Lower School
Gloria Domini Classical Community

Our Lower School program serves children in the grammar stage of classical education, which roughly translates to the ages of four through twelve, though we believe that parents are the best judge of their child's program readiness. During this foundational phase, students focus on rich memorization and repetition, forming the essential building blocks—or “pegs”—of knowledge. These pegs will support deeper understanding and critical thinking as students progress into the dialectic and rhetoric stages, where they learn to discern truth, goodness, and beauty.

Our Lower School day is composed of both a morning (Grammatica) and afternoon (Fundamentum) program. Additionally, both our upper and lower school programs join together first thing in the morning for our large group assembly (Symposium).

Grammatica — Morning Program
Ages 4-12

Grammatica, our morning program, is composed of five integrated components:

Each week for 28 weeks, students engage with nine different content strands—such as Math, History, Latin, Science, English, Timeline, Geography, Bible, and Hymns—through an interactive and engaging class environment. Families are encouraged to supplement this learning at home with focused instruction in phonics, reading, writing, and mathematics.

Students engage in hands-on science through experiments and exploration that align with the science memory work for their specific new grammar cycle, using cycle-specific eBooks. The science tutor will highlight integration across subjects—connecting discoveries to famous inventors and scientists, historical events, and Latin vocabulary—while reinforcing a clear understanding of scientific concepts from a biblical worldview.

Students will explore the works of great artists and composers, applying their learning through hands-on art projects and music theory. Tutors will weave fine arts into the new grammar strands students are studying, fostering a rich understanding of history, the timeline, and the reciprocal influence between the arts and their time period.

Students in PreK through 1st grade will participate in a weekly show-and-tell style presentation, choosing any topic they wish to share. The focus at this stage is on building confidence, practicing question-asking with peers, and engaging with the class.

Students in 2nd through 6th grade will receive weekly recommended presentation topics, which may include personal experiences, poetry, scripture, quotes, or book passages tied to the current cycle. Tutors will guide students in developing foundational presentation skills such as eye contact, posture, voice projection, and clarity.

Tutors will guide students in reviewing previous weeks' memory work through engaging, interactive activities designed to promote long-term retention and excellence.

The morning program celebrates students' achievements through its capstone celebrations of the Golden Leaf Award for those students showing 100% master of the new grammar material and a year-end celebration showcase.

Fundamentum — Afternoon Program
Ages 9-12

Our Fundamentum program serves children in roughly 4th through 6th grade as they pursue excellence in grammar study and writing skills. We do not offer an afternoon program for PreK–3rd Grade; however, our curriculum has valuable resources for younger years that we recommend for parents to incorporate into their children’s schooling at younger years as they progress toward grammar mastery and writing excellence.

Fundamentum consists of three primary elements and a capstone Faces of History project:

In this program, your student will explore the fundamentals of English language structure, including an in-depth study of parts of speech and their components, sentence patterns, sentence structures, and sentence purposes. The program utilizes a comprehensive parent guide to support learning throughout all years, along with cycle-specific student workbooks for each year. Incorporating the Claritas English memory work, students will develop mastery of the language. Additionally, students will learn the art of editing their work through the Fix-It Grammar workbook. This foundational program also serves as an important introduction to Latin study in the Upper School, with the teacher highlighting connections between English grammar and Latin memory work.

In this program, your student will develop writing structure and style through IEW’s Teaching Writing Structure & Style (TWSS) program, integrated with their History-Based Writing cycles. Parents will have access to TWSS lessons to effectively support and guide their students throughout the study.

Tutors will guide students through a variety of math games designed to strengthen quick recall of math facts and encourage their application in games and logical reasoning activities.

Students will take part in Faces of History, a project where they research a historical figure connected to the current history or science cycle using three sources, write a research paper, and present their findings as they are dressed in character.

For the full scope and sequence, including both required and recommended resources, please go to our Scope & Sequence page.