Kindergarten Curriculum

 Religion
Wanting to please God because of the love and trust they have for Him, students eagerly pray their own prayers. Students will spend time in scripture applying the Bible stories to their own lives to grow spiritually. They learn about Baptism and how God makes them His children. They learn more about sin and why Jesus died for all. They are encouraged to give gifts to Jesus their God. They feel a sense of belonging with others in church as they worship together. Beginning to gain an appreciation for Martin Luther and his teachings as well as recognizing the liturgical seasons help in their understanding of the church body.

 Math
Students explore every day uses of math as they begin to learn about money, temperature, time, and calendars. Manipulatives are used to increase awareness of sets, sizes and shapes. They also sort and classify. Counting and understanding of numbers increase as students orally or in writing count and group numbers and sets. Making and recognizing patterns is an integral part of kindergarten math. Students also begin to understand measurement using non-standard units of measure. Recognition of whole verses sets of objects making a whole is introduced.

 Language Arts
A phonetic approach to language helps students in their developmental stages of reading readiness. As students participate in active listening and speaking, they involve themselves both emotionally and intellectually in the learning process. Expression of ideas is in the form of role-playing, retelling, or illustrating. They listen to a wide variety of children’s literature, including selections from classic and contemporary works.

 Handwriting
Students will recognize and use capital and lowercase manuscript letters and numerals correctly. Proper posture, pencil grip, and paper positioning will be taught to ensure good writing habits. Spacing between letters will be introduced. Invented spelling is encouraged to support positive feelings toward writing. Self-evaluation of written work begins at this age.

 Social Studies
As students observe what is around them every day, they learn more about God’s world. They understand more about time and why special holidays are important to them. Working together and independently helps them foster an appreciation for becoming a part of class and school. Respect for those in authority is expected and taught. Students know that God commands all of us to follow His lead and respect those who are placed in positions of authority. Students enjoy learning about the world around them as well as customs form around the world. They begin to chronologically order information that will aid them in their future understanding.

 Science
Students begin to look at taking care of things that God has provided for them. They learn how plants and seeds grow. They observe weather and the affects of weather that bring about seasonal changes. Their inquisitive minds are eager to learn in explorative ways as they compare items. They learn to classify animals such as mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles and learn more about their daily habits. They learn more about themselves by exploring their five senses. Day and night are explored as they study the sun and the moon

 Computer Science
As the students understand more about computers, they begin to learn more about how computers function and how to take care of them. They continue to learn new keys that will enable them to move around the monitor with ease. As the students begin to use new keys, their skills begin to increase to the point that they learn basic keyboarding skills. They learn to type their names. The use of educational software is also encouraged as a way of strengthening classroom objectives.

 Art
Efforts at artistic expression become more defined as the students become more knowledgeable of art as an expression of themselves. They have opportunities to show their understanding of God’s work as the Creator. Shades of colors and mixing colors bring new dimension to their work. Exploring texture with mediums such as clay adds another dimension to their work. As appropriate to this age, students begin to critique their own work, appreciate their work and the work of other.

 Music
Rhythm continues to be fun for this age student. They can echo, clap beats, and rhythms in different tempos. Some attention is given to melody and the range of notes as they go up or down. They enjoy accompanying with instruments and moving while singing. Awareness of sections in musical pieces gets them more involved in their musical performances.

 Spanish
Students are introduced to greetings, simple commands, phrases, numbers, colors, and other daily-use vocabulary.

 Physical Education
Cooperation is a key skill that students at this level begin to work on but in a fun way. Learning to play together fosters the idea of group work and responsibility for individual as well as group actions. As age appropriate needs and abilities indicate, students work on skills such as balancing, bouncing, and passing and kicking a ball. Their activity throughout the day allows for emotional as well as physical release. 

• Voyages, Concordia Publishing, 2004

• Saxon Phonics, Saxon 2005

• Making Music, 2005

• Arts Attack, 2000