Culture & Religion | Sundial Classical Farmstead

Educating the whole child means educating the body, mind, and soul. Sundial Classical Farmstead's Microschool is not a secular school that wholly avoids virtue formation and education of the soul, meaning religion and culture are part of the foundation SCF provides for all children. However, SCF is not affiliated with any one Christian practice and welcomes families without a religious practice and those from a diversity of Christian backgrounds. To meet the varying needs within our student body we offer parents the choice of religious instruction or non-religious instruction during focused religious cathechetical classes.

World Literature

A common critique of classical education programs is that their focus can be narrowly Euro-centric. We address this valid concern in several ways. First, our History & Geography program covers the entire globe on a three-year rotation, giving equal attention to these geographic areas: Europe and Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and North and South America. Second, we also offer a World Literature class once a week that, by reading epics & myths from around the world, introduces our students to how indigenous cultures understood their world and how those first understandings went on to shape each society as it developed.

We use the Nyansa Classical Community curricula to explore ancient Greek myths alongside modern American artists who are People of Color. This excellent resource comes from Dr. Angel Adams Parham, co-author with Dr. Anika Prather of The Black Intellectual Tradition.
Foreign Languages

Overview
The human brain is primed to learn language in its earliest years. We begin foreign language instruction at age 5.

Latin
Latin is one of the foundational building blocks of the modern English language. It is also elemental to the formation of other modern Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, French, etc.). Knowing this critical building block will open up avenues of understanding for students when they encounter familiar word roots while learning about other cultures across the globe. It also deepens the student’s understanding of English vocabulary, and often explains a spelling rule non-Latin readers may find confusing.

Learning through song and rhyme is natural and enjoyable for all children. We say we use the Song School Latin curricula because our students love it…but actually, the songs are so well crafted we find ourselves singing and learning right alongside them.
Catechetical Religious Instruction

SCF aims to provide optional religious catechesis in Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant (likely Lutheran or Anglican) traditions. Read more in the FAQ Question 9.

Parents are not pressured to send their children to any of these optional classes. These are a good fit for students whose parents are practicing members of that Christian practice/tradition or whose parents are comfortable with the practice/tradition and would like their children to be shaped by it.

See our Board & Staff page for Orthodox catechesis instructors. We are currently working on launching a Lutheran catechesis class and we are exploring a Catholic catechesis class (more to come on that). Below is an endorsement of SCF for interested Catholic families.

As both a former board member and a former teacher, I would recommend Sundial to any Catholic family looking for an educational option that will give their children lots of time outdoors and teach them the "common arts" within the basic framework of a vigorous classical academic program. While Sundial is an ecumenical setting, the three "classic" strands of Christianity (Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant) are all acknowledged there and all represented in the student population."

-Jeremy Dowsett, PhD (cand.) and catechist at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in Lansing

World Literature

Foreign Languages

Catechetical Religious Instruction