Liberal Arts Level 2: Early Chapter Books

The Liberal Arts Level 2: Early Chapter Books course is designed to build on skills and love of learning built in our Level 1 course. Like Level 2, this course encourages love of learning via stories, the natural world, and the rhythms of the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith. The curriculum is built around a wonderful and engaging selection of early chapter books and collections of short stories that will capture the interest and imagination of students. The class will meet twice a week, with one day for students and the instructor to meet, discuss, and share work. As young learners work and interact at home and in class, they will build the skills they need to become attentive students, supportive and respectful classmates, curious learners, and independent critical thinkers. Students will begin to build writing skills via creative assignments and writing tasks, including writing poems, personal letters, stories, and practicing narration strategies. This class is intended to create a strong foundation of curiosity and confidence for future learning.

Prerequisites

Students who enroll in this class should be able to do the following:
• Read at a beginner level (books that are too challenging for the student may be read with or aloud by the parent)
• Show an understanding a story by asking and answering questions about it
• Converse with and listen to others, including asking questions and waiting their turn to respond
• Be responsible for completing and turning in assignments with the help of a parent
• Parent presence is required on the second class of each week

View Liberal Arts Curriculum Map

Required Materials:
Books and supplies are not included in the purchase of the course.

Poetry/Hymnography:

Provided monthly by instructor

Hagiography:

101 Orthodox Saints, Sarah Wright and Alexandra Schmalzbach

Short Stories:

Provided by instructor

Picture Books:

_Maybe Something Beautiful, _Isabelle Campoy and Theresa Howell

Short Novels:

My Father’s Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannett
Shepherding Sam, Melinda Johnson
Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Birchbark House, Louise Erdrich
Finding Langston, Lesa Cline-Ransome
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Kate DiCamillo
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White

Esther Deiana

[email protected]

Esther Deiana was born and raised in a little town by the sea, in the island of Sardinia (south of Italy). Growing up in a land of ancient traditions she was always fascinated by learning about the history, language and artifacts of her ancestors and that fascination quickly turned into unending curiosity for all different civilizations. She graduated with a B.A. in Italian Grammar and Literature and then pursued her passion for the symbolic lives of cultures through her master's degree in Anthropology. She has been teaching on and off for the last 20 years and has experienced a variety of learning scenarios; she has worked as an in-person and online private tutor teaching Latin, Spanish, Italian and English as a foreign language. She has also taught group classes for adults as well as children, in the three countries she has lived (Italy, Spain and US). Esther is now married with three kids, and she can't but recognize the fractal similarities between raising kids and the calling of being an educator. Her dedication to teaching is only exceeded by her enthusiasm for learning and her love for Beauty in all its forms; she is eager to share this new chapter of her journey with her family in Christ, at the Schole Academy. Mrs. Deiana and her family attend St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Loveland, Colorado where she serves as part of the Youth Ministry Leadership.

Stephanie Jones

[email protected]

Stephanie Jones has been teaching in some capacity for over a decade and has a deep love for Christian education. She graduated in 2002 with a double major in Business Management and Marketing. She has volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for the last seven years, advocating for eleven foster children in her area. Brandon and Stephanie also work weekly at pregnancy home in their area, helping the young women find stability for them and their new babies. She also serves as co-chair of the Children’s Education committee at her home parish Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Norman Oklahoma. She teaches church school and assists in implementing a four year cycle of children’s curriculum for the parish. Stephanie and Brandon have four adopted children, all of whom she has educated at home over the past 12 years.

Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.

High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.

Webcam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)

Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm

Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use. To download Zoom:

Visit zoom.us/download.
Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
Open and run the installer on your computer.
In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.

Scanner: In this class, students frequently submit homework assignments by scanning pages from their workbooks. Students and/or their parents should have easy access to a scanner and the ability to use it.

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First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student’s previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Registration is finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.

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This registration will be finalized when the student's placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.