Last Updated - March 2024. Each academic year provides an opportunity for us to reflect and improve on how Aquinas Columbus operates. We reserve the right to improve and change as we go along. Check back for updates.

When and where does Aquinas Columbus meet?

We meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at a Roman Catholic Church in the Columbus, Ohio area. Our days run from around 9:15 am to 3:00 pm.

All of our students from pre-K through 12th grade meet on Tuesdays. Our students in grades 5 - 12 have the option of attending class on Thursdays as well.

Is Aquinas Columbus a school?

No, Aquinas Columbus is not a school. We do not operate as one and are not legally considered a school. Aquinas Columbus provides some curriculum and instruction in particular subjects.

Each Aquinas Columbus family homeschools their children and is considered a homeschooling family. Each Aquinas Columbus family must meet all of the homeschooling requirements of their local school district.

Are parents required to stay on site at Aquinas Columbus during the community days?

Yes, parents are required to stay on site during our community days. Each family must fulfill volunteer requirements. Without all of our families, Aquinas Columbus can not operate.

What subjects are covered by Aquinas Columbus on our community day?

During our community day, we cover different subjects at different levels. 

In Parva I (Pre-K and Kindergarten), the students are introduced to memory work, religion, art, science, history and good books (literature), language arts, and geography.  They also have time to develop and sharpen their social skills through activities including centers and play.

In Parva II (First and Second grades), the students have classes in religion, history, good books (literature), memory work, oral presentations, art, science, and language arts.

In Prima I (Third and Fourth Grades), the students continue to with religion, history, good books (literature), memory work, oral presentations, art, science, and language arts classes.

In Prima II (fifth and sixth grades) on Tuesdays,  the students have classes in religion, good books (literature), memory work, oral presentations, IEW (the writing program we use), and grammar.  On Thursdays, Prima II students have the option of enrolling in science, history/geography, art, and good books among other things.  These Thursday offerings are dependent on mentor availability and what they would like to teach. In previous years we have been blessed with seminarians from the Josephinum to teach our Prima II students for part of the day on Thursdays, which we are hoping to continue this year depending on their availability. 

At the Alta levels, our students study grammar and composition, logic, rhetoric, religion, history, literature, art, drama, and science.

What is not covered by Aquinas Columbus?

At the elementary levels, Aquinas Columbus does not do any instruction in math, phonics, spelling, or any formal reading comprehension.  At the Alta levels, Aquinas Columbus does not do any instruction in math. Of course, there are many other subjects a family can include in their own curriculum, but these are the main ones.

Is what is covered on the community day enough?  In other words, do I need to add more to the week in terms of curriculum at home?

Our lessons at the Parva and Prima levels are introductory lessons.  They are designed to get your child started in further exploration of the topic which is done at home. So, they will need more than the classes at co-op to have a full curriculum.

At the Alta levels, the instruction given will provide enough work in that particular subject area for the week. Keep in mind that math and anything else a family wants to provide outside of our course offerings is not provided.

Is there homework with Aquinas Columbus curriculum?

That depends on the subject and level.  For grades K - 4rd, there is a small amount of homework including language arts and memory work.  Starting in Prima II, there is a little more work that must be conducted at home.  Our classes are an hour at most and so there is no way that students can explore and learn a topic in that time.  For Prima II, students will learn more and have a better experience if they do all the homework that is assigned during the remainder of the week at home. This typically includes weekly memory work, IEW/grammar homework, and some projects throughout the year for history, geography or other subjects depending on the mentor. Keeping up with the weekly memory work helps to draw a common thread among the students' work and within a family and is highly encouraged.

At the Alta levels, homework is given and students are expected to complete the homework assignments.

How do I use the Aquinas Columbus curriculum at home or how does it fit into my own homeschooling?

Our Parva and Prima I levels follow Schola Rosa's curriculum pretty closely. If you wish to use the Schola Rosa curriculum at home, the lessons are fairly well laid out and are written for you to use in conjunction with the co-op lessons. There are many free resources with the Schola Rosa lessons that will expand on the topics covered in science, history, etc including activities and more reading opportunities. There is a link to Schola Rosa’s website on the “Helpful Links” page. In Prima II, we use a mixture of Schola Rosa along with a few other offerings. If you do not use Schola Rosa at home, it is strongly recommended that your child completes the language arts work along with the memory work for homework each day.

At the Alta levels, the subjects that each student takes will be their curriculum for that subject matter at Aquinas Columbus and at home.

For the Parva and Prima levels, how much of Schola Rosa curriculum is used during our community day?

In the Parva and Prima I levels, the mentors follow the Schola Rosa curriculum fairly closely.  In Prima II, that changes.  At this level, each class is a bit different.  Memory work, art and science follow Schola Rosa’s curriculum completely.  History and good books are paired together and utilize some of the material Schola Rosa provides and follow the timeline/time period loosely. The religion class loosely follows the Schola Rosa curriculum but has been adapted each year by mentors to best meet the needs of the students for that year and includes things like Baltimore Catechism style memorization, lectio divina, and time spent in Adoration. Oral Presentations is not a part of Schola Rosa so the content of this class is planned by the mentor.  The writing program comes from the Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) and follows their provided curriculum which is broken up into first year IEW, second year IEW, etc. The grammar program has a basis in Shurley Grammar but has been developed from there to meet the needs of the co-op.   

At the Parva and Prima levels, how do families use Schola Rosa at home?

The resources provided by Schola Rosa are extremely valuable as they pair with what your students will be learning during the community day, and provide a nice skeleton or baseline which you can always fall back on. That said, we have families that use most of the Schola Rosa Curriculum, some of it, or none of it at home.  Again, families are asked to complete all the language arts homework each week and listen to and work on memorizing the memory work.

At the Parva and Prima levels, how is memory work incorporated at Aquinas Columbus?

Memory work is an important part of classical education and it plays a central role in the Parva and Prima levels, providing a common thread among individual families and across our community. It is one of the foundations of the “grammar” stage of learning within classical education, providing vocabulary and knowledge the student will draw upon for the rest of their academic careers.

Mentors introduce the memory work to the children during the community day.  However, the real work of memorization happens at home.  In order for the children to master the memory work, they really must recite/sing the memory work each day at least once.  There are different ways of helping your children master the material which will be discussed during a training session.