Curriculum

Primary School is a time for wonder, excitement and building a strong foundation for a student’s academic journey. Classes chosen for Primary School are designed to be authentically Catholic and enriching for the young homeschool child as well as academically strong. Class time will be used to have rich, age-appropriate scientific discussions through engaging hands-on activities, delightful art projects, deep religious exploration, and beautiful handwriting and music. Phonics will not be taught at school since oftentimes children at this age are at different reading levels. Since this is required by the State of South Carolina and for the development of the child, parents will be responsible for doing this at home. The Literature program can be adapted if the child is not on grade level for reading.

Grammar School is designed to be a time to build upon the foundations of Primary school as students move into more rigorous material and eventually prepare for Middle School. The History, Literature, and Art classes were chosen first for their authentically Catholic content and second, for their academic strength. Handwriting and Spelling are not included in the SHHA curriculum and can be done at home by the parents if necessary for the child’s education.

Middle School is a time to prepare students to move from the grammar stage of learning (concrete thinking with lots of memorization) into the dialectic stage, a time of more analytical and abstract thinking that requires logic and reason. SHHA’s goal is to provide an environment that is authentically Catholic while providing challenging coursework in multiple subjects, many of which overlap in content and culture. Middle school classwork affords plenty of opportunities for honing note-taking skills and participating in hands-on science projects as well as developing strong writing skills.

Class time is split between lectures from teachers and teacher-led Socratic discussions. The study of History is completed alongside Literature texts that come from that time period, both Catholic and classical texts. Composition supplements writing for History and Literature and focuses on developing thesis statements, organizing ideas, transitions, introductions, conclusions, and other foundational concepts. These middle school students will be well-prepared for the rigor of high school writing.

High School is an exciting time as students begin to move from the dialectic into the rhetoric stage of learning. In early high school, as they move into deeper material that requires more thought and the skill of organizing those thoughts, they are challenged to refine their notetaking, writing, and math skills.

These classes are designed to fulfill the state requirements for High School as well as prepare students for the next phase, whether that is college or the workforce. SHHA will provide the resources necessary to prepare for college as well as providing classes that can be adapted for Honors classes. Time in class will be spent on Socratic discussions led by the teacher, while at-home work will include reading, taking notes, and summarizing textbook material. The content of History and Literature will cover the same time periods. The works of literature studied have been carefully selected from the Classics, Great Books, and Catholic texts. Composition is designed to prepare students for college-level writing with well-polished essays.