Arc 2 takes us into the heart of autumn. It deepens the rhythms of the learning as we get comfortable doing what we're doing. It's all starting to come together. We are 'getting it' now!Â
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As always, each week comes in a Lower Division and an Upper Division edition. Both are in the purchase. Children at different stages can work the same week at their own level.
WEEK ONE
The Living Planet in Lower Division and The Restless Earth in Upper.  Why does the world look the way it does? Students work with numbers that are hard to feel, like a plate moving a few centimeters a year for millions of years, and figure out what that adds up to. In science they look at how the land, the water, and the air push on each other. In social studies they look at why people settled where they did, and what risk they accepted by doing it.
WEEK TWO
The Big Blue, same title in both divisions.  Water is everywhere and most of it is no use to anyone. Students work out how small the drinkable share really is, and how much rain a roof could actually catch. In science they follow water around its cycle and see how a small change can feed on itself and grow. In social studies they look at who settles beside water, who gets cut off from it, and what happens when two places need the same river.
WEEK THREE
When the Sky Decides, same title in both divisions.  A storm is coming. Who gets ready and who gets caught? Students work with the numbers behind a warning, like how many hours of notice people got and how wide the forecast's margin of error was. In science they look at how storms form and why a drought deepens. In social studies they look at what happens after the warning goes out, because knowing a flood is coming does no good if you have nowhere to go.
WEEK FOUR
What the Ground Gives in Lower Division and The Skin of the Earth in Upper.  Soil takes centuries to make and a season to lose. Students compare those two rates and see the problem for themselves. In science they follow rock breaking down into soil, and what erosion does to it. In social studies they look at soil as something handed down, and at the awkward fact that the person who wears it out is rarely the person who pays for it.
WEEK FIVE
Homes for Everything in Lower Division and The Living Web in Upper.
Life is spread unevenly across the planet, and this week asks why. Students count and compare how much life different places hold, and see how much energy is lost at each step up a food chain. In science they look at what makes a desert a desert, why some animals matter more to a place than others, and how a damaged habitat comes back. In social studies they look at what wild places actually give people, and at why protecting them is hard when a forest sits across a border.
WEEK SIX
Our Mark on the Map in Lower Division and The Mark We Leave in Upper.
The last week pulls the other five together. Students measure the human footprint: how much of the planet we use, how much more than we used to, and how far past what the planet replaces. In science they look at what a footprint is actually made of and where a limit can tip. In social studies they look at cities, at where our things come from, and at the fact that footprints are wildly unequal between countries. And of course we have language arts skills being used aplenty.
Meeting your local home education requirements
Home education requirements are set where you live, and they vary widely. Some jurisdictions require notice, assessments, portfolios, or evidence of instruction in particular subjects; others require very little. It is your responsibility to know and meet the rules that apply to your family.
What TPA can do is make the academic record much easier to document.
Each Arc provides a clear paper trail:
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The units themselves, identifying the subjects, disciplines, and central questions being studied.
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Your student’s dated handwritten work, organized by day.
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Rubric-based feedback showing how the student performed at each level of challenge.
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The TPA Alignment Summary, explaining the program’s academic foundations, structure, and approach to assessment in language an outside evaluator can readily understand.