Class Offerings

NEW in 2022-2023! Meeting over the lunch period on one or two Tuesdays a month, students will learn skills and strategies of the game of chess by studying under an experienced teacher and playing together.

In Children’s Choir, students age 7 to 12 sing and perform hymns, folk songs, and other classic choral works. Students learn the basics of vocal technique, sight-reading, and music theory, along with musical games. The program focuses on music appreciation, enjoyment, and the glorification of God through music. Choir class meets weekly, and choir students will participate in special performances once or twice a year.

For information on our Youth Choir (ages 12-18), see here.

NEW in 2022–23! Forest School is for Form 1 families who desire an afternoon option for their students to have (mostly) unstructured outdoor play time. Charlotte Mason was a strong advocate of encouraging extensive hours of child-directed free play and exploration, especially in the early years. In Forest School, outside exploration is child-led, resulting in an emerging rather than a prescribed curriculum. Children are allowed to take risks and are guided by their teachers in how to take those risks appropriately. The agenda and lesson for each day will vary based on the natural phenomena available and the students’ interests. Informal lessons may take place on an individual level as well as in periodic group lessons. As much as possible, the teacher will aim to weave in informal, age- appropriate lessons throughout the day in subjects as varied as geography, botany, biology, physical education, music, and the scientific method.

New in 2022-2023! In response to parents’ request, Bluebonnet is pleased to offer full courses in mathematics for Form 1 students at the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade levels, completing our full 1st grade through Calculus math program. At Bluebonnet Home Scholars Collaborative, the study of math is rooted in wonder. Students are invited to delve deeply into the beauty of math and to undertake mathematical study as an act of worship in which they can catch a glimpse into the mind of God.

From the publisher’s website: 

Dimensions Math® PK–5 is our flagship Singapore Math® curriculum. With its rigorous content and engaging visuals, it’s easy to see why it’s our most popular program.

Written by a team of Singapore math educators and experts with more than 100 years of combined classroom experience, Dimensions Math PK- provides a deep elementary math foundation. This is a refined, comprehensive series that meets the needs of today’s students and educators.

Pre-requisite testing required for placement.

In this interactive, multi-sensory, hands-on class, Form I Students delve into phonics and cursive penmanship, discover and apply spelling rules with grade-level spelling words, learn parts of speech, practice oral reading, and hear and recite classic works of poetry. With our commitment to incorporate the best of both classical tradition and contemporary research, this course uses researched-based best practices for helping students of all abilities and grade levels. Instruction will be individuated for students at various levels within Form 1. As space allows, parents of younger students are encouraged to sit in as often as possible to enjoy learning and engaging in the activities together with their students.

This class keeps it kinetic as students use large motor skills to draw cursive letters and multi-letter phonograms in salt boxes and to water-paint them on sidewalk before moving on to fine motor skills with pen and paper. Students will play games and relays, compose original sentences, and listen to beautiful literature read aloud.

Learning outcomes include growth in the foundational operations of language—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—as students learn to read so they can read to learn.

“Historically cursive was taught first to our nation’s children. Today, reading and dyslexia experts are rediscovering that teaching cursive first–before print or manuscript–improves long-term penmanship skills, helps children learn to read, virtually eliminates reversals, and enables children to read what is written by others. Cursive First introduces children to writing numerals, the cursive alphabet, and the most common phonograms of the English language.”

Cursive First will be used in conjunction with the coordinating instruction in Spell to Write and Read by Wanda Sanseri. Both curricula can be used with the beginning reader and writer or with older students transitioning from print to cursive.

BHSC will offer parents free ELA training at the beginning of each quarter. The first training will be offered during Student Orientation on August 23, and subsequent trainings will be offered during the 9:25-10:40 am class period on Fridays October 14, January 13, and March 3.

By popular demand, Bluebonnet is pleased to announce we are opening a THIRD section of Kaleidoscope in 2022-2023 in order to allow more students to participate in this 2.5-hour block class, in which our youngest learners enjoy a kaleidoscope of delights for the mind, ear, eye, heart, and hand:

Folksong, Hymn, and Solfa—Students learn folksongs and hymns to sing together. We focus on one hymn and one folksong for 4 weeks and we listen to a variety of folksongs on rotation. The folksongs generally follow the AmblesideOnline Curiculum rotation.

Recitation—Students recite Scripture together. We focus on one Bible passage for 8 weeks, and this passage is also recited together in the Lunch Assembly. Each week students are invited to prepare a short poem, Bible verse, or passage of interest to recite for the class.

Nature Study—Students take nature walks outside and also observe and study objects from nature brought to class by the teacher. Students are encouraged to bring specimens from nature for study also. We study the specimens through discussion, nature journaling, and interaction with the object.

Artist & Composer Study—Students study classical music and works of art through observation (attentive looking and listening) and discussion. They also practice copying master paintings both by sight and from memory as they are able. We generally follow the AmblesideOnline curiculum rotation for Artist & Composer Study.

Handicrafts—Students learn a variety of handicrafts and the proper techniques that apply to each. We spend 4 weeks on each handicraft, but students are encouraged to take supplies home to continue working on a handicraft at home. Some handicrafts we have done in the past have included: origami, kirigami, sewing, embroidery, rock painting, weaving, loom knitting.

Math Games—Students play a variety of math games to reinforce math concepts that they are learning at home. We use the RightStart Math Games curriculum.

In this multi-sensory and interdisciplinary block class, students will learn Latin through song and play, hear and narrate living history stories, study art and artists related to the history they are studying, and make their own original works of art in response.

Bluebonnet Scholars offers history on a rotating three-year cycle with studies synchronized across Forms 1 through 4 (grades K through 12th) so that all students are studying the same time period together. History spine texts for Form 1 (grades 1 to 3) are as follows:

• Cycle Year 1: Ancient History (2020-2021) (creation to c. 476 AD)—The Story of the World, 1
• Cycle Year 2: Medieval History (2021-2022) (c. 476 AD to 1368)—The Story of the World, 2
• Cycle Year 3: Early Modern History (2022-2023) (c. 1368 to 1850)—The Story of the World, 3

In addition to the narrative history text in The Story of the World series, the Form 1 students will also study artists chronologically through the Artistic Pursuits Early Elementary series and make creative works of their own in response. For the Latin portion of this block class, students will use Song School Latin from Classical Academic Press. We will provide vocabulary from book 1 with new students, new and returning students will use Song School Latin book 2.

NEW in 2022-2023!

Creating paper beam balances, exploring mass and weight, and diving into buoyancy and pressure are a few of the activities that await second through third-grade students in this fun, hands-on class.

Science Form Ib at Bluebonnet Home Scholars Collaborative uses TOPS Science along with living books. The curriculum harmonizes with our gentle, Charlotte Mason approach while still offering substantive coverage of the subject at an age-appropriate level. Students will use scientific practices in collaborative groups to implement simple experimental investigations as well communicate valid conclusions in both written and verbal forms. Concepts covered include pressure and buoyancy, constructing balances, and exploring weight and mass.

Using interactive and conversation-driven learning, this course will lay the foundation for learning to speak Spanish fluently. Students will enjoy a multi-sensory approach to learning as they sing, make art, converse, and maybe even try making authentic Mexican food. In order to gain mastery and grow toward fluency, students will be expected to complete some work outside of class each week such as playing Spanish games, listening to Spanish songs and passages, and completing some light coursework. 

Note: This class is for students in grades 2 and 3. The Kindergarten/1st-grade Spanish class information can be found here.

Using interactive and conversation-driven learning, this course will lay the foundation for learning to speak Spanish fluently. Students will enjoy a multi-sensory approach to learning as they sing, make art, converse, and maybe even try making authentic Mexican food. In order to gain mastery and grow toward fluency, students will be expected to complete some work outside of class each week such as playing Spanish games, listening to Spanish songs and passages, and completing some light coursework. 

Note: This class is for students in Kindergarten/1st-grade. Information for the Spanish class for grades 2 and 3 can be found here.

Students will explore a variety of art media and techniques and deepen their understanding of the elements of design as they respond to historical master artists with their own original work. Each week, students will learn a new visual art technique and create original imaginative work with a variety of mediums such as acrylic, and tempera paints, ink, pastel, crayon, metal, and clay. They will come to understand the elements of design through practice. Students will evaluate their own work based on simple rubrics, and seek to improve as they are able. Students will also have the opportunity to present and share completed artwork outside of class on their own.

NEW in 2022-2023! Meeting over the lunch period on one or two Tuesdays a month, students will learn skills and strategies of the game of chess by studying under an experienced teacher and playing together.

In Children’s Choir, students age 7 to 12 sing and perform hymns, folk songs, and other classic choral works. Students learn the basics of vocal technique, sight-reading, and music theory, along with musical games. The program focuses on music appreciation, enjoyment, and the glorification of God through music. Choir class meets weekly, and choir students will participate in special performances once or twice a year.

For information on our Youth Choir (ages 12-18), see here.

New in 2022-2023! In response to parents’ request, Bluebonnet is pleased to offer full courses in mathematics for Form 2 students at the 5th grade level. At Bluebonnet Home Scholars Collaborative, the study of math is rooted in wonder. Students are invited to delve deeply into the beauty of math and to undertake mathematical study as an act of worship in which they can catch a glimpse into the mind of God.

From the publisher’s website: 

Dimensions Math® PK–5 is our flagship Singapore Math® curriculum. With its rigorous content and engaging visuals, it’s easy to see why it’s our most popular program.

Written by a team of Singapore math educators and experts with more than 100 years of combined classroom experience, Dimensions Math PK- provides a deep elementary math foundation. This is a refined, comprehensive series that meets the needs of today’s students and educators.

Pre-requisite testing required for placement.

In this course, Form II students will learn and apply spelling rules, review parts of speech, diagram sentences, practice penmanship, practice oral reading, and read and recite classic works of poetry. With our commitment to incorporate the best of both classical tradition and contemporary research, this course uses researched-based best practices for helping students of all abilities and grade levels. Instruction will be individuated for students at various levels within Form II. Learning outcomes include growth in the foundational operations of language—listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

BHSC will offer parents free ELA training at the beginning of each quarter. The first training will be offered during Student Orientation on August 23, and subsequent trainings will be offered during the 9:25-10:40 am class period on Fridays October 14, January 13, and March 3.

Both beautiful and useful, handicrafts allow students of all ages to develop skills while improving habits of attention, orderliness, and tenacity. Mrs. Estes will help students experiment and develop skills with several different handicrafts over each semester. Previous handicrafts have included weaving corn husks and fabric, paper crafts such as quilling, hand sewing, leather and wood crafts, kite making, and more.

The instructor works with each student to personalize projects at the student’s level of ability and experience. By the end of the semester, students will have created both decorative and practical items including an item for charitable donation and/or gift-giving.

This class meets every week for Form 2, and every other week for Forms 3-4, alternating with Nature Journaling.

New in 2022-2023: Combined Modern History & Geography!

In the Modern History portion of the class, students will build beautiful keepsake Record of Time notebook binders and follow the narrative of history through The Story of the World, Volumes 3 and 4. They will read, narrate, and discuss passages from Story of the World and possibly other living history texts. In addition, students may work on developing outlining skills as they build their timeline of world history with illustrations and notes. There may be some at-home reading assignments given so that the students will be able to complete the time period under study by the end of the academic year.

Bluebonnet Scholars offers history on a rotating three-year cycle with studies synchronized across Forms 1 through 4 (grades K through 12th) so that all students are studying the same time period together. Spine texts for Form 2 (grades 4–6) History are included below:

• Cycle Year 1 (2020-2021): Ancient through Early Medieval History (creation to c. 860 AD)—The Story of the World, all of Vol. 1 & part of Vol. 2
• Cycle Year 2 (2021-2022): Medieval through Early Modern History (c. 860 AD to 1797)—The Story of the World, part of Vol. 2 & part of Vol. 3
• Cycle Year 3 (2022-2023): Modern History (c. 1797 to today)—The Story of the World, part of Vol. 3 & all of Vol. 4

In the Geography portion of the class, students will read, narrate, and discuss portions from living geography books in a rotating three-year cycle:

• Cycle Year 1 (2020-2021): Prisoners of Geography: Our World Explained in 12 Simple Maps (half) and living geography read-aloud books
• Cycle Year 2 (2021-2022): Prisoners of Geography: Our World Explained in 12 Simple Maps (half) and living geography read-aloud books
• Cycle Year 3 (2022-2023): The Road to There: Mapmakers and their Stories and living geography read-aloud books

In addition, each week students will spend some time working on maps. Students will have opportunity to research and present on one country in a year-end World Fair.

The bestselling Cambridge Latin program provides an enjoyable and carefully paced introduction to the Latin language, complemented by background information on Roman culture and civilization. The story begins in the town of Pompeii shortly before the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 and follows the fortunes of the household of Lucius Caecilius Iucundus.

Students are introduced to basic Latin vocabulary and culture as they follow the adventures of Minimus the mouse throughout the texts. In the Minimus: Starting Out in Latin text, students will meet Minimus and an actual Roman family who lived in Vindolanda in ancient Britain. We will explore Roman culture, history, mythology, and other aspects of Roman life while learning the fundamentals of Latin grammar.

Owl pellet dissections, live butterfly studies, and microscope adventures are a few of the activities that await fifth- through eighth-grade students in this fun, hands-on class.

Life Science at Bluebonnet Home Scholars Collaborative uses Exploring the World of Biology by John H. Tiner, along with the accompanying materials from Memoria Press. The curriculum harmonizes with our gentle, Charlotte Mason, nature study approach while still offering substantive coverage of the subject at an age-appropriate level. Concepts covered include classifications, bacteria and protista, fungi, plant life, energy, digestion, insects, arachnids, aquatic life, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Delightful games and healthy competition will help Form 2 students gain speed and accuracy with basic math facts. Students will learn strategies to aid them in deftly solving mental math problems, and the class will read aloud inspiring stories of real-life mathematicians.

This course does not replace the student’s main, traditional math class but rather serves to deepen and enrich the student’s understanding and appreciation of math. This class has no homework. (For information about Bluebonnet’s full course offering for 5th grade math, see here.)

Prerequisites: understanding of the four basic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) with single-digit integers.

In Bluebonnet’s tuition-free Musical Theater class, students will work toward developing foundational skills of expression, projection, acting, singing, and dancing. In the spring, as location and time permit, the class will work toward preparing and performing the musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

The purpose of this class is for the student to learn how to slow down and to attend to nature through observation, asking questions, research, and drawing.  After a short drawing lesson and nature reading, students will study a landscape or an object from nature to capture in a nature journal. On every “tolerably fine day,” students will be encouraged to take their journals outdoors to explore, observe, and record details from trees, flowers, bushes, birds, insects, rocks, or any other natural creation that intrigues them. When weather prevents outdoor time, the instructor will bring specimens into the classroom for study. While students will gain experience working with a variety of drawing mediums such as graphite, charcoal, pen, pastels, and watercolor, the focus of the time will be on sketching with graphite and brush drawing with water color. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to present and share nature journaling pages they completed outside of class on their own.

This class meets every week for Form 2, and every other week for Forms 3-4, alternating with Handicrafts.

In the Artist & Composer Study portion of this class, students encounter works by master artists and composers in this multi-sensory class. Over the course of the year, students learn about the lives of 4 artists and 4 composers and study multiple works from each. Students gain a listening repertoire of over a dozen classical scores and receive over a dozen full-color art prints, which they study in class through group discussion, written narration, and notebook drawings.

In the Plutarch & Shakespeare portion of this class, the class will read, narrate, and discuss passages from Plutarch’s Lives and Shakespeare’s plays. Over the year, students will read two plays and two lives, studying one of each per semester. Students will have opportunity to dramatically read selected passages, to reenact key scenes, and to prepare and recite optional memory work.

In 2022-23, Form 2 (upper elementary) students will read and study two of Plutarch’s lives as well as Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Henry V.

Students in Forms 3 & 4 (middle and high school) will read two of Plutarch’s lives as well as Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Richard III.

NEW in 2022-2023!

Building simple bulb-and-battery circuits with foil, building compasses, and creating pendulums are a few of the activities that await fourth through sixth-grade students in this fun, hands-on class.

Science Form II at Bluebonnet Home Scholars Collaborative uses TOPS Science along with the accompanying materials from Sonlight Curriculum, and living books. The curriculum harmonizes with our gentle, Charlotte Mason approach while still offering substantive coverage of the subject at an age-appropriate level. Students will use scientific practices in collaborative groups to implement simple experimental investigations as well communicate valid conclusions in both written and verbal forms.  Concepts covered include electricity, magnetism, and pendulums.

Using interactive and conversation-driven learning, this course will lay the foundation for learning to speak Spanish fluently. Students will engage in a variety of activities beneficial for both new and experienced students together in the same class. Through dynamic classroom interactions, students learn how the language works—how language components can be put together in different ways to understand, speak, read, and write in everyday life.

In order to gain mastery and grow toward fluency, students will be expected to complete some work outside of class each week such as listening to Spanish audio recordings, speaking practice, and completing some light coursework. 

Upper-elementary students will participate in activities aimed to inspire a love of words, sentences, and word-play. With the support of guided group discussion, brainstorming, and critique, students will learn to write with appropriate structure while enlivening their prose with stylistic flare.

Humorous characters, cunning creatures, and meritorious men of history will captivate students as they learn to write with structure and style. Moving through Units 1–7, students will take notes, summarize narrative stories, write from pictures, put together a mini research report, and compose creative essays.

Over the course of the year, students will gain a growing awareness of sentence structure and grammar that goes hand-in-hand with their growing ability to amplify and manipulate the parts of a sentence. We will focus on developing vivid vocabulary and sentence variety in a range of compositions including both fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. As a class, students have the opportunity to participate in ongoing reading and typing challenges to develop skills and habits essential to competent communicators.

In addition to weekly class sessions, students should plan to spend another one to three hours each week completing assignments at home.

Upper-elementary students will participate in activities aimed to inspire a love of words, sentences, and word-play. With the support of guided group discussion, brainstorming, and critique, students will learn to write with appropriate structure while enlivening their prose with stylistic flare.

Over the course of the year, students will gain a growing awareness of sentence structure and grammar that goes hand-in-hand with their growing ability to amplify and manipulate the parts of a sentence. We will focus on developing vivid vocabulary and sentence variety in a range of compositions including both fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. As a class, students will work on memorizing and reciting several poems over the course of the year, and they will have the opportunity to participate in ongoing reading and typing challenges to develop skills and habits essential to competent communicators.

In addition to weekly class sessions, students should plan to spend another one to three hours each week completing assignments at home.

This class will be offered if a minimum of six students is enrolled by June 26, 2021. Full tuition refunds will be made if the class is cancelled due to low enrollment.

This high school introductory physics & chemistry course combines up-to-date science with a Christian worldview and an educational approach that aims for wonder, integration, and mastery. Concepts covered include the nature of scientific knowledge, motion, Newton’s laws, variation and proportion, energy, heat and temperature, waves, sound, light, electricity and DC circuits, fields and magnetism, chemical substances, atomic models and density, atomic bonding, and chemical reactions. (Visit the publisher’s FAQ to learn more about how this publisher approaches the subject of evolution.) The Novare curriculum aims to nurture fascinated students who deeply understand and remember their science. Meeting Tuesday mornings and afternoons, this course will include both lab and lecture/discussion components.

Prerequisites: must have completed Algebra I.

Note: ASPC will not be offered in 2022-2023.

This class is designed to help students who have mastered the basic essay take their writing to the next level. Students will learn a five-step process for developing a thoughtful thesis statement that interacts with the great conversation of ideas. By attending to sources and engaging in group discussion, students will be able to find their own voice as they search for the truth through their reading and writing. In addition to reviewing sentence structure and stylistic elements, returning students will also read essays by master writers, analyzing and imitating their respective styles in a series of response essays of their own. Studying an array of the best American essays from the past century, students will gain exposure to different essay structures and themes ranging from opinion piece to social appeal, from personal essay to literary theodicy. The skill and insight of great authors serves as inspiration for students who are finding their own individual voices. By imitating the sentence structures and essay organization of great authors, students can be empowered to compose their own beautiful, powerful work as they join the larger conversation. This advanced essay course makes a direct bridge for the student between imitating great writing and composing beautiful writing in their own words. Students will also gain practice with the revision and critique process. We will also make time for some creative writing projects as well.

In addition to weekly class sessions, students should plan to spend another one to three hours each week completing assignments at home.

Roma Aeterna (the main book of Pars II of the Lingua Latina per se illustrata series) introduces some of the most celebrated authors of Roman antiquity through the lens of Roman literature and mythology. A vivid description of the city’s monuments precedes a prose retelling of the first four books of Virgil’s Aeneid, with many of the most famous passages in their original verse form. Roma Aeterna stands out as both the next step after Familia Romana and a survey of Latin literature in its own right.

Students will also read texts from sacred Scripture and other primary sources as part of their deep exploration of classical texts in their original language. Enjoying and analyzing these texts helps students to develop their own writing skills, not only in the breadth of their vocabulary but also in their appreciation of stylistic and rhetorical techniques.

This course is intended to follow Latin 2; at least two years of high school Latin are a prerequisite.

This course is taught at the equivalent of a traditional honors-level class. Students enrolled in this course have the opportunity to register for our tuition-free Latin Lab course, which will provide intensive review of grammar and vocabulary through games and other engaging activities. Latin lab will especially emphasize English vocabulary derived from Greek and Latin roots.

In this course students study algebra through imaginative applications and clear problems derived from the real world. Technology tools are used to assist with time-comsuming calculations and to integrate graphing and problem-solving skills. Students will study expressions and equations, operations with negative numbers, distributing: axioms and other properties, harder equations, some operations with polynomials and radicals, quadratic equations, expressions and equations containing two variables, linear functions/scattered data/probability, properties and exponents, more operations with polynomials, rational algebraic expressions, radical algebraic expressions, inequalities, functions, and advanced topics. To add to the wonder and creative problem-solving side of math, Mrs. Panam will supplement the traditional textbook approach with additional challenge problems drawn from sources such as SAT practice exams and The Art of Problem Solving curriculum.

NEW in 2022-2023! Meeting over the lunch period on one or two Tuesdays a month, students will learn skills and strategies of the game of chess by studying under an experienced teacher and playing together.

This Earth Science course is designed to draw middle-school students into close engagement with the subject matter and provide a solid education while fostering a sense of wonder and responsibility for God’s amazing world. This course explores processes and concepts from the atmosphere of the Earth to the core, including topics such as rocks and minerals, weather, landforms and plate tectonics, and the current scientific understanding of Earth history. Many other timely and important topics are covered, including conservation of natural resources, climate change, pollution, and environmental justice. Students will participate in lab- and (optional) field-based learning experiences to fully appreciate the complex and fascinating world God has made.

Author Kevin Nelstead regularly draws the reader to appreciate the intricacy and excellence of God’s works, tying in scripture without becoming heavy-handed.

This class is offered on a rotating basis rather than every year. It will be offered in the 2022–23 school year.

In this class with Mrs. Hartenburg that incorporates both report-style and descriptive writing, students will learn the structure and style of various essay formats and will produce original essays including integrated quotations, MLA in-text citations, and a properly formatted “Works Cited” page. An intensive overview of style elements will assist students in developing vivid vocabulary and sophisticated sentence variety. Throughout the course, students will gain an awareness of sentence structure and grammar that goes hand-in-hand with their growing ability to amplify and manipulate the parts of a sentence. Students will also write short fiction and poems of various forms.

In addition to weekly class sessions, students should plan to spend another one to three hours each week completing assignments at home.

Both beautiful and useful, handicrafts allow students of all ages to develop skills while improving habits of attention, orderliness, and tenacity. Mrs. Estes will help students experiment and develop skills with several different handicrafts over each semester. Previous handicrafts have included weaving corn husks and fabric, paper crafts such as quilling, hand sewing, leather and wood crafts, kite making, and more.

The instructor works with each student to personalize projects at the student’s level of ability and experience. By the end of the semester, students will have created both decorative and practical items including an item for charitable donation and/or gift-giving.

This class meets every week for Form 2, and every other week for Forms 3-4, alternating with Nature Journaling.

New in 2022-2023: Combined Modern History & Geography!

Modern History studies will involve both reading a text written in an engaging, narrative style, and also building a keepsake timeline book with illustrated timeline figures which students can color and personalize. There will be occasional short research/writing assignments, and students who want to round out their history study for a full year of high school credit can tackle further suggested research and writing assignments.

Bluebonnet Scholars offers history on a rotating three-year cycle with studies synchronized across Forms 1 through 4 (grades K through 12th) so that all students are studying the same time period together:

• Cycle Year 1: Ancient through Early Medieval History
• Cycle Year 2: Medieval through Early Modern History
• Cycle Year 3: Modern History (with emphasis on U.S. History)

In the Geography portion of the class, students will read, narrate, and discuss portions from living geography books in a rotating three-year cycle:

• Cycle Year 1 (2020-2021): Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About The World (half) and living geography read-aloud books
• Cycle Year 2 (2021-2022): Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About The World (half) and living geography read-aloud books
• Cycle Year 3 (2022-2023): The Road to There: Mapmakers and Their Stories

In addition, each week students will spend some time working on maps. Students may have an opportunity to research and present on one country in a year-end World Fair.

In this tuition-free class led by Dr. Gary Hartenburg, students will develop critical thinking, listening, and discussion skills as they grapple with foundational questions of faith and existence. Students will read and discuss a variety of classic literature along with selected works of the writers known as the Inklings, especially C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, as well as similar-minded contemporaries such as Dorothy Sayers and G. K. Chesterton. Students will be expected to complete reading assignments in preparation for class, and there may be optional writing assignments.

For 2022–23, the focus will be on the Inklings and the Modern Age with a spring semester emphasis on American government and literature.

NEW in 2022-2023! In this precursor class to our original upper-level Inkings & Classics Socratic discussion course, students will develop critical thinking, listening, and discussion skills as they grapple with foundational questions of God, humanity, faith, and imagination. Students will read and discuss a variety of classic literature along with selected works of the writers known as the Inklings, especially C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, as well as similar-minded contemporaries such as Dorothy Sayers and G. K. Chesterton. This course is designed to be taken prior to or instead of our upper-level Inklings & Socratic Discussion course, not concurrently.

Students will be expected to complete reading assignments in preparation for class as well as some writing assignments.

Both new and experienced Latin scholars will be challenged in this class where students will read and study a novel written entirely in Latin. Students will enjoy reading about the antics and adventures of a Roman family in the 2nd century A.D. while they learn an impressive amount of vocabulary and grammar through a natural language-learning approach.

Students will also read texts from sacred Scripture and learn about culture, history, technology, and other facets of Roman life. We will complete the first half of Hans Orberg’s Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata: Familia Romana book. This course uses the same texts as Latin 2.

This course is taught at the equivalent of a traditional honors-level class. Students enrolled in this course have the opportunity to register for our tuition-free Latin Lab course, which will provide intensive review of grammar and vocabulary through games and other engaging activities. Latin lab will especially emphasize English vocabulary derived from Greek and Latin roots.

Students in this class will continue to read and study a novel written entirely in Latin. Students will enjoy reading about the antics and adventures of a Roman family in the 2nd century A.D. while they learn an impressive amount of vocabulary and grammar through a natural language-learning approach.

Students will also read texts from sacred Scripture and learn about culture, history, technology, and other facets of Roman life. We will complete the second half of Hans Orberg’s Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata: Familia Romana book, which includes primary sources in later chapters that allow students to read and study the writings of ancient authors in their original language. This course uses the same texts as Latin 1.

This course is intended to follow Latin 1; at least one year of high-school level Latin is a prerequisite.

This course is taught at the equivalent of a traditional honors-level class. Students enrolled in this course have the opportunity to register for our tuition-free Latin Lab course, which will provide intensive review of grammar and vocabulary through games and other engaging activities. Latin lab will especially emphasize English vocabulary derived from Greek and Latin roots.

Students enrolled in Latin 1, Latin 2, or Advanced Latin may register for our tuition-free Latin Lab course, which will provide intensive review of grammar and vocabulary through games and other engaging activities. Latin Lab will especially emphasize English vocabulary derived from Greek and Latin roots. This course will provide a convivial atmosphere in which students hone their translation skills and broaden their understanding of the English language through a deep engagement with its ties to Latin.

Students may enroll concurrently in Latin Lab and Musical Theater, as they can leave Musical Theater early and will have flexibility with time commitments.

Owl pellet dissections, live butterfly studies, and microscope adventures are a few of the activities that await fifth- through eighth-grade students in this fun, hands-on class.

Life Science at Bluebonnet Home Scholars Collaborative uses Exploring the World of Biology by John H. Tiner, along with the accompanying materials from Memoria Press. The curriculum harmonizes with our gentle, Charlotte Mason, nature study approach while still offering substantive coverage of the subject at an age-appropriate level. Concepts covered include classifications, bacteria and protista, fungi, plant life, energy, digestion, insects, arachnids, aquatic life, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

In this literature and composition course, middle school and highschool students will explore elements of literature and develop beginning skills in literary analysis. With step-by-step instructions, Windows to the World teaches students how to analyze elements of literature: setting, plot, characterization, imagery, allusions, parallelism, and much more.

Note: Literature & Composition will not be offered in 2022-2023.

Bluebonnet’s tuition-free logic classes taught by Dr. Gary Hartenburg help equip students to reason well so that they can be critical thinkers and successful scholars across a wide range of disciplines and fields of study and throughout all areas of their lives. As a handmaid to Wisdom and Theology, Logic can assist students with discerning truth, avoiding falsehood, and communicating winsomely, like St. Paul, as ambassadors for the Gospel.

Since logical reasoning skills and habits require time and practice to hone, BHSC offers a multi-year logic sequence. For the 2022–23 academic year, students will begin a two-year logic rotation with Cycle 1:

In Bluebonnet’s tuition-free Musical Theater class, students will work toward developing foundational skills of expression, projection, acting, singing, and dancing. In the spring, as location and time permit, the class will work toward preparing and performing the musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

The purpose of this class is for the student to learn how to slow down and to attend to nature through observation, asking questions, research, and drawing.  After a short drawing lesson and nature reading, students will study a landscape or an object from nature to capture in a nature journal. On every “tolerably fine day,” students will be encouraged to take their journals outdoors to explore, observe, and record details from trees, flowers, bushes, birds, insects, rocks, or any other natural creation that intrigues them. When weather prevents outdoor time, the instructor will bring specimens into the classroom for study. While students will gain experience working with a variety of drawing mediums such as graphite, charcoal, pen, pastels, and watercolor, the focus of the time will be on sketching with graphite and brush drawing with water color. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to present and share nature journaling pages they completed outside of class on their own.

This class meets every week for Form 2, and every other week for Forms 3-4, alternating with Handicrafts.

From the publisher’s website:

Combining mastery-learning and a unique textbook philosophy, this physical science course helps students break the Cram-Pass-Forget cycle so that they truly learn and retain course material. Topics covered include types of matter, energy, order and design in creation, forces and fields, measurement, motion, sound and light, electricity and magnetism, and the nature of scientific knowledge.

This physical science text is designed for grades 6-8. Novare Physical Science is beautiful and durable, and organized around the principles guiding all Novare Science & Math texts: Mastery, Integration, and Kingdom perspective.

Good science instruction should draw students upward into the adult world of scientific inquiry. We start with a proven mastery-learning paradigm: through a carefully crafted program, students continually learn and build on their learning, reencountering key concepts and practicing scientific skills so that they become settled in the student’s mind.

Mastery learning requires ongoing review even as new material is presented. It also takes culling the material down to a manageable amount that an average student can actually master in the course of a year. This means that Novare texts are serendipitously smaller than the usual 8-10 pound tomes. Better, more enduring learning takes place when the student goes deeper with a moderate amount of material rather than trying to cover too many topics too rapidly or shallowly.

Each chapter begins with a list of quantifiable learning objectives and important vocabulary. Chapters also include periodic Learning Checks which provide a moment to stop and review. There are 12 “Experimental Investigations” included with the book, not in a separate manual, with instructions and materials listed.

As integration is the inclusion of material across subjects relevant to the topic in the text—the history behind the science, grade-level mathematics, written and verbal English language skills and measurement skills—Novare Physical Science even includes some discussion of epistemology (what kind of knowledge does science give us and how is that different from biblical revelation).

References from the humanities are used where appropriate to add greater dimension, to humanize and decompartmentalize science, references to art, music, architecture, technology, and literature.

Finally, this book is written with a Kingdom Perspective. This text devotes chapters 4 and 7 to discussion about the meaning of the presence of order in the universe, and how this points to a Creator behind it. Furthermore, it discusses the nature of truth, theories, facts, hypotheses, and the nature of scientific knowledge. A Christian worldview and love for Christ comes through in the narration as he leads the reader to wonder and care for God’s great world. This makes for a more elegant and vibrant Christian encounter with science than sprinkling Bible verses and devotional insets around.

In the Artist & Composer Study portion of this class, students encounter works by master artists and composers in this multi-sensory class. Over the course of the year, students learn about the lives of 4 artists and 4 composers and study multiple works from each. Students gain a listening repertoire of over a dozen classical scores and receive over a dozen full-color art prints, which they study in class through group discussion, written narration, and notebook drawings.

In the Plutarch & Shakespeare portion of this class, the class will read, narrate, and discuss passages from Plutarch’s Lives and Shakespeare’s plays. Over the year, students will read two plays and two lives, studying one of each per semester. Students will have opportunity to dramatically read selected passages, to reenact key scenes, and to prepare and recite optional memory work.

In 2022-23, Form 2 (upper elementary) students will read and study two of Plutarch’s lives as well as Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Henry V.

Students in Forms 3 & 4 (middle and high school) will read two of Plutarch’s lives as well as Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Richard III.

At Bluebonnet Home Scholars Collaborative, the study of math is rooted in wonder. Students are invited to delve deeply into the beauty of math and to undertake mathematical study as an act of worship in which they can catch a glimpse into the mind of God.

Bluebonnet’s Pre-algebra course offers the student a transition from an arithmetic approach into an algebraic concept of real-world problem solving. Students will review basic math concepts and skills, and be introduced to the order of operations, operations and equations with negative numbers, relating word problems into algebraic form, basic geometric concepts with 2D figures and 3D solids, basic inequalities, simple linear equations and proportions, and probability. Many topics covered offer a chance for students to make connections to their daily lives through algebraic expressions, and to explore how the beauty of math enables man to simplify the complexity of the world.

Using interactive and conversation-driven learning, this course will lay the foundation for learning to speak Spanish fluently. Students will engage in a variety of activities beneficial for both new and experienced students together in the same class. Through dynamic classroom interactions, students learn how the language works—how language components can be put together in different ways to understand, speak, read, and write in everyday life.

In order to gain mastery and grow toward fluency, students will be expected to complete some work outside of class each week such as listening to Spanish audio recordings, speaking practice, and completing some light coursework. 

Using interactive and conversation-driven learning, this course will lay the foundation for learning to speak Spanish fluently. Students will finish working through Breaking the Spanish Barrier, a curriculum that engages students through a variety of activities and techniques. They will also accelerate their conversational skills and mastery using Look, I Can Talk.

In order to gain mastery and grow toward fluency, students will be expected to complete work outside of class each week.

Exploring different mediums, students will learn various advanced techniques while focusing on design, color theory, and composition. Techniques presented in this course include various drawing and painting processes. Depending on time and interest, more techniques may be covered in this course. Students will present their work to the class and describe their inspiration behind their work. The main objectives of this course are to help students develop their eye for beauty and understanding of the principles of visual communication while engaging in a variety mediums, and to further develop the skills they may already have with familiar mediums.

In the Youth Choir, students ages 13 to 18 will sing and perform a variety of classic choral pieces as they develop greater musicality and part-singing skills. Studies will include vocal technique, sight-reading, and music theory. Students will be expected to practice repertoire at home and may also receive homework periodically to aid their choral studies. We will perform at certain events throughout the year and you will be given prior notification. More practices may be added as needed before a performance, but parents will be told in advance about these added practices. The program will focus on music appreciation, fun, and the glorification of God through music.

For information on our Children’s Choir (ages 7 to 12), see here.

This high school introductory physics & chemistry course combines up-to-date science with a Christian worldview and an educational approach that aims for wonder, integration, and mastery. Concepts covered include the nature of scientific knowledge, motion, Newton’s laws, variation and proportion, energy, heat and temperature, waves, sound, light, electricity and DC circuits, fields and magnetism, chemical substances, atomic models and density, atomic bonding, and chemical reactions. (Visit the publisher’s FAQ to learn more about how this publisher approaches the subject of evolution.) The Novare curriculum aims to nurture fascinated students who deeply understand and remember their science. Meeting Tuesday mornings and afternoons, this course will include both lab and lecture/discussion components.

Prerequisites: must have completed Algebra I.

Note: ASPC will not be offered in 2022-2023.

This advanced high school chemistry course combines up-to-date science with a Christian worldview and an educational approach that aims for wonder, integration, and mastery. Meeting Tuesday mornings and Thursday afternoons, this course will include both lab and lecture/discussion components.

From the textbook publisher’s website:

“Chemistry for Accelerated Students is an ideal text for students who love science and aspire to a STEM-oriented college program. This book contains up-to-date chemistry information, beautiful illustrations, and lucid narrative. It also supports Novare’s trademark mastery-learning paradigm.

This accelerated text is a more intense treatment than our General Chemistry text. This text includes additional chapters on thermochemistry, chemical equilibrium, and a glimpse into organic chemistry. Ample exercises are included in each chapter giving students plenty of opportunities to develop skills. Explanations move along a little faster and go into a little more depth than the grade-level text.

Although the mathematics involved in chemistry are generally not advanced, Chemistry for Accelerated Students is recommended for students who are concurrently enrolled in Algebra II. As with all Novare textbooks, our Textbook Philosophy guides the layout and composition of the text. Colors and images are attractive without being distracting.”

This class is designed to help students who have mastered the basic essay take their writing to the next level. Students will learn a five-step process for developing a thoughtful thesis statement that interacts with the great conversation of ideas. By attending to sources and engaging in group discussion, students will be able to find their own voice as they search for the truth through their reading and writing. In addition to reviewing sentence structure and stylistic elements, returning students will also read essays by master writers, analyzing and imitating their respective styles in a series of response essays of their own. Studying an array of the best American essays from the past century, students will gain exposure to different essay structures and themes ranging from opinion piece to social appeal, from personal essay to literary theodicy. The skill and insight of great authors serves as inspiration for students who are finding their own individual voices. By imitating the sentence structures and essay organization of great authors, students can be empowered to compose their own beautiful, powerful work as they join the larger conversation. This advanced essay course makes a direct bridge for the student between imitating great writing and composing beautiful writing in their own words. Students will also gain practice with the revision and critique process. We will also make time for some creative writing projects as well.

In addition to weekly class sessions, students should plan to spend another one to three hours each week completing assignments at home.

Roma Aeterna (the main book of Pars II of the Lingua Latina per se illustrata series) introduces some of the most celebrated authors of Roman antiquity through the lens of Roman literature and mythology. A vivid description of the city’s monuments precedes a prose retelling of the first four books of Virgil’s Aeneid, with many of the most famous passages in their original verse form. Roma Aeterna stands out as both the next step after Familia Romana and a survey of Latin literature in its own right.

Students will also read texts from sacred Scripture and other primary sources as part of their deep exploration of classical texts in their original language. Enjoying and analyzing these texts helps students to develop their own writing skills, not only in the breadth of their vocabulary but also in their appreciation of stylistic and rhetorical techniques.

This course is intended to follow Latin 2; at least two years of high school Latin are a prerequisite.

This course is taught at the equivalent of a traditional honors-level class. Students enrolled in this course have the opportunity to register for our tuition-free Latin Lab course, which will provide intensive review of grammar and vocabulary through games and other engaging activities. Latin lab will especially emphasize English vocabulary derived from Greek and Latin roots.

In Algebra II, students will broaden their knowledge of quadratic functions, exponential functions, and systems of equations. To continue kindling wonder and creative thinking, Mrs. Panam will supplement the traditional textbook approach with additional challenge problems drawn from sources such as The Art of Problem Solving curriculum.

In this college-preparatory literature and composition course, high school students will survey American literature and develop skills in literary analysis and research as they read and write upper-level essays and critiques.

Prerequisites: Prior writing class with Mrs. Hartenburg, or by permission.

From the publisher’s website:

General Biology is a brilliant new high school biology text that combines up-to-date science with a Christian worldview and the mastery-based educational philosophy for which Novare is known.

The book starts at the atomic level and progresses to ever-larger scales: cells, genes, microorganisms, plants, animals, and human organ systems. Each chapter includes straightforward learning objectives, exercises that call for both clear articulation of thoughts and full-sentence answers, and an organization of topics that steadily builds chapter by chapter. The final chapters of the book survey ecology and the theory of evolution. Read our FAQ to learn more about how we approach the subject of evolution.

Like all Novare texts, mastery-based learning methods are an essential part of General Biology, propelling students not only to learn but also to substantially retain the content for years after completing the course. The book succinctly and logically covers a wide array of information in a modest number of pages, making it a pleasure to read. Brilliant and beautiful graphics, which appear on almost every page, draw students into mature engagement with the content.

In this college-preparatory literature and composition course, high school students will survey British literature and develop skills in literary analysis and research as they read and write upper-level essays and critiques.

Prerequisites: Prior IEW experience or writing class with Mrs. Hartenburg, or by permission.

Since 2012, lab physicist and math coach Mary (Marina) Panam has helped hundreds of students excel on the SAT math test and succeed in college-prep math courses. In 2020 she began offering rigorous, top-notch math instruction for BHSC students. Mrs. Panam teaches BHSC high school math classes: Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Precalculus, and Calculus.

Mrs. Panam earned her Bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics (specialization in Optics) from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and her Master’s in Physics (specialization in Microelectronics) through a joint program between Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. She was part of a published research team that worked on defense projects. Mary graduated with honors and was the recipient of the NSF Research Fellowship. She also worked as a physics lab instructor at Rutgers University and at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Read more about the instructor here.

NEW in 2022-2023! Meeting over the lunch period on one or two Tuesdays a month, students will learn skills and strategies of the game of chess by studying under an experienced teacher and playing together.

In Geometry, students strengthen their mathematical reasoning skills in geometric contexts. The comprehensive content and varied real-life applications covered give students a strong mathematical foundation. This series introduces students to theory and application of formal and informal reasoning, as well as to synthetic, coordinate, and transformational approaches. This comprehensive course covers Points/Lines/Planes/Angles, Deductive Reasoning, Parallel Lines and Planes, Congruent Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Inequalities in Geometry, Similar Polygons, Right Triangles, Circles, Constructions and Loci, Areas of Plane Figures, Areas and Volumes of Solids, Coordinate Geometry, and Transformations. The course emphasizes logic and offers a good amount of worked-out examples, hands-on activities, real-world applications, exercises, chapter and mixed reviews, and a technology strand that includes calculator and computer applications for geometry. To continue kindling wonder and creative thinking, Mrs. Panam will supplement the traditional textbook approach with additional challenge problems drawn from sources such as The Art of Problem Solving curriculum.

NEW in 2022-2023! In this course, upper-level high school students will continue their studies of citizenship by learning the fundamentals of American Government and Economics. Bluebonnet students who have studied Plutarch, History, and various literary and historical works in Socratic Discussion will make connections with their previous knowledge as they see how the great ideas of the past have influenced the structure and function of the three branches of the U.S. Government.

Both beautiful and useful, handicrafts allow students of all ages to develop skills while improving habits of attention, orderliness, and tenacity. Mrs. Estes will help students experiment and develop skills with several different handicrafts over each semester. Previous handicrafts have included weaving corn husks and fabric, paper crafts such as quilling, hand sewing, leather and wood crafts, kite making, and more.

The instructor works with each student to personalize projects at the student’s level of ability and experience. By the end of the semester, students will have created both decorative and practical items including an item for charitable donation and/or gift-giving.

This class meets every week for Form 2, and every other week for Forms 3-4, alternating with Nature Journaling.

New in 2022-2023: Combined Modern History & Geography!

Modern History studies will involve both reading a text written in an engaging, narrative style, and also building a keepsake timeline book with illustrated timeline figures which students can color and personalize. There will be occasional short research/writing assignments, and students who want to round out their history study for a full year of high school credit can tackle further suggested research and writing assignments.

Bluebonnet Scholars offers history on a rotating three-year cycle with studies synchronized across Forms 1 through 4 (grades K through 12th) so that all students are studying the same time period together:

• Cycle Year 1: Ancient through Early Medieval History
• Cycle Year 2: Medieval through Early Modern History
• Cycle Year 3: Modern History (with emphasis on U.S. History)

In the Geography portion of the class, students will read, narrate, and discuss portions from living geography books in a rotating three-year cycle:

• Cycle Year 1 (2020-2021): Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About The World (half) and living geography read-aloud books
• Cycle Year 2 (2021-2022): Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About The World (half) and living geography read-aloud books
• Cycle Year 3 (2022-2023): The Road to There: Mapmakers and Their Stories

In addition, each week students will spend some time working on maps. Students may have an opportunity to research and present on one country in a year-end World Fair.

In this tuition-free class led by Dr. Gary Hartenburg, students will develop critical thinking, listening, and discussion skills as they grapple with foundational questions of faith and existence. Students will read and discuss a variety of classic literature along with selected works of the writers known as the Inklings, especially C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, as well as similar-minded contemporaries such as Dorothy Sayers and G. K. Chesterton. Students will be expected to complete reading assignments in preparation for class, and there may be optional writing assignments.

For 2022–23, the focus will be on the Inklings and the Modern Age with a spring semester emphasis on American government and literature.

NEW in 2022-2023! In this precursor class to our original upper-level Inkings & Classics Socratic discussion course, students will develop critical thinking, listening, and discussion skills as they grapple with foundational questions of God, humanity, faith, and imagination. Students will read and discuss a variety of classic literature along with selected works of the writers known as the Inklings, especially C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, as well as similar-minded contemporaries such as Dorothy Sayers and G. K. Chesterton. This course is designed to be taken prior to or instead of our upper-level Inklings & Socratic Discussion course, not concurrently.

Students will be expected to complete reading assignments in preparation for class as well as some writing assignments.

Both new and experienced Latin scholars will be challenged in this class where students will read and study a novel written entirely in Latin. Students will enjoy reading about the antics and adventures of a Roman family in the 2nd century A.D. while they learn an impressive amount of vocabulary and grammar through a natural language-learning approach.

Students will also read texts from sacred Scripture and learn about culture, history, technology, and other facets of Roman life. We will complete the first half of Hans Orberg’s Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata: Familia Romana book. This course uses the same texts as Latin 2.

This course is taught at the equivalent of a traditional honors-level class. Students enrolled in this course have the opportunity to register for our tuition-free Latin Lab course, which will provide intensive review of grammar and vocabulary through games and other engaging activities. Latin lab will especially emphasize English vocabulary derived from Greek and Latin roots.

Students in this class will continue to read and study a novel written entirely in Latin. Students will enjoy reading about the antics and adventures of a Roman family in the 2nd century A.D. while they learn an impressive amount of vocabulary and grammar through a natural language-learning approach.

Students will also read texts from sacred Scripture and learn about culture, history, technology, and other facets of Roman life. We will complete the second half of Hans Orberg’s Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata: Familia Romana book, which includes primary sources in later chapters that allow students to read and study the writings of ancient authors in their original language. This course uses the same texts as Latin 1.

This course is intended to follow Latin 1; at least one year of high-school level Latin is a prerequisite.

This course is taught at the equivalent of a traditional honors-level class. Students enrolled in this course have the opportunity to register for our tuition-free Latin Lab course, which will provide intensive review of grammar and vocabulary through games and other engaging activities. Latin lab will especially emphasize English vocabulary derived from Greek and Latin roots.

Students enrolled in Latin 1, Latin 2, or Advanced Latin may register for our tuition-free Latin Lab course, which will provide intensive review of grammar and vocabulary through games and other engaging activities. Latin Lab will especially emphasize English vocabulary derived from Greek and Latin roots. This course will provide a convivial atmosphere in which students hone their translation skills and broaden their understanding of the English language through a deep engagement with its ties to Latin.

Students may enroll concurrently in Latin Lab and Musical Theater, as they can leave Musical Theater early and will have flexibility with time commitments.

In this literature and composition course, middle school and highschool students will explore elements of literature and develop beginning skills in literary analysis. With step-by-step instructions, Windows to the World teaches students how to analyze elements of literature: setting, plot, characterization, imagery, allusions, parallelism, and much more.

Note: Literature & Composition will not be offered in 2022-2023.

Bluebonnet’s tuition-free logic classes taught by Dr. Gary Hartenburg help equip students to reason well so that they can be critical thinkers and successful scholars across a wide range of disciplines and fields of study and throughout all areas of their lives. As a handmaid to Wisdom and Theology, Logic can assist students with discerning truth, avoiding falsehood, and communicating winsomely, like St. Paul, as ambassadors for the Gospel.

Since logical reasoning skills and habits require time and practice to hone, BHSC offers a multi-year logic sequence. For the 2022–23 academic year, students will begin a two-year logic rotation with Cycle 1:

In Bluebonnet’s tuition-free Musical Theater class, students will work toward developing foundational skills of expression, projection, acting, singing, and dancing. In the spring, as location and time permit, the class will work toward preparing and performing the musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

The purpose of this class is for the student to learn how to slow down and to attend to nature through observation, asking questions, research, and drawing.  After a short drawing lesson and nature reading, students will study a landscape or an object from nature to capture in a nature journal. On every “tolerably fine day,” students will be encouraged to take their journals outdoors to explore, observe, and record details from trees, flowers, bushes, birds, insects, rocks, or any other natural creation that intrigues them. When weather prevents outdoor time, the instructor will bring specimens into the classroom for study. While students will gain experience working with a variety of drawing mediums such as graphite, charcoal, pen, pastels, and watercolor, the focus of the time will be on sketching with graphite and brush drawing with water color. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to present and share nature journaling pages they completed outside of class on their own.

This class meets every week for Form 2, and every other week for Forms 3-4, alternating with Handicrafts.

In the Artist & Composer Study portion of this class, students encounter works by master artists and composers in this multi-sensory class. Over the course of the year, students learn about the lives of 4 artists and 4 composers and study multiple works from each. Students gain a listening repertoire of over a dozen classical scores and receive over a dozen full-color art prints, which they study in class through group discussion, written narration, and notebook drawings.

In the Plutarch & Shakespeare portion of this class, the class will read, narrate, and discuss passages from Plutarch’s Lives and Shakespeare’s plays. Over the year, students will read two plays and two lives, studying one of each per semester. Students will have opportunity to dramatically read selected passages, to reenact key scenes, and to prepare and recite optional memory work.

In 2022-23, Form 2 (upper elementary) students will read and study two of Plutarch’s lives as well as Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Henry V.

Students in Forms 3 & 4 (middle and high school) will read two of Plutarch’s lives as well as Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Richard III.

“A nationally recognized author team developed this program around The Rule of Four: concepts are presented through a balance of algebraic, numerical, graphical, and verbal methods. Students learn to solve problems by one method and then support or confirm their solutions by another method.” —Pearson

This course provides a study of fundamental topics needed for calculus. Topics include applications of algebra and trigonometry, elementary functions and their graphs, polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions, solutions to equations and inequalities, trigonometric functions, inverse trigonometric functions, analytic trigonometry, and polar coordinates.

Using interactive and conversation-driven learning, this course will lay the foundation for learning to speak Spanish fluently. Students will engage in a variety of activities beneficial for both new and experienced students together in the same class. Through dynamic classroom interactions, students learn how the language works—how language components can be put together in different ways to understand, speak, read, and write in everyday life.

In order to gain mastery and grow toward fluency, students will be expected to complete some work outside of class each week such as listening to Spanish audio recordings, speaking practice, and completing some light coursework. 

Using interactive and conversation-driven learning, this course will lay the foundation for learning to speak Spanish fluently. Students will finish working through Breaking the Spanish Barrier, a curriculum that engages students through a variety of activities and techniques. They will also accelerate their conversational skills and mastery using Look, I Can Talk.

In order to gain mastery and grow toward fluency, students will be expected to complete work outside of class each week.

Exploring different mediums, students will learn various advanced techniques while focusing on design, color theory, and composition. Techniques presented in this course include various drawing and painting processes. Depending on time and interest, more techniques may be covered in this course. Students will present their work to the class and describe their inspiration behind their work. The main objectives of this course are to help students develop their eye for beauty and understanding of the principles of visual communication while engaging in a variety mediums, and to further develop the skills they may already have with familiar mediums.

In the Youth Choir, students ages 13 to 18 will sing and perform a variety of classic choral pieces as they develop greater musicality and part-singing skills. Studies will include vocal technique, sight-reading, and music theory. Students will be expected to practice repertoire at home and may also receive homework periodically to aid their choral studies. We will perform at certain events throughout the year and you will be given prior notification. More practices may be added as needed before a performance, but parents will be told in advance about these added practices. The program will focus on music appreciation, fun, and the glorification of God through music.

For information on our Children’s Choir (ages 7 to 12), see here.