Kindergarten

A Typical Day

In Kindergarten, we love to be outside! A typical day starts with play time in our side yard. After transitioning inside, we gather for a morning carpet time that includes routines such as reciting poems and memory verses, singing a hymn, counting the days of school, checking the calendar, practicing letter sounds (phonograms), hearing a Bible story, and sharing prayer requests. Depending on the day, students may then enjoy Art or Physical Education class, followed by snack time. Each morning we also focus on brief lessons in handwriting, reading or spelling, and math. Some lessons are taught in a large group, while others are taught one-on-one or in a small group. The students have time, both in the morning and afternoon, to choose hands-on activities, such as building with blocks, using math manipulatives, creating art, and imagining in the drama centre.

After enjoying lunch while listening to music, students have a quiet time when they read and rest, as needed, on mats around the class. We then gather together again to enjoy an afternoon story time. Following the story, students engage in a simple study or activity that relates the story to different aspects of the curriculum, such as Science, Geography, Language Arts, Math, or Art. We spend about an hour each afternoon at a wonderful neighbourhood park, and take occasional trips to High Park. We finish off the day with another story and snack time back at the school.

Curriculum Overview

Kindergarten at WCCA focuses on cultivating a love of learning, as well as good work habits and attitudes in students. We emphasize the foundational disciplines of reading, writing, spelling, and arithmetic, and a love of quality literature.

Reading, Writing, and Spelling

Students are provided with a rich language experience by memorizing and studying poetry, and reading time-tested literature and favourite childhood stories.

In Junior Kindergarten, students focus on building fine motor skills through the use of various interactive materials in the classroom and using correct pencil grip. Students also learn basic phonetic skills through letter recognition and games.

In Senior Kindergarten, students continue to build their fine motor skills as they begin practising letter formation. Students use phonics to build early reading and spelling skills.

Arithmetic

Junior and Senior Kindergarten classes focus on the skills of number formation, counting, telling time, using the calendar, measuring, patterning, understanding basic shapes, understanding simple graphs, and basic hands-on addition and subtraction.

Biblical Studies

At WCCA, our greatest hope for our students is that they know, love, and worship God. In addition to a focus on building Godly character, our Kindergarten students read through major stories of the Bible in chronological order. This gives them a solid foundation in basic Biblical literacy and sets the stage for a deeper study of the Bible in the grammar stage (Grades 1-4).

Other subjects

Through the use of quality stories and hands-on experiences, students are introduced to a wide range of subjects, such as Science, Art, Music, and introductory Geography. Kindergarten students spend plenty of time outside each day in order to explore and enjoy God’s creation, in addition to weekly Physical Education classes.

The Classical Model

The Classical model utilizes repetition to gain true mastery of a subject. All Kindergarten students will have an opportunity to master a skill with confidence, and since our curriculum is carefully designed to build upon previous concepts, students are able to make logical connections within and between disciplines, and the knowledge and understanding they gain are not forgotten as concepts are revisited throughout the year.