Early Childhood

dreamstime_xxl_13329674PK- Pre-Kindergarten

The Pre-Kindergarten program is instructed by a certified teacher with extensive training in early childhood education and development. The teacher nurtures the academic, social/emotional, and physical development of our early learners, and builds the self-esteem required for lifelong learning.

The Early Childhood curriculum presents academic and social/relational concepts that are reinforced through small group, multi-sensory instruction. The Pre-Kindergarten teacher will create a school environment that will give children a successful transition between home and school. Elite Scholars STEAM Academy provides developmentally-appropriate opportunities for children to explore technology, art, movement, and cooperative play. In addition to a neighborhood interactive community design-build within our school, the Early Childhood students will benefit from our 10-acres of campus with nature walks, visits to local businesses, and interaction with Lower and Middle School students.

Sample of Curriculum Concepts

Fall/Winter Concepts

  • School routine
  • Learning names
  • Sharing: toys, friends, taking turns
  • School mascot
  • School colors
  • Farm animals
  • Graphing more and less
  • Counting 1-21
  • AB and ABC patterns
  • Bats
  • Calendar
  • Holiday traditions
  • Shapes
  • Colors
  • Seasons
  • Begin numeral recognition
  • Begin letter recognition
  • Letters and their corresponding sounds
  • Group of letters make words
  • Practice writing names
  • Learn to draw shapes
  • Learn words to songs and finger plays
  • Matching like items

dreamstime_xxl_20347430JK-Junior Kindergarten and SK-Senior Kindergarten

The Junior Kindergarten Program provides a stimulating and enriching environment that fosters creativity, self-confidence, and critical thinking. The children are nurtured emotionally, socially, and academically to achieve their potential and feel valued as learners. Skills are taught through a thematic approach with emphasis on variety and various learning modalities. A combination of small group instruction and whole group activities allows the children to develop as cooperative learners. The Junior Kindergarten experience fosters a safe learning environment and fuels the children’s natural curiosity and desire to learn. Elements of the JK curriculum include:

Phonics — A multi-sensory phonetic program that uses puppets, actions, pictures, and music to teach children the sounds and blends of the English language.

Everyday Mathematics (Kindergarten level) — The Mathematics program focuses on teaching concepts through problem-solving based on everyday situations. The content strands of measurement, geometry, numeration, patterning, sorting/classifying, money, time, numeral writing, and number operations are emphasized.

Reading — Differentiated reading program meets the needs of emergent and independent readers in a small group setting.

Science– Scientific Investigation and Experimentation

Children won’t be conducting any complex scientific experiments, but they will learn the basic scientific principles of observing, predicting, and measuring. It is through these activities that children will learn about the physical, earth, and life sciences. They will learn to:

  • Predict, observe, measure, and describe the way objects move (or behave)
  • Observe and describe common objects in terms of the five senses
  • Observe the size, shape, texture, and color of common objects such as tree leaves
  • Observe and describe seasonal changes
  • Ask questions based on prior knowledge and observations
  • Recognize patterns and describe them
  • Compare and sort common objects using one physical attribute, such as color, shape, size, etc.
  • Observe and then illustrate those observations through drawings
  • Observe and describe what happens when certain materials are subjected to tests (i.e. place a piece of wood in water to see what it does)
  • Compare structures and behaviors of different animals

Social Studies–Junior Kindergarten children will learn about their environment as they begin to distinguish events of the past and present. They will explore the concepts of time and space. Our children will identify symbols that are important to our country and discover why they must follow school rules and laws as they learn about their role as a citizen of the school and community. The children will identify basic characteristics of maps and globes while exploring the geographic characteristics of their community. Each child will be able to explain how people have different kinds of jobs and work to meet basic economic wants. Junior Kindergarten will develop an understanding that they are individuals who interact with other individuals and groups, and identify ways that people, who are similar and different, make up the community.

Junior Kindergarten Sample Weekly schedule

  • Classroom Welcome
  • Free Exploration – large group (three times per week); small group (two times per week)
  • Academic Lessons (reading, math, science, social studies) 1-2 per day
  • Whole class instruction and small group reinforcement
  • Journal writing (three times per week)
  • Shared Reading (poem) opposite Spanish (three times per week)
  • Library and PE time (once per week)
  • Tactile/Fine Motor opposite Music (once per week)

Junior and Senior Kindergarten will learn to play the violin as part of the music curriculum

SK-Senior Kindergarten
Senior Kindergarten Sample Weekly schedule

Sample Kindergarten Daily Schedule
8:30 a.m. Teacher greets arriving children,
Children hang up backpacks and belongings,
Children write in journals (date, picture, word or sentence to go with picture)
Children choose a book to read quietly

8:45 -9:15 Opening Exercises
Pledge of Allegiance, Good morning song, Calendar,
Weather, Counting, Songs and Fingerplays, Morning
Message

9:15 -10:45 Language Arts Instruction
Shared Reading/Read Aloud Activity,
Comprehension Activity related to story heard
Word work
Vocabulary Development
Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Lesson
Guided Reading Lesson/Language Experience
Kidwriting or Writing Workshop
Small Group Instruction

10:45- 11:15 Sensory Motor Activities/ Physical Activities
Organized and/or Unorganized Movement Activities

11:15–12:15 Lunch and Recess

12:15- 12:45 Computers

12:45 – 1:45 Mathematics- using manipulatives

1:45 -2:00 Snacks

2:00-3:00 Work time (Learning Center Time)
Child’s choice and Teacher’s choice

3:00-3:30 Clean up and prepare to go home
End of the day songs/Evaluation of the
Sharing Time
Dismissal