Kindergarten is a year of introductions! Students are introduced to the world of school socially, organizationally, and academically. Parents will have the opportunity to participate in lunches, recess, mystery reader, class projects, special days, and festivals.
While every child matures at his or her own pace, we generally encourage students to apply when they have turned five by September 1st.
Kindergarten is a rich year of language skill-building as we expose our students to phonics, grammar, and spelling.
Our study of phonics is based on the Orton-Gillingham methodology developed by IMSE. This structured literacy approach breaks reading and spelling down into smaller skills to build strong readers using a multi-sensory, scientific approach to help all learners. The children also begin to write with D’Nealian-style manuscript. This exercise prepares them for cursive writing in first grade.
We want our kindergarten students to develop strong number sense. This number sense helps them grow as mathematicians as they move from concrete manipulatives to pictorial representations and finally (in later years) work with abstract (numerical) representations. Dominion uses Math in Focus, a curriculum based on Singapore Math methodology.
All truth is God’s Truth. The world was created for God’s glory and for man’s delight.
Kindergarten focuses on an overview of Old and New Testament stories and characters including the birth, crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. ABC Bible Verses for Children provides practical application stories to illustrate the meaning of the verses learned. The children participate in daily singing, praying and recitation of the Bible verse for the week.
The students make scientific discoveries through the study of the five senses, animals and their habitats, plants, and simple machines. We also have a focused study on trees and weather utilizing FOSS (Full Option Science System) kits. FOSS kits are a research-based science curriculum developed by the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley.
Kindergarteners will "travel" around the world in their study of world geography! We identify the continents, the compass rose, and the oceans. During the second half of the year, parents, friends, or relatives come once a week to share pictures, information, and food from a different country. We compile a booklet of the flags for each country studied and students love collecting their passports around the world.
We offer both full- and half-day options to serve our families best. Core academic subjects are concentrated in the morning, and half-day students are dismissed after lunch and recess.
