PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING & LEARNING FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
Early Education is the prime foundation upon which all learning is developed. The preschool years are a ripe period of development, and early educators embrace the challenge of cultivating an environment and learning experience in which students reach their highest potential spiritually, intellectually, and physically before entering the school years. We believe that children learn primarily through their own experiences, but need guidance and developmentally appropriate opportunities to develop the skills, concepts, and abilities necessary to succeed in life.
CURRICULUM
Our all-inclusive 3 Year Old Curriculum is “ABC Jesus Loves Me” and consists of a chronological study of Bible stories starting in Genesis. Each Bible story is supported with a memory verse, song, and finger play or nursery rhyme. Academically, the children learn colors, a letter of the week consisting of the uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and basic math skills including shapes, sorting, spatial concepts, and patterns. Gross and fine motor skill activities are also included in this curriculum. A “Book of the Week” introduces children to some of the best preschool books in print. This curriculum is very well-rounded and keeps Jesus at the center of everything the children learn.
Our 4 Year Old Curriculum for Math is Saxon Math. For over 30 years, Saxon Math has been delivering proven results for students. The Saxon Math curriculum has an incremental structure that distributes content throughout the year. This integrated and connected approach provides deep, long-term mastery of the content and skills necessary for students to succeed.
We use Positive Action’s “Exploring God’s Love” for our K-4 Bible curriculum. Children explore a new Bible story each week. The colorful workbook reinforces the lesson with puzzles, coloring pages, cut-and-paste activities—and much more—teaching our students the lessons of God’s love in concrete, approachable ways.
Our Phonics Curriculum for K-4 is called “Zoo-Phonics.” This interesting approach to learning letter sounds and reading strategies proves to be one of the most effective approaches we have seen. Keeping in mind that preschoolers are wired to wiggle and move, this curriculum ties an animal and hand signal into each letter. Sounds and strategies are reinforced daily through movement activities, song, worksheets, games, and more.
