a foundation for strong reading skills through phonics and spelling, and gently teach about God’s word and world with hands-on projects and in-class labs.  In class, we will read myths, fables, fairytales, and other classic literature in a memorable way through a variety of learning experiences.  Because we believe that the best part of homeschool is “home”, we think young children should have plenty of time to explore their world, be outside as much as possible, and gain a groundwork to become lifelong lovers of learning.  To facilitate this, we suggest short and simple lessons at these ages.  A suggested reading list and course scope and sequence will be provided to registered families in the summer.  

 

Our K-3 Foundations courses are on a 4 year rotation:  Europe & South America, Asia & Australia, Africa & Antarctica, North America. For the 2020-2021 school year, students will learn about the people, places, history, and cultures of Asia & Australia.  

 

At the beginning of each school day, students will hear stories read from the Bible and/or the Jesus Storybook Bible. As a school, we worship together through song and prayer each morning.    

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Kindergarten Foundations:  

 The aim in Kindergarten is to expose our children to the beauty and order of words in a four-pronged fashion including spelling, reading, writing, and grammar so that that they will be able to make the proper use of language automatic.  Regarding spelling: Kindergartners at Heritage will spend their year memorizing the varied phonetic sounds of the English alphabet. They will begin to use these phonograms as the basis for building words through exposure to a four year, comprehensive spelling program which will begin in earnest in the First Grade.  Regarding reading: Through the instruction of their parents at home, they will work their way through an introductory reading program. Heritage Learning recommends using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann. While developing their basic reading skills, parents and classroom instructors will read aloud to the children acquainting them with delightful literature centered in Asia & Australia and connecting it with the geography and history of those regions. Regarding writing: at this level, Kindergartners at Heritage will learn how to write the letters of the alphabet and begin to put them together to form basic words through their spelling program. To reinforce this, they will also practice copywork-based penmanship, with the goal that they be able to work up from five to ten minutes per day. As further preparation for writing, the skills of memory work, copying, and oral narration will be employed in a very basic course in English grammar designed to train their ears to listen to and practice correctly spoken language, to train their attention through the skill of oral narration, and to begin instruction in the beginning skills of grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.  Additionally, they will also memorize a poem every 3-6 weeks increasing their awareness of the beauty and delight of the English language.

 

Curriculum & Supplies  

Spelling:

• Heritage Academy Dry erase print or cursive letter book, provided by Heritage

Reading:  

• Instructional Reading:  (to be taught at home)

  • Recommended for Beginning Readers:  Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann

  • For Growing Readers:  Elson Readers

• Delightful Reading:  

  • miscellaneous poems, myths, fairytales, fables, classic literature.  Specific titles to be announced  (minimal books required for purchase for at-home use as most of the required reading is done in class)

  • families read together from parent's choice of books at home

Grammar:  

• Lessons 1-50 used in the classroom; optional for home:  First Language Lessons For the Well-Trained Mind, Level 1 by Jessie Wise

Writing:

• Beautiful Words Journal K:  A Heritage produced writing journal including reading response pages  and poetry selections, provided by Heritage. 

 

First Grade Foundations:  

 The aim in First Grade is to introduce our children to the beauty and order of words in a four-pronged fashion including spelling, reading, writing, and grammar so that that they will be able to make the proper use of language automatic.  Regarding spelling: First Graders at Heritage will spend their year reviewing the sounds of the English alphabet while adding to their knowledge the remaining 49 phonograms used in the English language. They will begin to use these phonograms as the basis for building words in level one of a four-year, comprehensive spelling program which also contributes to their growing reading abilities. Regarding reading: students will practice reading using a parent-selected and leveled instructional reading program.  Please see below for some suggested programs which expose readers to a variety of quality writers and classic literature and employ phonetic decoding strategies. While developing their basic reading skills, parents and classroom instructors will read aloud to the children acquainting them with delightful literature centered in Asia & Australia and connecting it with the geography and history of those regions. Regarding writing: students will continue to develop their handwriting skills through daily copywork practice, 5-10 minutes per day. As further preparation for writing, the skills of memory work, copywork, dictation, and oral narration will be employed in basic course in English grammar designed to train their ears to listen to and practice correctly spoken language, to train their attention through the skill of oral narration, and to begin instruction in the beginning skills of grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. Additionally, they will also work to memorize a poem every 3-6 weeks increasing their awareness of the beauty and delight of the English language.

 

Curriculum & Supplies:  

Spelling:  

• Spell to Write and Read 

• WISE Guide for Spelling 

• SWR Primary Learning Log, provided by Heritage

Reading:  

• Instructional Reading:  

  • For Beginning Readers:  Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann (suggested)

  • For Growing Readers:  Elson Readers

• Delightful Reading:  

  • miscellaneous poems, myths, fairytales, fables, classic literature.  Specific titles to be announced  (minimal books required for purchase for at-home use as most of the required reading is done in class)

  • families read together from parent's choice of books at home

Grammar:  

• First Language Lessons For the Well-Trained Mind, Level 1 by Jessie Wise-- lessons 51-100 used in the classroom and at home

Writing:

• First Language Lessons For the Well-Trained Mind, Level 1,by Jessie Wise --copywork and lessons 51-100 used in the classroom and at home

• New Students:  Heritage Academy Dry Erase Cursive Letter Practice Book, provided by Heritage

• Beautiful Words Writing Journal I:  HL produced writing journal including 2 days of copywork, reading illustration boxes with lines for a caption, lined pages for dictation and narration exercises, and weekly poetry selections, provided by Heritage

 

Second Grade Foundations:  

The aim in Second Grade is to continue to demonstrate to our children the beauty and order of words in a four-pronged fashion including spelling, reading, writing, and grammar so that that they will be able to make the proper use of language automatic. Regarding spelling: Second Graders at Heritage will begin their year reviewing the 75 phonograms used in the English language. They will continue to use these phonograms as the basis for building words in level two of a four year, comprehensive spelling program while reinforcing their increasing reading abilities. Regarding reading: students will practice reading using a parent-selected and leveled instructional reading program.  Please see below for some suggested programs which expose readers to a variety of quality writers and classic literature and employ phonetic decoding strategies. While developing their basic reading skills, parents and classroom instructors will read aloud to the children acquainting them with delightful literature centered in Asia & Australia and connecting it with the geography and history of those regions. Regarding writing: they will continue to develop their handwriting skills through daily copywork practice, 5-10 minutes per day, write sentences from dictation, and compose 1-2 sentence narrations so that they may begin to learn how to express their ideas in written form.  These skills of memory work, copying, dictation, and oral narration will be augmented in a basic course in English grammar designed to train their ears to listen to and practice correctly spoken language, to train their attention through the skill of oral narration, and to begin instruction in the beginning skills of grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. Additionally, they will also memorize a poem every 3-6 weeks increasing their awareness of the beauty and delight of the English language.

 

Curriculum & Supplies  

Spelling:  

• Spell to Write and Read 

• WISE Guide for Spelling 

• SWR Primary Learning Log, provided by Heritage  

Reading:  

• Instructional Reading:  

  • For Beginning Readers:  Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann (suggested if student is not fluent)

  • For Growing Readers:   Elson Readers

• Delightful Reading:  

  • miscellaneous poems, myths, fairytales, fables, classic literature.  Specific titles to be announced  (minimal books required for purchase for at-home use as most of the required reading is done in class)

  • Families read together from parent's choice of books at home

Grammar:  

• First Language Lessons For the Well-Trained Mind, Level 2 by Jessie Wise 

Writing:

• First Language Lessons For the Well-Trained Mind, Level 2 by Jessie Wise--provides additional copywork, dictation, & narration exercises

• Beautiful Words Writing Journal II:  HL produced writing journal including 2 days of copywork, reading illustration boxes with lines for a caption, lined pages for dictation and narration exercises, and weekly poetry selections, provided by Heritage

• Cursive copywork book following the Elson reader, provided by Heritage

 

Third Grade Foundations:  

The aim in Third Grade is to continue to make the proper use of language second nature through the four-pronged disciplines of spelling, reading, writing, and grammar.  Regarding spelling, third graders at Heritage will begin their year reviewing the 75 phonograms used in the English language. They will continue to use these phonograms as the basis for building words in level three of a four year, comprehensive spelling program while reinforcing their increasing reading abilities.  Regarding reading: students will practice reading using a parent-selected and leveled instructional reading program. Please see below for some suggested programs which expose readers to a variety of quality writers and classic literature and employ phonetic decoding strategies. While developing their basic reading skills, parents and classroom instructors will read aloud to the children acquainting them with delightful literature centered in Asia & Australia and connecting it with the geography and history of those regions.  Regarding writing, they will continue to develop their handwriting skills through daily copywork practice, 5-15 minutes per day. Through their course in English grammar, they will also begin to prepare for writing by focusing on the way in which words are put together to form sentences in addition to completing exercises in letter writing, dictionary skills, and oral usage. In addition, students will compose 2-4 sentence narrations as they practice expressing their ideas and thoughts in written form while continuing their training in the rules and conventions of English grammar and mechanics.  Poetry memorization will continue at this level with one poem memorized and recited every 3-6 weeks.

 

Curriculum & Supplies:  

Spelling:  

• Spell to Write and Read

• WISE Guide for Spelling 

• SWR Primary Learning Log, provided by Heritage

Reading:  

• Instructional Reading:  

  • For Beginning Readers:  Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann (suggested if student is not fluent)

  • For Growing Readers:   Elson Readers 

• Delightful Reading:  

  • Miscellaneous poems, myths, fairytales, fables, classic literature.  Specific titles to be announced.  Third grade students will have 5-6 grade-level required books .  Questions and activities will be assigned to teach independent close-reading skills. 

  • Families read together from parent's choice of books at home

Grammar:  

• First Language Lessons For the Well-Trained Mind, Level 3 by Jessie Wise (Teacher’s Manual: $22.00; Student Workbook:  $15.00)--provides grammar instruction & exercises in analyzing and diagramming sentences

Writing:

• First Language Lessons For the Well-Trained Mind, Level 3 by Jessie Wise & Sara Buffington--provides additional copywork, dictation, & narration exercises, letter writing exercises, development in dictionary skills, and practice in oral usage

• The Write Foundation Level 1:  Creating Sentences, provided by heritage

• Cursive copywork book

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