Elementary Curriculum
Pre-K/Bridge
Christian Education
Children at Southminster School learn about the world God created and how God provides for them through His creation. They participate in chapel services where Bible stories teach about God and Jesus. They worship God together with their classmates, expressing thanks for God’s love and care. Children take comfort in learning that they can talk to God whenever they want and wherever they are. They are encouraged to use their God-given talents and gifts to the best of their ability.
Pre-K and bridge students learn that the church building is a special place to go and talk to God and learn about His word. In classroom lessons they hear Bible stories and participate in finger plays and songs which help teach scripture and Biblical truths. They talk about being kind, helpful, and cooperative at school and at home as an expression of their love of God. Beginning with the Bridge class, students memorize weekly Bible verses and retell Bible stories. They discover how Biblical people served God and how they can serve Him today. They begin to understand how God and Jesus influence their lives and decisions.
Pre-K
LANGUAGE ARTS
Pre-Reading
Use picture clues to connect pictures to print
Build phonemic awareness through rhyming activities
Recognize upper and lower case letters and produce related sounds
Be introduced to blending of letter sounds
Recognize concepts of print (left-to-right progression, punctuation)
Become familiar with elements of a story
Pre-Writing
Use correct pencil grip
Use correct beginning strokes
Write letters and name using correct strokes and line positioning
Recognize that writing is thoughts on paper
Use writing to express ideas (drawing, scribbling, creating letters and letter-like approximations)
Listening/Speaking
Demonstrate courteous listening behavior
Expand vocabulary and prior knowledge
Retell stories, repeat directions, and describe events in sequential order
Experiment with language sounds and words
Ask questions and understand the answers
Participate in group discussions and in creative dramatic activities
MATH
Develop awareness of numbers and their uses
Count orally 1-50
Use sorting, matching and counting to compare groups of objects
Recognize calendar concepts
Use attributes to classify objects
Identify, reproduce, complete, and extend patterns
Measure using non-standard units
Compare objects by size and weight
Graph with real objects
Identify 2-dimensional shapes (circle, triangle, rectangle, square, rhombus, oval)
Recognize math vocabulary, such as whole/half, equal/not equal, positional words
SCIENCE
Use five senses to examine the environment and natural objects
Investigate similarities, differences, and patterns in natural objects
Identify appropriate clothing and activities for weather
Discuss vocabulary commonly used in science
Gather information by collecting, classifying, measuring, and sequencing
Explore cause and effect relationships
Participate in recording scientific data
Bridge
LANGUAGE ARTS
Pre-Reading
Use picture clues to connect pictures to print
Build phonemic awareness through rhyming activities
Recognize upper and lower case letters and produce related sounds
Be introduced to blending of letter sounds
Recognize concepts of print (left-to-right progression, punctuation)
Listen and discuss elements of a story
Pre-Writing
Use correct pencil grip
Use correct beginning strokes
Write letters and name using correct strokes and line positioning
Recognize that writing is thoughts on paper
Use writing to express ideas (drawing, scribbling, creating letters and letter-like approximations)
Listening/Speaking
Demonstrate courteous listening behavior
Expand vocabulary and prior knowledge
Retell stories, repeat directions, and describe events in sequential order
Experiment with language sounds and words
Ask questions and understand the answers
Participate in group discussions and in creative dramatic activities
MATH
Recognize numbers 1-100
Count orally 1-100
Write numbers 0-10
Skip count orally by 2s, 5s, and 10s
Identify, describe, and create patterns
Recognize calendar concepts, such as days of the week, months of the year
Identify 2-dimensional shapes (circle, triangle, rectangle, square, rhombus, oval, parallelogram)
Identify 3-dimensional shapes (sphere, cone, cylinder, pyramid)
Identify attributes of shapes and solids
Compare, contrast, and re-create shapes and solids
Measure using non-standard units
Recognize temperatures as hot or cold
Recognize positional words such as between, below, above, under, over
Use models to demonstrate and apply addition concepts
Use models to demonstrate and apply subtraction concepts
Apply addition and subtraction in problem solving situations
Create and interpret graphs
Identify coins and their values
SCIENCE
Use five senses to examine the environment and natural objects
Discuss different types of weather and predict daily weather
Discuss concepts of nutrition, rest, exercise, and personal hygiene
Participate in investigations (make predictions, perform experiments, record data, discuss results)
Discuss vocabulary commonly used in science
Explore cause and effect relationships