GRACE Home School Association

American Sign Language (Grades 5–8)

Thursday 1:45–2:40
Friday 10:00–10:55

Teacher: Katie Orr

Description: This middle school level class takes a relaxed approach to learning the basics of ASL. Classes will cover the manual alphabet, numbers, vocabulary, basic conversational skills, basic language rules, deaf culture, and much more. Course units cover topics such as: Family, Holidays, Food, Activities, Animals and more! Classes are designed to teach the basics of ASL in an interactive environment using signed conversation time, signing games, signing songs, and other activities. Students taking these classes can learn just for fun or learn to boost their foundation of ASL as a foreign language. No prior experience with ASL is required. A $10 copy fee is included in the cost.

Class and Copy Cost: $273

Book: None

Prerequisite: None

Supplies: None

Cooking Matters (Grades 7–12)

Thursday: 12:45–2:10
Thursday: 2:15–3:40

Teacher: Ilda Percini

Description: In the Cooking Matters class, students will explore the powerful connection between food and faith. Drawing on Bible verses that speak to God’s provision of food, we’ll discuss how food nourishes our bodies and souls. Key scriptures such as Genesis 1:29, Luke 3:11, and Titus 2:5 will be used to highlight the importance of nourishment and discipline in food choices. This class will also focus on building healthy eating habits.

Why Food Matters: Food is a gift that brings people together. When we make wise choices about what we eat, we foster healthy bodies, minds, and relationships. Cooking can be a joyful, rewarding experience, and I see this class as an opportunity to teach more than just how to make a meal — it’s about preparing our bodies and minds to honor God through healthy living.

What We’ll Learn:

1. 1. Cooking from Scratch: Students will learn how to prepare easy and healthy meals using a few fresh, whole ingredients.
   2. Cultural Exploration: Food is an essential part of every culture. We’ll explore foods from different parts of the world.
   3. Reading Food Labels: Knowing how to choose healthy food with clean ingredients is key. This includes understanding how to select foods with good fats, low calories, and gut-friendly ingredients.
   4. Special Diets and Food Sensitivities: Low-carb and keto diets to gluten-free and dairy-free options.
   5. Kitchen Skills and Safety: Knife handling, mixing, measuring, and using kitchen gadgets will be taught. We’ll also cover food safety, allergies, and proper hygiene to ensure a safe cooking environment.
   6. Portion Control and Eating Smart: Students will learn to understand portion sizing for balanced nutrition and how to make smart choices when eating out.
   7. Table Setting and Presentation: Beyond cooking, students will learn how to set a beautiful table, present food elegantly, and practice hospitality.

Why This Class Matters: As parents, teachers, and mentors, we set the tone for our children’s habits and attitudes. Through this course, I aim to equip students with practical skills and biblical wisdom to make informed, healthy decisions. By taking pride in preparing meals, understanding the significance of food in a cultural and spiritual context, and embracing their roles in their homes and communities, students will walk away with a newfound appreciation for both food and the art of cooking.

Let’s learn, cook, and grow together in this exciting journey of faith and food! A $20 material fee is included in the cost of the class.       

To learn more about the instructor, check out her Instagram account at #ildasculturalcuisine.

Class and Material Cost: $415

Book: None

Supplies: Measuring cups and spoons; Apron (optional)

Grammar and Composition (Grades 6–8)

Teacher: Sheri Westfall

Description: This course is designed to help students master the basic elements of English grammar and usage through identifying parts of speech and their place in a sentence, practice exercises, and writing and vocabulary development. Students will write various paragraphs throughout the year and one short research paper toward the end of the year.

Class Cost: $395

Books: The Shurley Method English Made Easy, Level 7, Student Book. ISBN: 978-1-881940-20-3

No Prerequisite Required

This is a Christ-centered college-prep biology course that provides a foundation that will help students to understand the biological concepts they will come into contact with in their daily lives. I seek to make biology real by integrating such topics as the development of the “teen” brain, why enzymes are in detergent, how your body protects you from cancer and Ebola into the curriculum. Emphasis is put on a molecular approach and a thorough understanding of cell biology. I believe this approach helps to reveal the intricate majesty of God’s Creation .The sequencing of my curriculum is designed to step by step build a foundational lens through which the student will be able to not only understand but interrelate all the various aspects of biology. Units include: Your Brain and How You Use It, Scientific Method, Classification, Biochemistry, Cellular Respiration and Photosynthesis, Ecology, Cells and Cell Division, Genetics, and Disease. Students will also learn how to write a scientific paper.

This class helps students understand economic terms and issues that have an impact on the United States and its citizens and introduced both microeconomics and macroeconomics, providing one half–year of credit for high school. Exploring Economics surveys Biblical teachings on money and finance, provides an overview of the economic history of the United States, gives a clear explanation of terms and concepts used in economics, discusses economic issues confronting us today, and puts our participation in the national and world economies on a personal level. Students read a collection of essays called The Stewardship of God’s Riches. In a time when economic activity is challenging classic definitions, Exploring Economics reasserts the importance of the free market system and enables students to take part in the economy with knowledge and faith.

Introduction to Chemistry and Physics(Grades 6–8)

Thursday 12:45–2:10
Friday 12:45–2:10

Teacher: Deb Iwema

Description: Introduce your children to the fascinating world of chemistry and physics! The activities and projects in this course are sure to delight and inspire young minds. Students will begin by exploring the basic building blocks of creation— atoms and molecules, and then journey through simple chemicals, the laws of motion, and energy in its many forms, before discovering concepts of electricity and magnetism. Along the way your students will make a bouncy ball, formulate a smoke bomb, build a solar oven, construct a working periscope, fashion a miniature motor, and create a lava lamp! All the while, God will be glorified as the Master Designer of all that they are discovering about the world and how it works. This exciting course will give your students love for learning and confidence in science that will carry them through the school years and beyond. It is an engaging way to teach students just how God made everything in the universe. There is a $30 material fee included in the cost of this class.

Class and Material Cost: $413

Book: Apologia, Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics (1st Edition) by Jeannie Fulbright, ISBN 10:1935495984, can be found used on Amazon.

No Prerequisite Required

Science and Lab Credit

The student will learn to analyze a variety of statements, arguments, and syllogisms for validity/truth, using many examples and rules of logic. The rewards should be a sharpened mind, the ability to avoid logical fallacies in one’s own thinking, writing, and speaking, and the ability to discern inconsistencies in the writings and speeches of the media and elsewhere.

This course is designed to introduce teens to the world of personal finance through textbook instruction, online articles and videos, interactive exercises, and more. Students are encouraged to immediately apply some of the concepts they learn and are introduced to other financial topics which will become a part of their lives in just a few short years. Included in each chapter is a focus on God-honoring attitudes and practices. Additionally, parents are given the opportunity to share their knowledge, experience, and tips on financial matters via numerous assignments throughout the book. Students will learn to use Google Sheets as a tool for calculations and to create, update, and modify spreadsheets and share the data online in real-time. 

This physics course is designed for the student who has completed algebra and has had an introduction to the definitions of sine, cosine, and tangent. It provides a detailed introduction to the methods and concepts of general physics through a biblical worldview. Heavily emphasizing vector analysis, this class provides the student with a strong background in one-dimensional and two-dimensional motion, Newton's laws and their application, gravity, work and energy, momentum, periodic motion, waves, optics, electrostatics, electrodynamics, electrical circuits, and magnetism. Your student will come out of this class with an even stronger knowledge of math and physics as it relates to God’s creation. They will be well prepared for continuing in College Physics after completing this fun and gratifying class that includes both lecture and lab.

Course Description

This is an introductory course with the goal to introduce you to the techniques of debate and argument.  We live in a world that is more divided than ever.  How are we to engage in these conversations in light of the volatile, angry, frustrated and overwhelmed situation we are in? What are we to do when even believers disagree about some of the most fundamental questions the world is facing? As Christians, we are called to be ambassadors of Christ in in the public, private and digital realms God has placed us in.  

This class will...

• Equip you to identify faulty arguments, fallacies and falsities in whatever situation you find yourself.  
• Encourage you as you develop your own ability to enter these conversations with love, mercy and respect as you gain and keep a hearing with other people made in the image of God.  
• Strengthen your ability to research, listen, engage, and make your case with those with whom you may radically disagree while holding firm to the truth and reality of the Scripture.
• Increase your recognition of the ways in which arguments, both others and your own, need to be more fully shaped by the Christian worldview.
• Understand the way that the world shapes the worldview and mindset of those with whom you engage (as well as your own) and how to avoid the pitfalls, misunderstandings and stalemates that can occur.
• Build courage, resilience, compassion and confidence in having tough conversations on emotionally and spiritually charged issues.

Textbook

Semester 1: 

 

The Art of Argument Revised Student Edition 

Paperback – January 1, 2022 by DA Aaron Larsen (Author), MAT Joelle Hodge (Author), PhD Christopher Perrin (Author)

Semester 2:

End the Stalemate: Move Past Cancel Culture to Meaningful Conversations 

Paperback – June 18, 2024 by Sean McDowell (Author), Tim Muehlhoff (Author), Justin Brierley (Foreword)

Students will learn how to use vocabulary, verbs, and grammar concepts together. The material is taught through fun themes that incorporate everyday language. This allows students to use all those elements together in creative ways to grow and build language fluency. We will use a different theme this coming year. The new theme will be MI VIDA (my life). It is perfect for both the experienced and inexperienced students. The experienced students will continue to progress while the new students are seamlessly integrated. Please order the book early to ensure having it for the first class.

This course emphasizes grammar and conversation skills. The textbook’s easy-to-follow explanations, examples, and application exercises are designed to help students learn to speak Spanish in class. Chapters cover present tense verb forms and structures, past (preterit) tense, contrasting concepts, and structures, the present-perfect tense, and vocabulary on cooking, money, household items, and more. Cultural readings are also included.

This class is available for Articulation Credit with Davenport University (click for details).

Speech (Grades 9–12)

Teacher: Deb Iwema

Description: Most people dread speaking in front of an audience. This class will give your student the necessary skills and confidence needed to be able to deliver a speech to a group. Basic speech mechanics, the gathering of information, a brief review of speech writing, and a variety of speech formats will be covered in the course. A PowerPoint presentation is also included as one type of speech we will be giving. Students will need a flash drive for this presentation. Students will be given ample opportunities to present prepared and impromptu speeches in front of the class. The skills learned will benefit anyone who seeks to glorify God through speech. There is a $10 material fee included in the cost of the class.

Supplies:

• • 3-ring binder
  • 100 stack of 4 x 6 index cards, prefer colored
  • Access to a writing program such as Word or Google Docs for writing speeches and turning in homework
  • Flash drive
  • Internet access to a Gmail account for group work on ZOOM or Google Hangouts.

No Prerequisite Required

English Credit