Forms vs Grades

Highland Hall is constructed around a “forms” model as opposed to the modern “grade” model, allowing for more flexibility among students, parents, and mentors. Students are in classes as a cohort, learning together from one or a few Mentor(s) throughout their time with us, which means they make friends across ages and parents save on curriculum. For more about the Forms approach, check out St. Brendan’s Academy in Ogden, UT or read about how Ambleside Online for Groups utilizes the Forms approach.

Everything you will read below is based on prayer and consideration but is in no means set in stone. If you are interested in exploring Highland Hall for your child, please reach out with ideas and questions. Our desire is to provide the space and resources for Christian parents to provide a Christian education for their children; we need your input to make this concept a reality here in Rockbridge County. Please feel free to email us at director@highlandhallva.org

Form I (Grades 1-3)

Highland Hall does not offer rigorous academic programming for our younger children because we feel these precious years are meant to be cherished, filled with play, wonder and joy, and not overwhelmed with rigorous school work. Our Form I classes are more like a Mommy and Me time, led by moms, incorporating lots of storytelling, music and play to practice manners, memorize Scripture, and explore God’s creation.

Humanities / Classical Studies / Arts & Letters / History + Reading + Writing
All of our students work through a 3-year cycle of Ancient, Middle Ages, and Modern history in a modified Charlotte Mason-style, incorporating excellent works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry to make history come alive for our students. With our littlest learners we use living books and hands-on activities to give a peaceful introduction to history that will connect with what their older siblings are studying. For literature and Bible, we love Five in a Row.

Music & Art
We try to make our time with our Form I students as engaging as we possibly can. Kids love music, singing, and dance, so we depend on the Show Me Jesus Curriculum from Great Commission Publishing that teaches Bible stories, Scripture, and hymns (similar in form to Kindermusic, Musikgarten, MusicTogether, etc.). We use other songs, chants, nursery rhymes, and ditties to help our youngest children learn poetry, Latin endings, times tables, and books of the Bible.

Science
Again, we are not trying to over-burden our little ones, or their parents, so we spend a lot of time outdoors, exploring nature and drawing what we observe. From time to time we might pull ideas from books like Mudpies to Magnets by Robert A. Williams, which is full of great hands-on activities to introduce scientific concepts.

Form II (Grades 4-6)

Fourth through sixth graders are inquisitive and excited to learn, so we encourage our Form II students to start learning in a slightly more formal classroom setting, with desks and chairs, raising hands to answer questions, etc. Mentors lead students in a Charlotte Mason-style, saturated in storytelling, Great Books and hands-on learning. 

Humanities / Classical Studies / Arts & Letters / History + Literature + Writing
All of our students work through a 3-year cycle of Ancient, Middle Ages, and Modern history in a modified Charlotte Mason-style, incorporating excellent works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry to make history come alive for our students. In Form II, we use Story of the World with projects, field trips, etc. For Literature, we enjoy Book Club which focuses on historical fiction that brings history to life.

Latin
We encourage Latin studies in Grammar school because we know students soak up and retain new languages so much more easily in the lower grades. Parents are encouraged to consider Latin during Form II or this hour can be used for other subjects if the parents decide to pursue another subject.

Science + Mathematics (STEM)

Form III (Grades 7-9)

Humanities / Classical Studies / Arts & Letters / History + Literature + Writing
All of our students work through a 3-year cycle of Ancient, Middle Ages, and Modern history in a modified Charlotte Mason-style, incorporating excellent works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry to make history come alive for our students. In Form III we use The World’s Story curriculum from MasterBooks as our backbone. Additionally, we incorporate The Lost Tools of Writing or IEW for writing assignments.

Students do reading and writing assignments at home during the week, and come to class ready to review and discuss. Students are expected to read papers aloud in class and work on group projects. We desire to make history exciting by incorporating crafts, activities, and field trips. 

Latin
Our Middle School students will take two or three years of Latin, depending on family preferences. If they have a strong foundation in Latin already, these classes will be geared toward reading original texts and understanding the connections between Latin and English and other languages.

Science – Tuesdays
We work through a 3-year cycle of Apologia Science curricula, depending on the needs of our Middle School students. Students do reading at home during the week, and come to class ready to discuss the reading and engage in hands-on activities and experiments. We hope our Middle Schoolers will enter High School with a solid understanding of how to conduct an experiment and record findings in a lab report.

Mathematics Lab – Thursdays
Many of our families will pursue mathematics at home, so this hour can be used for tutoring or for direct teaching, depending on the needs of our students each year. Our goal is to ensure that students are prepared to enter High School at Algebra I or above.

Form IV (Grades 10-12)

Humanities / Classical Studies / Arts & Letters / History + Literature + Writing
All of our students work through a 3-year cycle of Ancient, Middle Ages, and Modern history in a modified Charlotte Mason-style, incorporating excellent works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry to make history come alive for our students. In Form IV we use the Omnibus curriculum from Veritas Press as our backbone and integrate literature, writing, speech, vigorous debate and worldview discussions. As seniors, our students study US Government with a Highland Hall Mentor or at home, depending on scheduling and availability. Like Form III, our Form IV students do reading and writing assignments at home during the week and come to class ready to engage in discussion and debate. Students are expected to read papers aloud in class and work on group projects.

Foreign Language
Our High School students will be encouraged to continue their Latin studies or select a modern foreign language to study.

Science – Tuesdays
We work through a 3-year cycle of Apologia Science curricula, depending on the needs of our Form IV students. Students do reading at home during the week, and come to class ready to discuss the reading and engage in hands-on activities and experiments.

Mathematics Lab – Thursdays
We do our best to meet our mathematics students where they are, with the goal of preparing them for graduation.

Electives

Highland Hall offers two periods of electives after lunch which rotate throughout the academic year. Some ideas for electives include: logic, apologetics, statistics, economics, computer science, tinker time, life skills, civics, art and art history, photography, journalism, games, problem-based learning, etc.

Vocational Training

After lunch on our second day of co-op, our students are encouraged to participate in vocational training. Area business-owners, craftsmen, homemakers and hobbyists are invited to share their expertise with the children, training them up in various skills. Through field trips and hands-on experiences, our children discover a wide range of potential callings and prepare to take dominion in their home and in their community.