2014 - 2015
Thursday at Ecclesia Classes
Elementary Schedule (1st – 6th Grade)
1st – 3rd Grade
8:45
9:00
9:15
9:30
9:45
10:00
Opening Prayer
Fun ‘Til One

Full Day of Fun
And Learning
10:15
3rd – 5th Grade
Opening Prayer
9:00 – 10:05 Level A Science. (3rd – 6th)
Apologia’s Flying Creatures
Opening Prayer
9:00 – 10:20 Level C Science..
Semester 1: Apologia’s Swimming Creatures
Semester 2: Apologia’s Land Animals
10:10 – 10:15 Break
10:20 – 10:55 U.S. Government
10:30
10:45
11:00
11:15
11:30
11:45
12:00
12:15
12:30
12:45
1:00
4th – 6th Grade
11:00 – 11:15 Poetry memorization
11:20 – 12:00 Global Explorations
10:25 – 10:30 Break
10:35 – 10:55 Christian Basics
11:00 – 12:25 IEW - U. S. History, vol. 1
12:00 – 12:25 Stories of God’s Love
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Elementary Class Descriptions
First through Third Grade – Fun ‘Til One
Thursday at Ecclesia Classes from 9:00 to 1:00 (Bring lunch)
Our goal is to provide a fun and safe place for the youngest grades to gather and connect.
Things that our First through Third Graders will be participating in on Thursday are:
Song and Dance
Music and Art (History)
Godly Play
Dressing up and acting
Meaningful Memorization
U. Va.’s Rimes and Rhymes – A Rhyme a Week
A fun science moment
Remembering the beauty of the world about us through wonderful stories and outside exploration
Exploring Numbers and singing through Times to Remember and other Right Start games.
Creative Crafts
Further descriptions are offered below.
Third through Fifth Grade
Thursday at Ecclesia Classes from 9:00 to 1:00 (Bring lunch)
Our goal is to provide a fun and inspiring place of learning for our third and fourth graders. This program has no homework.
Thursday
Elementary Science – Level A. Apologia’s Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. Class time will be spent discussing main concepts of the text
and completing the Projects portion of the text. Students will need to purchase the text and the Zoology 1
Journal (not Junior). See Product Description.
1
U.S. Government
Poetry Memorization
Global Explorations
Stories of God’s Love
This introduction to our government studies the three branches of government: Executive, Legislative and
Judicial-including an overview of the agencies and departments of the executive branch, learning the
process of how a bill becomes a law; and the hierarchy of the judicial court system. Also, the architecture of
many buildings in Washington D.C. will be covered. Students will create a United States Government
lapbook.
Precisely that. Building vocabulary and a love of language through poetry memorization.
We will study a variety of climates and nations: The Amazon Rain Forest, Antarctic, The Sahara Desert, The
Great Barrier Reef, The Everglades, and the Nations of Japan, Madagascar, Norway and Peru.
Using Perspectives on the World Christian Movement – a Reader, we’ll talk about different people groups
around the globe and the story of God’s pursuing love.
Fourth through Sixth Grade
Thursday Classes - Ecclesia Classes also offers a full Wednesday through Friday (9:00 – 1:00) 4th through 6th grade program.
Upper Elementary Science – Level C. First Semester – Apologia’s Zoology 2 (Swimming Creatures). Second Semester is Apologia’s
Zoology 3 (Land animals). Students who take this class must love dedicating time to the learning process.
They will read 15 – 20 pages on their own each week, as well as respond (in writing) to Narrative Questions.
If you have not worked with Apologia before, spend some time looking at samples. The engaging text is
written directly to the reader, including many interesting descriptions and clear presentations of the subject
matter. Apologia texts are a GREAT way to grow your child as a reader. The text lends itself well to
independent learning. See Product Description in the Monday through Friday, 4th – 6th Grade Schedule.
Any upper elementary student who wants to move at a slower pace is welcome to take the full year
Zoology 1 class.
Christian Basics – This is a memorization oriented class that will help students memorize the books of the bible and their authors. We
will discuss the family tree of the Israelite Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the lineage of the tribes and why there
is no tribe of Joseph. Who are the Levites and how did they acquire their land? And what about those
brave daughters of Manasseh that had to remind Joshua not to forget them!!! There will be much fun
storytelling and essential church history covered. Additionally, the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostle’s Creed
will be memorized and discussed. Your child will develop a well-intentioned framework for all future
spiritual study in this multi—aged classroom experience.
I.E.W. With Mrs. Golliher – U.S. History, Volume 1. Explorers to Gold Rush – people and events. This weekly class requires that students
complete assignments over the remainder of the week. IEW grows students writing skills by supporting
strong vocabulary, grammar, and thinking skills as well as developing sophisticated elements of structure
and style. Topics in this volume include colonial life, war for independence (Bill of Rights, Boston Tea Party),
biographies, the Lewis and Clark expedition, the Oregon Trail, the Trail of Tears, and more.
Further Class Descriptions
First through Third Grade
1.
Rimes and Rhymes
-ack: I saw a ship a-sailing
-ake: Hiccup, hiccup, go away
-ap: Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye
-aw: See-saw, two, three, four
-ell: Peter, Peter, pumpkin eater
-ick: Jack be nimble
-ill: Jack and Jill went up the hill
-ink: If all the world were paper
-oke: There was an owl
-ot: Baby and I were baked in a pie
2.
-ail/ale: Simple Simon went a-fishing
-ain: Flour of England, fruit of Spain
-ame: They that wash
-an: Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home
-at: Jack Sprat could eat no fat
-ate: One, two, three, four
-ay: Rain, rain, go away
-eat: Tom, Tom, the piper’s son
-est: Gregory Griggs
-ice: An apple pie, when it looks nice
-ide: If wishes were horses
-ight: Star light, star bright
-in: Crosspatch, draw the latch
-ine: Elsie Marley is grown so fine
-it: There once were two cats of Kilkenny
-ock: Hickory Dickory Dock
-op: Higglety, pigglety, pop!
-ore: The Queen of Hearts
-ump: Young Roger came tapping at Dolly’s window
Godly Play: Godly Play is based upon the recognition that children have an innate sense of the presence of God. However, they lack the
2
appropriate language to help them identify and express faith, so it can be explored and strengthened. The Godly Play approach teaches
classical Christian language in a way that enhances the child’s authentic experience of God so it can contribute to the creative life of the
child and the world.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Art History – Using Artistic Pursuits Early Elementary Book 2: Focusing on the lives of artists who have given the world a vision that has
awed and inspired others for generations. Using colorful illustrations and works by Master artists like Giotto, Michelangelo, Rembrandt,
Vermeer, and Turner, this book tells the stories of individual artists within major periods of art from 13th century late Gothic to the
academy artists of the 18th century. Projects encourage creativity and include watercolor painting, oil pastels, printmaking, and mixed
media.
Music History – Using Thomas Tapper’s The Child’s Own Book of Great Musicians, we will learn about Chopin, Haydn, Handel, Schubert,
Grieg and Wagner.
Meaningful Memorization – Cobwebs (Anon);Dream Keeper (Hughes); Children’s May Song (Oxfordshire); The Secret (Anon); Bed in
Summer (Stevenson); Who Has Seen the Wind (Rossetti); Thanksgiving Day (Child); Snow-flakes (Dodge); Psalm 139: 1 – 6 (NLT); My
Grandma’s Song (Alarcon); Disobedience (Milne); Mathematics (Anon); Harriet Tubman(Greenfield); The Negro Speaks of Rivers
(Hughes); Psalm 23(KJV); The Owl and the Pussycat (Lear);
Times to Remember: Non-sequential multiplication memorization. Additional math games from Right Start Mathematics.
Readings and enjoying nature: Unlikely friendships for kids (Holland), and Friends (Thimmish)
TOPS Science. Weeks 1 - 8 will focus on understandings of floating and sinking, buoyancy, pressure: Archimedes’ principle, displacement,
volume, density, weightless suspension, etc. Weeks 9 – 17: Playing with light - how it reflects, refracts, focuses; how it adds and
subtracts color and splits into rainbows. Weeks 18 – 22. Focus Pocus – Magnifying and projecting. Weeks 23 – 26 Playing with
Pendulums. Weeks 27 – 34: Get a Grip – Experiencing Science and Math as process.
3
2014 – 2015
Full Wednesday through Friday 4th to 6th Grade Schedule
Ecclesia Classes
Wednesday
8:45
9:00 9:30
9:35 – 10:35
Opening Prayer
Math Tutorial
Suggested Texts:
Mastering Essential Math
Skills Book 1 By R. W. Fisher
or Kim Marshall Math (a bit
more practice than Fisher’s)
Learning Language Arts
Through Literature –
Breakout sessions with
Parent –Mentors.
Thursday
8:45
9:00 –
10:20
Opening Prayer
Upper Elementary Science
(4th to 6th)
Friday
8:45
9:00 9:30
Opening Prayer
Math Tutorial
(Same as Wednesday)
9:35 -10:25
History Survey: Explorers,
Scientists, and Inventions
Level A - Flying Creatures
(Apologia)
Less reading and HW
10:25
Level C – A book a semester:
Sem 1: Swimming Creatures
Sem 2: Land Animals
(15 – 20 pp weekly reading)
10:25 – 10:30 Break
Students present reports
& are assigned research
for the following week
Texts Offered:
Orange, Purple, Tan and
Green
10:35
10:40-11:15
11:20 –11:30
11:35 – 12:05
12:10 – 1:00
1:00
History Memorization:
Time line song
History Sentences
11:00
Exploration of Cultures –
Discussing the cultures we
sang about today and the
sentences we memorized.
Bring-a -Snack
Chapel
Community Wide
Shakespeare Studies/
Music with Mrs.
Khanchalian
Dismissal
10:30 -11:05
Interactive History –
A project from this
week’s history study
11:10
Grab a Snack
11:20
Copying the Masters –
Expressing Ourselves
Through Art.
12:00
Memorization Work and
Review:
Poetry
Grammar
Latin
Science
Geography
Dismissal
10:35 – 10:55
Christian Basics with
Mrs. Baer
11:00 – 12:25
I.E.W. with Mrs. Golliher
12:30
12:30 – 1:00
Community Lunch
(Bring Your Lunch!!)
1:00
Dismissal
1:00
4
Fourth through Sixth Grade
Wednesday through Friday at Ecclesia Classes 9:00 – 1:00 (Bring a lunch on Thursday; and a substantial snack for Wed and Friday)
Our goal is to provide meaningful encounters of learning for our older elementary students. Many of the Upper Elementary classes require that
homework be completed after class time.
Wednesday and Friday
Math Tutorial –
Students who attend Ecclesia Classes 3 days a week are invited to bring their current math work to class on
Wednesday and Friday. This will not be a corporate teaching time but, rather, an essential opportunity for students
to progress in their math studies with an available tutor to answer any questions. E.C. recommends Mastering
Essential Math Skills Book One; or for the student who needs a greater amount of redundancy, take time to complete
1 or 2 of the concept-specific texts in this series. Kim Marshall Math is a thorough basic maths program as well.
Language Arts Each Wednesday students will spend an hour with a parent-mentor to discuss what they are learning in their Learning
Language Arts through Literature workbook. The following week’s assignments will also be presented. Having
different breakout sessions allows students to participate at a personalized skill level. For the family not wanting to
have homework accompanying their studies at Ecclesia Classes, Mrs. Mahdi will offer an “in house” time of language
arts learning. To assess what level of LLAL best suits your child, Rainbow Resource provides placement tests. Below is
a description of the different texts we are offering.
Memorization – On Wednesday and Friday, Ecclesia Classes offers a three year memory cycle for 4th to 6th graders. Students will build
their language skills via Poetry and Scripture Memorization. In addition to this, we will be memorizing The Timeline
Song by Classical Conversations. Students will also be memorizing a wide variety of information that Grammar-Stage
brains excel at retaining and which provides a mental rubric for categorizing future learning.
Community Wide Shakespeare Study/Music with Mrs. Khanchalian - On Wednesday we’ll have a great time exploring the history of
Music and Art through a variety of expressions and presentations. Expressively, our 4th through 6th graders will be
joining in on the Community Wide Shakespeare Study. This is a dynamic means of exploring history, arts, language,
fencing, poetry, and acting via the Bard’s life and culture. Sets will be built, costumes created, sonnets sung, masks
made and weapons wielded… Lots of Fun.
History Survey- Ecclesia Classes upper elementary students participate in a three year history study from 3500 B.C. to the present.
Wednesday focuses on the chronological flow of history, with a progressive review of all the events sung about in the
CC Timeline Song. Year A will cover the period from the Christian story of Creation to The East/West Schism of the
Church. Furthermore on Friday we will focus on specific explorers, scientists, inventions and cover map work from
the same period. Each week students will make presentations as they discuss their assigned research of a
consequential invention or discovery from history and its impact on humanity and the earth. Lastly, our history study
will culminate in an in-class interactive project taken from that week’s study.
Copying the Masters- Learning fine arts skills through a retrospective study.
Thursday
Upper Elementary Science – Level A. Apologia’s Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. Class time will be spent discussing main
concepts of the text and completing the Projects portion of the text. Students will need to purchase the
text and the Zoology 1 Journal (not Junior). In-class tests will be administrated as well. See Product
Description Below.
Upper Elementary Science – Level C. Our Level C courses are for the student who is simply wired academic and enjoys completing
homework on their own. We will cover an Apologia text per semester. First Semester will use Apologia’s Swimming
Creatures. Second Semester Land Animals. Students who take this class must love dedicating time to the learning
process. They will read 15 – 20 pages on their own each week, as well as respond (in writing) to Narrative Questions.
If you have not worked with Apologia before, spend some time looking at samples. The engaging text is written
directly to the reader, providing many interesting descriptions and clear presentations of the subject matter.
It lends itself well to independent learning. See Product Description Below.
Christian Basics with Mrs. Baer – This is a memorization oriented class that will help students know the books of the bible
and their authors. We will discuss the family tree of the Israelite Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the lineage of
the tribes and why there is no tribe of Joseph. Who are the Levites and how did they acquire their land?
And what about those brave daughters of Manasseh that had to remind Joshua not to forget them!!!
There will be much fun storytelling and essential church history covered. Additionally, the Lord’s Prayer
and the Apostle’s Creed will be memorized and discussed. Your child will develop a well-intentioned
5
framework for all future spiritual study in this multi—aged classroom experience.
I.E.W. With Mrs. Golliher – U.S. History, Volume 1. Explorers to Gold Rush – people and events. This weekly class requires
that students complete assignments over the remainder of the week. IEW grows students writing skills
by supporting strong vocabulary, grammar, and thinking skills as well as developing sophisticated
elements of structure and style. Topics in this volume include colonial life, war for independence (Bill of
Rights, Boston Tea Party), biographies, the Lewis and Clark expedition, the Oregon Trail, the Trail of Tears,
and more.
Product Descriptions:
A.
Learning Language Arts through Literature - Learning Language Arts through Literature is a fully integrated language arts program that
teaches grammar, reading, spelling, vocabulary, thinking skills and more. The goal of this program is to equip students for a lifetime of
communication through the written and spoken word. Real books are used in the reading lessons, complete with vocabulary words, discussion
questions and a variety of activities.
The Orange Book:
4 Book Studies –  The Boxcar Children (Book #1) by Gertrude Chandler Warner
 Wilbur and Orville Wright by Augusta Stevenson
 Benjamin Franklin by Augusta Stevenson
 The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
5 Activity Units – 
Research
 Journal Writing
 Poetry
 Newspaper
 Book Making
The Purple Book
4 Book Studies:

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
3 Activity Units:
The Tan Book
4 Book Studies:
2 Activity Units:
The Green Book
3 Book Studies:
4 Activity Units:
B.



















Trumpet of the Swan by E.B.White
We will be switching to The Sign of The Beaver and Progeny Press)
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
Speech Making
Poetry
Oral Presentation of Folk Tales and Tall Tales
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Latham
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard
The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
Using the Library
Writing a Research Paper
The Star of Light by Patricia St. John
Adam and His Kin by Ruth Beechick
Much Ado About Nothing - Play by Shakespeare
Everyday Words
Poetry Unit
Short Story Unit
Research Unit
Zoology 1: Flying Creatures: Birds, bugs, and bats – if it flies, it‘s explored in this fascinating introduction to zoology!
The first portion of the book focuses on birds and their unique characteristics. Kids will learn bird anatomy, how they are able to
fly, why they build nests, how they raise their young, and more. They‘ll also learn to identify the birds they see every day and do
activities that explore the habits and preferences of different species of birds.
Students will learn about bats, some of the most useful and wonderful flying creatures in the world. As they study
the physical characteristics and lifestyle of the bat, they‘ll gain a new appreciation for these creatures. Finally, kids
will get up close and personal to the insect world. They‘ll learn how to identify and classify the many different
types of bugs they see, and they‘ll even get to design their own experiments with different insect species. Kids will
get the opportunity to keep their own field journals as they are encouraged to be their own scientist as they
observe and understand the world around them
6
Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures. Students will discover many strange and unique creatures of the earth’s sea, lakes, and rivers. They’ll
learn about the special features of swimming creatures, the different watery environments they live in, what their lifestyles are
like, and the special circumstances within their ecosystem. A closer look at specific groups of swimming creatures, including
whales, seals, sea cows, sea turtles, sea snakes, sea frogs and toads, primeval reptiles (like plesiosaurs), fish, sharks, rays,
crustaceans, cephalopods, echinoderms, cnidarians, sponges, and leeches, are all discussed. As they study these creatures,
students will create replicas of them to add to an ongoing “Ocean Box.” They will conduct additional experiments like
discovering the insulating power of fat, investigating how electrical current travels through salt water vs. fresh water, and
determining how much of a role temperature plays in tadpole development. Students will build notebooks by drawing the
animals in them, comparing and contrasting animals, and much more. Whether the ocean is a familiar place to your children or
not, they’ll be equally fascinated by learning about the unique creatures beneath the water.
Zoology 3: Land Animals. Apologia’s Zoology 3 book teaches about the land animals God created on the sixth day. Animals in this
category are impressively diverse. Like the other titles in this series, the groups are studied using their scientific names. You‘ll
learn about Carnivores, Caniforms, Feliforms, Marsupials, Primates, Rodentia, Ungulates (hoofed animals), Artiodactyla,
reptiles, amphibians, and even dinosaurs. The book is divided into 14 modules, each containing the quality information and
illustrations that make Apologia so very memorable. Students will learn about what makes each group of animals special and
different from other groups of animals. At the end of each module, children will engage in a variety of notebook activities and
experiments. A “Track It!” activity helps students identify tracks of the animals just covered in that module. The “Map It!”
activity encourages students to mark a map with the location of where one might find the animals from that module. The whole
family will enjoy learning along with their children about the unique land creatures God created.
7