Skills
What is the Trivium?
Trivium, or tri-vium, means “the place where three roads meet.” It refers to the first three of the seven liberal arts of classical antiquity: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. These are the liberal arts having to do with word and language. (The remaining four liberal arts of the Quadrivium involve the study of the order and beauty of the cosmos.)
What is the Quadrivium?
After completing the Trivium, students of antiquity would advance to the Quadrivium, “the place where four roads meet.” These four roads were: arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. In Medieval times, these studies took place in the high school and university years, before further studies in philosophy and theology. In classical schools today, an approximation of these four-way studies are taught alongside the Trivium as math, art, music, and science.
-
The Greek word for art, techne, is also translated as craft or skill. The liberal arts of the Trivium (Grammar, Logic, & Rhetoric) are skills of word and language that students acquire over time. In the grade school years, these include the following:
Poetry Memorization and Recitation
Learning to Read
Handwriting
Spelling
Grammar, Mechanics, and Word Usage
Writing
Each of these skills has its own ladder of learning that spans the grades, with individual rungs for students to master and perform with excellence.
We provide Teacher Manuals for each grade of all the skills of the Trivium, as well as checklists and progress logs for teachers and administrators. We also provide materials, recommendations, and training for these language arts skills.
-
The liberal arts of the Quadrivium (Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy) involve the study of the order and beauty of the Cosmos. In the grade school years, these include the following skills:
Math
Art
Music
Science
Math is the quintessential classical subject, with its inherent order and natural ladder of learning, which calls on students to think. The skill of Art, which includes the study of the seven elements and ten principles, is a training in seeing. Music, especially the skills of singing which include listening and reading music, has traditionally been at the heart of the school day. Science in K-8 typically involves nature studies that train students in observation.
We provide guidance on math curricula for K - 8 and a suggested sequence of science topics that aligns with the Salvation History curriculum.
Please join our community for full access to our curriculum, resources, and forums for conversation and collaboration.