Director: Melissa Swan (Summit South, Tuesday)     

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Basecamp students will rotate through four class sessions each week: History/ geography, science labs, and historically-themed art projects. Presentation skills will be introduced in our art class and be integrated throughout the program, allowing each student multiple opportunities throughout the year to give presentations. 

To benefit from the academic overview that Basecamp provides, parents will need to reinforce and augment reading, writing, spelling and math with additional resources at home.

 

Geography and history through picture books   

 

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Science Class: Hands-on Labs                                          

 

In lab class, we will investigate chemistry with hands-on experiences and activities. Some topics covered include the scientific method, states of matter, atoms, element symbols, and chemical reactions. Review the Cycle 3 guide for our full year of science topics.

 

Historical Art Projects and Presentations

 

Students will learn the basics of drawing, painting, and creative artwork with historically-themed art instruction. We will focus on art projects that reflect the early modern period or an artist from that time. There will be hands-on projects like creating the Taj Mahal using ink transfer. We hope to build our children's confidence in creativity and inspire perspective as they learn history at home. While families read about each topic at home using the history curriculum of their choice, we will reinforce the time period through art projects in class. 

Once each quarter, students will have the opportunity to give a 2-3 minute presentation on history, geography, science, or any topic they are excited about. A calendar of our historical art projects, science labs and presentation dates will be provided. 

 

Basecamp Required Resources

Memory Work

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CrossSeven.org subscription and

Claritas Cycle 3 Map Booklet

or

Claritas Cycle 3 Memory Work Guide 

 

Claritas Publishing

Supplemental Cycle 3 materials are available online

 

Basecamp Suggested Resources for At Home

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History

The Story of the World, Vol. 3: Early Modern Times (revised edition)

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or

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Audio CD

Susan Wise Bauer

 

Additional Resources

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Consider these options for 8-year-olds planning to enter the Traverse program the following year:

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• An introduction to the IEW Structure and Style Writing Method is highly recommended as preparation for Traverse

  • People and Places in Our Community [Student Book]

  • People and Places in Our Community [Teacher's Manual]

• Claritas History Memory Work Cycle 3 by Outward Light | TPT

• Other supplemental materials from Claritas Publishing:

  • Handwriting Sheets, flash cards, audio options, timeline cards

  • Fundamental Grammar for the Lower Grammar Stage: Level 1

• Memorization of the English grammar portion of Cycle 3

• Cross Seven subscription is recommended with the use of quizzes

• Math and Science curricula that follow the focus of Cycle 3

Director: Melissa Swan (Summit South Tuesday)     

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The Traverse program bridges the Knowledge and Understanding stages as it prepares older elementary students, ages 9-12, for the Ascent program. Traverse guides will lead students and their parents in learning elements of English grammar, composition, science labs, hands-on history art projects, and memory work throughout the day.  Students will have the opportunity to create and give presentations. They will also enjoy a dedicated time for group math games and activities. 

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Students are equipped and encouraged to include memory work at home in nine subject areas including history, math, science, Latin, English grammar, geography, scripture and hymns. Some memory work will be integrated into the core subject times each week. Following the Claritas Cycle 3 Memory Work Guide, Traverse students will keep to the same schedule as the Basecamp students.

 

Institute for Excellence In Writing (IEW)

 

IEW teaches students a step-by-step process that includes note-making and outlines, writing from notes, summarizing references, formal essay models, and inventive or creative writing. Students will be expected to write a paper each week, and they will have regular opportunities to share their work in class. At least one parent is expected and required to attend the 8 IEW viewings that are shown throughout the year. These may be shown during lunch on Wednesday.

 

English Grammar 

Students will learn the fundamentals of our language, including the parts of speech, composition rules, sentence diagramming, and parsing sentences. Homework will be suggested each week to help students practice their skills.

 

Science

 

Science in the Age of Reason by Dr. Jay Wile is the fourth book in a hands-on, multilevel elementary science series that introduces scientific concepts using history as its guide. It covers the scientific works of natural philosophers from the early 1600s to the early 1800s. Because the course covers science as it was developed, it discusses a wide range of topics including astronomy, medicine, botany, zoology, chemistry, geology, human physiology, electricity, conservation laws, and weather. Students learn not only the science that was being discovered at the time, but also the beliefs of the natural philosophers who were discovering it. As a result, students can see how a person’s worldview affects his or her scientific conclusions.

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The textbook is built around hands-on activities and experiments, and includes three levels of review questions so that you may choose the depth of your family’s exploration. We will complete most of the activities and experiments during our meeting time, and, for a deeper learning experience, parents are encouraged to read the book at home. A scope and sequence for lesson topics and in-class labs will be made available. There will not be any homework assignments from class. 

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Hands-On History and Art

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This year, our history class will focus on early modern history. We will follow The Story of the World Volume 3: Early Modern Times curriculum and incorporate hands-on projects including crafting, model building, drawing, and painting. We will spotlight famous artists from the early modern times, taking some time to observe their work. At the end of the year, students will participate in a History Fair, which includes a presentation of a historical figure they have studied and written about.

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Traverse Required Resources

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Writing

Teaching Writing: Structure and Style, Second Edition [Seminar Workbook]

Andrew Pudewa, Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)

 

U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons [Teacher/Student Combo], Second Edition

Lori Verstegen, IEW

English Grammar

Fundamental Grammar Guide  

 

Claritas Publishing

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Science

Science in the Age of Reason

Dr. Jay L. Wile

Berean Builders

 

Memory Work

Claritas Cycle 3 Memory Work Guide

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Cycle 3 Audio CDs or Audio Download, or CrossSeven.org subscription

Claritas Publishing

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Traverse Suggested Resources for At Home

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English Grammar

Cycle 3 FGG Workbook: Units 1 & 2 (consumable)

 

Claritas Publishing

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History

Story of the World, Vol 3: Early Modern Times (revised edition)

Susan Wise Bauer