Come Committed. Leave Prepared.
Subject Overviews
At New Hope Academy, our Christ-centered approach to learning helps students see God’s hand throughout history, nature, and their everyday experiences. From Pre-K through sixth grade, each course is part of a faith-based curriculum designed to nurture curiosity, develop critical thinking, and strengthen a biblical worldview. Our Christian education integrates faith and academics through hands-on discovery, classical literature, the arts, and engaging study of God’s creation. Students grow in knowledge and character as they explore the story of God’s world, beginning in Genesis and continuing through lessons that shape their understanding of who they are and how they can serve others.
NHA Humanities
NHA Humanities
Humanities is the foundation upon which our commitment of excellent education is built. It is the study of world culture emphasizing the classical scholastic approach of moral philosophy. We are equipping students with the tools for a lifetime of learning: a working knowledge of the timetables of history, a background understanding of the great literary classics, a familiarity with the sweep of art, music and ideas, a fundamental knowledge of geography, with a Biblical understanding of events. History is the story of a personal God who created all things; it begins with Adam and Eve, and it is the story of creation, the fall, and redemption. God is directing the story, and it is moving to an end with the climax being the return of the Messiah. The story of people, their land, their conflicts, and achievements and culture is studied through the ages in chronological order. Students begin with the study of and conclude with American History of the 20th century in 6th grade. Humanities is brought to life by reading biographies, historical novels, original sources, projects, re-enactments, writings, and games.
A Journey Through History and Scripture
Pre-Kindergarten
Creation Through the Lens of the Four Seasons
New Hope Academy’s faith-based Pre-K program introduces students to a biblical worldview through a sequential study of history, beginning with the Creation account found in Genesis chapter one. Learning unfolds through the rhythm of the four seasons, helping children see God’s hand in the natural world around them.
Examples:
- Discovery units present the four seasons in light of the seven days of Creation.
- Students are introduced to “living books” rich in language, ideas, and literature connected to each season.
- Pre-K students explore the works of great artists and composers such as Van Gogh, Homer, Seurat, Bazille, Renoir, and Vivaldi.
- Hands-on activities include Hibernation Day, when students attend school in pajamas and crawl through a tunnel to their classroom, where a hibernating world awaits them.
Kindergarten
Creation
Kindergarten continues the exploration of Creation through engaging, cross-curricular units on oceans, the five senses, the human body, and insects.
Examples:
- In the human body unit, students are taught from a biblical perspective how God made man and set forth His purpose. A favorite activity includes tracing their bodies and placing vital organs in the correct locations.
- Students learn that God’s creation suffers from the Fall of Man and that, although people may look different on the outside, we are the same on the inside. Through hands-on experiences such as spending a day in a wheelchair, students gain empathy and appreciation for others’ challenges.
- Art and music appreciation continue to develop and are woven throughout the curriculum. Field trips, outdoor adventures, and practical applications round out this foundational year.
First Grade
Old Testament Survey
First grade begins a survey of the Old Testament, focusing on God’s people, His covenants, and His redemptive plan woven throughout history. Students experience what it was like to walk with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses and to live in Ancient Israel.
Examples:
- Science is integrated as students explore botany and examine plants that live locally and in the Israeli region.
- Students study animals of the Middle East and their classifications.
- Art and music studies highlight creators such as Saint-Saëns, Haydn, Klimt, and Audubon.
Second Grade
Ancient Cultures (4000–3000 B.C.)
Second grade continues examining the Old Testament with emphasis on Ancient Mesopotamia (the Cradle of Civilization), Egypt, Africa, China, and India.
Examples:
- Students create King Tut masks, mummify a chicken, and build pyramids.
- Historical novels and read-alouds help students understand Ancient Egyptian culture and its search for meaning apart from the one true God.
- Science integration continues as students study simple machines, discovering how Egyptians used them to construct pyramids.
- Art, sculpture, and architecture projects further enrich this unit.
Third Grade
Ancient Greece (2900–30 B.C.) and Ancient Rome (750 B.C.–476 A.D.)
Third grade travels to Ancient Greece and Rome to explore what happens when man creates his own gods, comparing those cultures with biblical truth.
Examples:
- History comes alive through themed activities and stories such as The Iliad and The Odyssey.
- Students explore astronomy through books, videos, and visits to a planetarium, viewing stars through telescopes and participating in a “planet walk” to understand distances between planets.
- Students dress in period clothing and attend a Greek banquet featuring grape leaves, figs, hummus, and baklava.
- Architecture studies include an in-depth look at the Parthenon, culminating in a visit to Nashville’s Parthenon.
Fourth Grade
Medieval and Renaissance/Reformation (400–1600 A.D.)
Fourth grade journeys through the Middle Ages, from the barbarian invasions of the Roman Empire to the Italian Renaissance and Protestant Reformation, discovering how God continued to work through history.
Examples:
- Through literature, maps, music, and visual art, students learn about figures such as Alaric the Visigoth, Muhammad, Joan of Arc, St. Benedict, and Michelangelo.
- The medieval ideas of feudalism, devotion, chivalry, and conquest are explored through read-alouds, independent study, and visits to a monastery and Japanese garden.
- Math lessons strengthen foundational skills and introduce higher-level concepts, fostering problem solving and critical thinking.
- Science focuses on biology and the diversity of God’s creation, from worms and insects to trees, birds, fungi, and fish. Students participate in hikes, experiments, and dissections to explore the living world.
- Language arts develops communication skills through grammar, spelling, Latin roots, and literature such as Robin Hood, The Tale of Despereaux, and The Shakespeare Stealer. Students write memoirs, odes, haiku, limericks, and reports.
Fifth Grade
Explorers, Meso-Americans, Native Americans, Early America (1400–1812 A.D.), and Tennessee History
Fifth grade voyages across the globe during the Age of Exploration. A foundation in worldviews provides context for studying explorers, the Aztec, Inca, and Mayan civilizations, Native Americans, the slave trade, and Early America.
Examples:
- Students learn about the 13 colonies by becoming travel agents, designing brochures and presenting “sales pitches” for trips.
- Each student researches a colony and presents findings through creative writing or reenactments.
- The class studies the Roanoke Colony, replicating watercolor artwork and poetry by Sir Walter Raleigh.
- Students conclude the year with studies of the Revolutionary War and Tennessee history. They visit art museums to observe the works of O’Keeffe, Gainsborough, Sargent, and Remington, while exploring the music of the era.
Sixth Grade
Western Expansion to the Present (1850–Present)
Sixth grade journeys through American history, from westward expansion and the Civil War to World Wars, Civil Rights, and the modern era. The course includes a mini-unit on civics that culminates in a trip to Washington, D.C., reinforcing the importance of responsible citizenship and Christian leadership.
Examples:
- Great literature serves as the backdrop for discussions about freedom, diversity, slavery, Marxism, communism, and postmodernism, all through a biblical lens.
- In the Lewis and Clark unit, students participate in a simulation where they learn orienteering skills such as using a compass, mapping routes, and tracking supplies.
- Students explore Native American culture by learning traditional games, gathering native foods and herbs, and navigating simulated trails through the Bitterroot Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.
Our Humanities study was created with the intention of allowing the students to comprehend informing ideas and make connections along their educational journey at New Hope Academy. We want our students to learn world history through the lens of all subjects and to have a biblical worldview as they gain knowledge of His world.
Ariane Durham, Academic Director
Mathematics
Mathematics
The study of mathematics leads to a greater appreciation of the Creator revealing His infinite nature and methodical order. The study of numbers and their relationships gives students a better understanding of God’s perfection, exactness, and constancy. Math should not be viewed as a separate entity but should be integrated into the daily experiences of the students. It is imperative that students not only learn skills but also understand concepts and why we use certain processes to work problems, the meaning of the facts learned, and discover when and how to apply them to problem solving. Teachers use manipulatives to allow students to gain conceptual understanding through concrete means. Throughout the learning process students follow these three steps: building, saying, and writing. Building with manipulatives incorporates the visual, kinesthetic, and tactile; saying taps into the auditory; writing bridges the concrete and the abstract.
Science
Science
The study of science is worthy of passionate attention and study to learn eternal truths and understand and worship the Creator. By studying all of creation, our hope is that students will begin to comprehend the majesty and power of a personal God and develop an awe and wonder of God’s Creation; its beauty, complexity, diversity, intricacy, and majesty. Our desire is to give children ample time to interact with the world around them through observing, collecting, noticing, and accurate recording. Our approach is primarily through hands-on experiences: observations, dissection, and experiments. Students in the upper grades are also engaged in independent research and study through using technology, microscopes, and other media. Students are taught the process of scientific method in light of Biblical principles.
Language Arts
Language Arts
God is a communicating God who brought the existence of the world into being through the command of His Word. He communicates with us through the spoken and written Word. As image bearers of God, we too communicate through the spoken and written word. Therefore, the full scope of Language Arts which envelops four major components – listening and reading (the receptive); and speaking and composition (the expressive) is taught to develop these critical skills: listening, reading, vocabulary, speaking, composition, and grammar.
Because reading is foundational for the learning process, children need to develop a positive relationship with words and good books. Reading aloud and giving students opportunities to narrate or to verbalize responses and reactions to a book is an integral part of the language arts program. PreK and K involve the children in phonemic and phonological awareness, allowing them to gain the necessary skills to prime the brain to begin the reading process. First and second grade reading provides for thorough basic reading skills using a systematic phonics curriculum and vocabulary enrichment giving our students the tools to decode words and make meaning of text in its various forms. In later grades, we teach the beauty of words through vocabulary and morphology, reading fluently with expression and meaning, and begin the introduction of study skills. First through sixth grade reading exposes the students to great and at times challenging literature through reading historical novels, biographies, fiction, and poetry that integrate into the humanities and science curriculum. We place notable importance on the base of curriculum using great literature – living books - to help learning come alive and fill the child with wonder and delight.