Our Curriculum

Through a content-rich and challenging curriculum, an Academy student learns to think deeply, communicate eloquently, and live nobly.

Learning at the Academy is designed to be interconnected, too. Students are encouraged to make meaningful connections between their classes, and to see how all study points to valuable truths about God and man.

  • 1st:

    2nd:

    3rd:

    4th:

    5th-8th:

    • Biblical Survey (Yearly Rotation), arranged by Dr. Paulson, PhD.

  • In all grades Academy students develop the essential skills to read well. The content of their reading consists of classic works - those books that have stood the test of time - and the results are widely read students who share a profound, abiding love for good reading.

    Here is an abbreviated list that represents examples of some of those classics we read at WCA:

    K-2

    • A Treasury of Children’s Literature by Armand Eisen

    • A Zooful of Animals by William Cole

    • Amelia Bedelia by Penny Parish

    • Barney’s Horse by Syd Hoff

    • Beauty and The Beast by Jan Brett

    • The Beginner’s Bible by Karyn Henley

    • Biographies (Washington, Lincoln, Franklin, etc) by Ingri d’Aulaire

    • Billy and Blaze by Clarence Anderson

    • Corduroy by Don Freeman

    • Fables by Arthur Lobel

    • Frog and Toad Series by Arthur Lobel

    • Harry The Dirty Dog by Gene Zion

    • Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans

    • Mouse Soup by Arthur Lobel

    • Norman The Doorman by Don Freeman

    • Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs by Nancy Levinson

    • The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

    • The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Others by Beatrix Potter

    3-4

    • The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter

    • Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

    • The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

    • Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Florence & Richard Atwater

    • Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

    • The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

    • A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

    • Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter

    • The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois

    • On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

    • The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

    • The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

    • Stuart Little by E.B. White

    • The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynn Reid

    • A Light in the Forest by Melissa Payne

    • Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

    • The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

    • The Penderwicks Books by Jeanne Birdsall

    • The “Shoe” Books by Noel Streatfeild

    • The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

    • Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest by Ann McGovern

    • Leonardo da Vinci by Norman V. Marshall

    • Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

    • The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars

    • Toliver’s Secret by Esther Brady

    • A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

    • The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

    5-6

    • Alexander the Great by Peter Green

    • The Bandit of Ashley Downs by Dave Jackson

    • Bolivar by John Guyatt

    • The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz

    • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

    • Paddle to the Sea by Clancy Holling

    • Teresa of Calcutta: Serving the Poorest of the Poor by Jeanene D. Watson

    • The Wright Brothers by Quentin Reynolds

    • The Adventure of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

    • Aesop’s Fables by Aesop

    • The Amazing Life of Benjamin Franklin by James Cross Giblin

    • Arabian Nights by Andrew Lang

    • Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

    • Children of the Wild West by Russell Freedman

    • The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit

    • Frozen Summer by Mary Jane Auch

    • The Light Princess by George MacDonald

    • Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

    • The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery

    • Old Yeller by Fred Gipson

    • The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame

    • Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

    • Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Doyle

    • Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry

    • Favorite Poems Old and New by Helen Ferris

    • Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm

    • Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

    • The Master Puppeteer by Katherine Paterson

    • The Oxford Book of Children’s Verse by Peter and Iona Opie

    • Peter Pan (unabridged) by James Matthew Barrie

    • The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

    • The Red Pony by John Steinbeck

    • The Wishing Tree by William Faulkner

    7-8

    • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

    • Hatchet by Gary Paulson

    • Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth

    • The Dark Tower and Other Stories by C.S. Lewis

    • Father Brown Mystery Stories by G.K. Chesterton

    • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

    • Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

    • The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

    • Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

    • Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

    • Gullivar’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

    • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

    • Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

    • Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

    • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

    • Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving

    • The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

    • Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

    • The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

    • Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

    • You Come Too, Favorite Poems for Young Readers by Robert Frost

    • The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

    • Watership Down by Richard Adams

    • The Wise Woman and Other Fantasy Stories by George MacDonald

  • 1st:

    2nd

    3rd

    4th

    5th

  • At the Academy history lessons go hand-in-hand with period literature, thereby giving important context to the great literary works students read.

    Catechisms form an important part of the history curriculum. At the start of class students recite from memory the key facts from their time period, and so in chronological order, thereby painting a clear and traceable story within their historical studies.

    Here is the course of study, by grade:

    1st: Ancient History

    2nd: Medieval History

    3rd: Early Modern Times

    4th: The Modern Age

    5th: Ancient History

    6th: Medieval History

    7th: Early Modern Times

    8th: The Modern Age

  • Our Math Curriculum at Whitefish Christian Academy strives to get at the why behind mathematics. Students strive for mastery, and do so with an internationally renowned program, Singapore Math.

    1st: Primary Mathematics 1

    2nd: Primary Mathematics 2

    3rd: Primary Mathematics 3

    4th: Primary Mathematics 4

    5th: Primary Mathematics 5

    6th:Primary Mathematics 6

    7th: Dimensions Math 7

    8th: Dimensions Math 8

  • Our science program echoes John Murray's statement that "the visible creation as God's handiwork makes manifest the invisible perfections of God as its Creator." And it agrees with St. Augustine, too, who once said "Let every good and true Christian understand that wherever truth may be found, it belongs to his Master..."

    In the early years students take part in Nature Study, which involves in-person observation, Socratic questioning and careful record-keeping, all to build a solid foundation of explorative experience, factual information and wonder.

    In the later years students analyze the how and why in God's creation, and do so through rigorous studies in the major branches of science: Life Science, Physical Science and Earth Science.

    1-4: Nature Study

    5th: Introduction to Life, Physical and Earth Sciences

    6th: Life Science

    7th: Physical Science

    8th: Earth Science

  • Academy students begin with French language, and in so doing build the necessary oral and auditory foundations for future study in modern language.

    Then beginning in 5th grade students start formal study in Latin. In studying Latin, students read the words first-hand of the major historic thinkers who shaped western civilization as we know it.

    1-4: French

    5-8: Latin (Cambridge)

  • Logic forms an integral part of an Academy education. In Logic students learn to think critically and precisely about metaphysical and ethical matters. They do so by studying the rules of both informal and formal reasoning, and by engaging the thought of some of the greatest philosophers of antiquity.

    6th: Introduction to Logic

    7th: Logic 1

    8th: Logic 2

  • At the Academy students cultivate both a love and ability in The Fine Arts. Their studies and practice are weekly, divided into two classes: Art and Music.

    Art: At Whitefish Christian Academy students learn art history and engage in a cumulative curriculum that builds the essential (and later, advanced) skills needed in a variety of art mediums. On two occasions - at Christmas and in Spring - Art Fairs are held in conjunction with an Academy music concert.

    Music: Students learn music history at WCA and cultivate a love for a variety of music. Choral music is the chief focus in terms of practice, and that practice culminates in Christmas and Spring Concerts.

  • The Academy is committed to an education of the whole person - mind, body and soul.

    Physical education classes in P.E. take place two to three times per week. All grades, K-8, participate.

    Classes generally have two components: A workout component and a games component.

    Workouts are largely comprised of body-weight and cardio exercises; they're challenging, yet enjoyable. And games are varied; those of course are always a day's highlight.

  • Whitefish Christian Academy highly values its place in beautiful Whitefish, Montana, and therefore incorporates the outdoors into its course of study.

    At WCA Outdoor Education takes on the following forms:

    • Preparatory study: Students are led by Mrs. Fisher, an experienced outdoorswoman, as they learn valuable skills like those of tying various knots, starting a fire, using a compass, building a camp, and more.

    • Experiential study: Students take those skills and apply them in Montana's wild places.

  • Whitefish Christian Academy partners with Lost Creek Ranch to field a horsemanship program specifically tailored for Academy students in grades 6-8. The program takes place in the fall and spring.

    The program is entitled a horsemanship program because it entails more than riding; students learn about horses and how to care for them, too. In that way, it is a holistic program that seeks to reflect the Academy’s approach to education, which is the instruction of the whole child in mind, body and soul.