At Gryffin Learning Center, we focus on six core subjects 3 days a week, and provide electives on Fridays. Our six foundational subjects are Religion, Math, History, Reading, Science, & Language Arts. We are excited to announce that this year, we are beginning Latin lessons! We normally choose our curriculum by purchasing a variety of books, reviewing them, and then praying about which to use. Parents are responsible for purchasing their own curriculum, billed separately.
Language Arts
Our Language Arts curriculum focuses on spelling, reading comprehension, phonetics, and memorization. Students complete workbooks at their own pace, though teachers set goals with them on a biweekly basis. The goal is to finish 2 sets of workbooks a year until they have caught up to grade level.
History
The entire school uses the same History curriculum. We have chosen to use “The Mystery of History” Volumes 1-4. We rotate through the four textbooks, meaning that students will repeat the same material every four years, with more being required from the older students. In general, each week’s study begins with a pre-test. Then, we study three lessons a week and take a quiz at the end to evaluate progress. Each term, students are required to select any topic of interest to them and prepare a short presentation.
This year, we are studying Volume IV.
Math
We have set up our math program to allow students to go at their own pace. We work with the students to set pacing goals – trying to complete 2 sets of workbooks a year until they are caught up, then slow down to one grade level set a year.
New students will be given a diagnostic test to determine what level they would be most successful beginning on.
Science
Our textbook this year is Science in the Age of Reason by Dr. Jay Wile. This textbook teaches science by telling the story of the philosopher/inventor, explaining their discoveries, and impact, and providing experiments for hands on learning. We have found this to be a very successful way to learn and retain science principles.
Religion
For our Religion course, we follow the Come Follow Me program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Reading
We have chosen the Memoria Press literature schedule, and students read a collection of classic books chosen on their level. Depending on their reading level, students may read Charlotte’s Web, Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, The Magician’s Nephew, The Adventures of Robin Hood, or other carefully-chosen classic.