Kindergarten
Pupil/Teacher Ratio: 15:2
Kindergarten students begin the comprehensive reading and language arts program, Open Court - Imagine It! They also further develop the Handwriting Without Tears skills they learned in Pre-K using the Zaner Bloser curriculum. Kindergarten students also continue to build on and extend their mathematics concept understanding through Everyday Mathematics.
All Kindergarten children continue to enjoy art and music classes, continue to develop their library skills through regular use of the Cathedral Preschool Library, and continue to enjoy regular science classes. Each year, they present a Thanksgiving play, and they perform the leading roles in the Preschool's Christmas pageant. The year ends with their very first graduation.
Handwriting Without Tears was developed by Jan Olsen, an occupational therapist, who has specialized in handwriting for more than 25 years. Handwriting Without Tears is a simple, developmentally based curriculum for writing readiness - printing and cursive. Its multi-sensory lessons teach to all learning styles - visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic.
(Three-Year-Olds, Pre-K, and Kindergarten)
Everyday Mathematics was developed with the belief that children rarely learn a new concept or skill the first time they experience it. Because concepts are more fully understood after repeated exposure, topics (or "strands") in Everyday Mathematics are taught progressively throughout the age levels. These strands include numeration; operations and computation; patterns, functions, and algebra; geometry; measurement and reference frames; and data and chance. Each age level builds on and extends concept understanding so that children approach each new challenge from a firmly established foundation. (Pre-K, Kindergarten)
