Early Childhood

Early Childhood Curriculum
​(PK-3 through Kindergarten)
​

• Religion
• Math
• Physical Education
• Music
• Art
• Science
• Language Arts
• Social Studies

Through the use of a variety of Bible stories, St. John’s PK-3, PK-4, and Kindergarten students learn about God’s love for them.  They learn that their sins are forgiven through God’s Son, Jesus.  The students participate in weekly chapel services where they worship and praise God.

St. John’s Early Childhood Curriculum begins with patterning, calendar activities, sorting and counting.  PK-4 begins instruction in number recognition, graphing, sorting, math vocabulary, and exploration of math materials.  By the end of Kindergarten, students have had experiences with adding and subtracting, telling time, and solving addition and subtraction word problems.  Students are expected to be able to identify, read, and write numbers up to 30 and to count to 100 or higher.

​Fine and gross motor skills are the main focus points in PK-3 and PK-4.  Working on these skills takes place during recess and gym activities. The development of these skills continues in Kindergarten.  Kindergarten also gives the students the opportunities to practice throwing, catching, kicking, and dribbling through simple games.  Safety habits, good sportsmanship, as well as caring for their bodies are also stressed in Kindergarten.

In addition to music activities in the classrooms, students also develop an appreciation for music through rhythm instruments and movement to music.  Students begin to understand that music is another gift from God.

St. John’s young artists begin their artistic exploration through a variety of media including, painting, coloring, drawing, cutting and making collages.  Art activities are expanded to include crafts, free form, and proper use of materials and equipment.  As with music, students gain an understanding that art is also a gift from God.

Students are encouraged to develop their sense of wonder of God’s creations through observations and predictions while exploring different materials.  When students reach Kindergarten, they begin to study plants and animals, weather and seasons, matter, heat and light, day and night and how things move.  They further advance by developing and refining their observation skills, making inferences and predictions through investigation and experimentation.

​Stories, pre-writing skills, listening and speaking skills are used in PK-3 and PK-4 to begin formal language development.  Language Arts skills in Kindergarten are expanded to include the reading and writing of letters, phonemic awareness, beginning and ending word sounds, blending sounds, developing a sight word vocabulary, enhanced writing activities, and listening and following directions.

PK-3 and PK-4 concentrates on social emotional learning (SEL).  Communicating feelings, developing empathy, and learning to play together are all a part of the PreK program at St. John’s.  Students moving to Kindergarten learn about holidays and celebrations, cooperation, citizenship, school workers, safety and self-esteem.

"The small class sizes allow our kids to get specialized attention from their teachers and to build strong bonds with their classmates. They feel loved and cared for by their teachers who remind them to pray when they are worried or anxious."​
​-Jonn, Kindergarten & 2nd grade parent