Pre-K and Kindergarten
Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten programs provide a fantastic place in which children learn the love of Christ, practice important social skills, and develop a love for learning. Taking advantage of the pre-grammar stage of this age group and the fact that their minds are as tiny sponges, chants, jingles and recitations are frequently used to impart lessons in a warm and caring atmosphere as the children readily soak up what they hear in the classroom. In Pre-K, classroom learning is taught amidst an active play environment that prepares them for the increased rigors of the Kindergarten classroom. Christ’s love is embedded, woven into, and infused into every aspect of the Pre-K and K day. Our programs include but are not limited to the following instructional areas and their objectives.
PRE-KINDERGARTEN (4 years by September 15)
To provide a secure environment and an encouraging atmosphere in which every child can develop fully and confidently to the best of his or her ability.
To provide children with opportunities to experience and practice social skills within the control of the school environment, to develop personal qualities of initiative, spacial awareness, self-confidence, and cooperation.
Opening Exercises
- Learn national pledge, various recitations, chants and jingles
- Introduce and explore concepts of time, the date, monetary units, counting, temperature, seasons, and weather
Bible Lessons (CSI)
- To introduce students to who God is, what He does, what He is like, and what He wants from us
- To explore and memorize the “Big Story of God” as it unfolds through Scripture
- To emphasize God loves us and wants us to love others
- To stress Jesus’ care and goodness in our daily lives
- To develop a foundation of Biblical truths through drama, books, songs, and stories
Unit Studies
- Stimulate a spirit of curiosity, inquiry, and caring for the world God made
- Encourage children to develop an open and receptive attitude to all aspects of the aesthetic curriculum – art, dance, drama, and music
- Encourage a positive approach to the development of skillful body-management and an overall appreciation of health
Language Arts/Math/Science/History (Haughton Mifflin, Classical Phonics, Alphatales)
- Help children to use proper language for understanding and communicating thoughts
- To introduce and practice the correct formation of letters and numbers
- To learn and practice proper pencil grip and the left to right progression
- Encourage phonological and phonemic awareness
- Provide children with a wide range of mathematical experiences involving the development of knowledge, skills, concepts and processes relevant to the world we live in
- Number identification and familiarization as well as counting, grouping, and patterns are taught, while interactive centers reinforce these skills through group play
- Science is taught to give students a solid foundation, anchored firmly in Biblical truth.
- Special attention is given to interesting scientific facts that reveal God as the Master Designer of the universe and confirm the accuracy of the Bible and promotes an excitement for the acquisition of critical learning skills
- Focus on Biblical history, Holiday history, and Social Studies through stories, crafts, and songs
- Students learn about our community and how they are a part of it. A portion of the school wide history timeline chant is memorized.
KINDERGARTEN (5 years old by September 15)
Opening Exercises
- To strengthen social skills, to learn national and Christian pledges, to learn that prayer is communicating with God
- To continue to explore concepts of time, the date, monetary units, counting, temperature, seasons, and weather
Bible Lessons (CSI)
- To emphasize God’s place in daily living
- To learn through Bible stories the truths of God’s plan and care for His people
- To learn to apply Scriptural truths and concepts in everyday situations
- To memorize Scripture from the Old and New Testament as we “hide God’s word in our hearts” Psalm 119:11
- To recognize God as our helper and best friend
Math (Saxon)
- To properly form numbers
- To develop mathematical thought processes including: number concepts, patterning, graphing, telling time, counting money, using manipulatives such as pattern blocks, linking cubes, clocks, money, tangrams, and geograms
- Addition and subtraction
Language Arts (Open Court)
- To correctly form letters
- To practice and refine the following skills: proper pencil grip, left to right progression, rhyming, antonyms, synonyms
- To apply knowledge of the letters and their sounds as the process of reading and writing words is encouraged
- To reinforce reading skills, phonics is emphasized along with the memorization of high frequency words as sight words
- Exposure to a variety of literature types
- Introduction to grammatical concepts such as capitalization and punctuation, which will be applied to student’s own writing
- Begin to understand parts of speech: nouns, verbs and adjectives
- Build enthusiasm to read, especially in relation to reading Scripture and understanding Biblical truths for themselves!
Unit Studies (MacMillan)
- To learn concepts related to animals, weather, food and nutrition, the five senses, plants, and holidays
- To take field trips to enhance classroom and learning experiences
- To understand that God is the Creator of all and that all He created is wonderfully made!