Kindergarten Curriculum
Why St. Johns LaGrange?
At St. John’s Lutheran Kindergarten, students explore the world around them through a Christ-centered curriculum. They build confidence, essential skills, and grow in character in a supportive enriching environment.
Religion
The underlying foundation for the overall curriculum is based on the Bible and God's love and care for His children. Students will learn about God as a loving, forgiving Creator who is always present with us. Students will gain an understanding that all Scripture is true and trustworthy and points to Jesus Christ as our Savior. They will learn Bible stories and the importance of prayer in our daily lives. Students are taught Christian character traits and will be encouraged to demonstrate these traits in the classroom and at home.
Language Arts
Kindergarteners will investigate words and sounds, study the alphabet and apply what they have learned through matching beginning and ending sounds. They will practice blending sounds to form words and gain knowledge of rhyming words. Upper- and lower-case manuscript will be taught and practiced. Kindergarteners will practice storytelling by drawing pictures while dictating stories to adults who record their ideas. Students will learn the rules of the English language and about communication with others.
Math
Kindergarteners will develop an understanding of the foundation of number concepts by using a variety of activities and manipulatives to understand number order; recognize and write numbers; count to 100 by ones, fives, and tens; and add and subtract simple numbers. Students will learn to recognize various geometrical shapes in the world around them. They will work on skills such as graphing, classifying/sorting, and measurement to enhance their understanding of math. These skills will then be used throughout the curriculum (i.e. science, weather, time etc.) to enable students to understand how numbers are involved in their everyday life.
Science
Students will learn science by participating in hands-on investigations and exploration through various STEM activities. The key elements of our science curriculum include observations, comparisons and learning to record data. These components are practiced and incorporated all year long, not only during science time. Science units may include Plants, Animals, Weather, Seasons, the Solar System, and other topics that are relevant to kindergarten children.
Social Studies
The kindergarten Social Studies curriculum focuses on learning about the world around us. Social Studies topics include families, communities, work, and the Earth. Maps and globes will be studied to learn about the world, our country and various landforms. Our flag, money and holidays will be studied. Throughout these studies, our Heavenly Father will be recognized as the provider for all the needs of our daily life.
Social Emotional Learning
Kindergarteners will learn social and emotional skills to help manage their emotions, make good choices, and build healthy relationships. They will learn how to relate to each other while working together and applying their understanding of God's love and forgiveness.to themselves and their classmates. These life skills will benefit them throughout school and life.
Physical Education
Kindergarteners will demonstrate an understanding of safety and gymnasium rules, and cooperative skills in group activities. In our full-size gym, they will practice movement, throwing, catching, balance and spatial awareness. Music and rhythm will be incorporated into their activities.
Music
Various percussion instruments will be introduced to the children to explore. Through them and group singing, children will be able to learn rhythm, tempo, pitch and the dynamics of loud and soft. Students will participate in group singing through classroom activities, weekly chapel, and music class.
Visual Arts
Students will experiment with different art mediums that will enable them to express their ideas and imagination while developing their fine motor skills. They will learn about color, line, shape and spatial awareness. Through process art, students will be encouraged to be creative and develop divergent thinking through making choices in their artwork. Concepts of color, line, shape, and spatial awareness will be incorporated into their lessons.