PreKindergarten & Kindergarten at St. Stephen’s Academy

We offer a unique setting where young learners become part of a smaller, close-knit group within the broader school community. This environment is ideal for teaching them how to interact and function in social settings outside of their family.

Our program incorporates school-wide Bible memory and character training. This approach not only instills a strong spiritual foundation but also promotes the development of moral and ethical values from an early age.

Balancing guided and free play within a structured setting is pivotal in our program. It fosters decision-making, social interaction, and developmentally appropriate academic learning, allowing children to explore and grow at their own pace.

Through a diverse array of activities, including guided play, games, movement, and exercises, we focus on the advancement of both large and small motor skills, crucial for the overall physical development of young children.

Our curriculum is rich in classic and contemporary English literature, including timeless works by Beatrix Potter and Winnie the Pooh to an array of poetry, rhymes, nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and more, fostering a love for language and storytelling.

We progressively introduce phonics, pre-reading skills, and basic mathematics concepts throughout the school year. This structured academic exposure ensures that our students are well-prepared and confident as they transition to Kindergarten.

• Our approach focuses on fundamental concepts such as matching and sorting, working with numbers, and understanding shapes, size, weight, capacity, and length.
• We introduce early math skills like patterns, comparisons, addition, subtraction, and basic concepts of time and money to build a solid foundation.

• The language curriculum is built around a phonics-based program, emphasizing compound words, vowels, consonants, and rhyming words to foster early reading skills.
• We place a strong emphasis on the Logic of English phonograms, which are key to unlocking reading proficiency.
• Starting in the second term, we introduce spelling tests, beginning with five words a week and gradually increasing to ten, alongside the initiation of reading groups to encourage collaborative and individual reading skills.

Penmanship is taught using the Logic of English, implementing both cursive and print formation of letters. Initially, students learn lowercase letters, eventually progressing to uppercase letters to develop fine motor skills and writing proficiency.

• Students engage with both the Old and New Testament, using resources like “Mighty Acts of God” and “The Children’s Bible in 365 Stories” to deepen their understanding and connection to biblical teachings.
• Bible dramas and catechism are included to enrich their spiritual learning and comprehension.

Kindergarten is the foundational point at which students begin to understand the Bible and the Christian faith. This occurs through the summary reading of the Old Testament using The Children’s Bible in 365 Stories as well as understanding theological thoughts through the memorization of catechism questions taken from First Catechism: Teaching Children Biblical Truths.

• The Kindergarten science curriculum in designed to introduce students to the world of creation and them through discovery and exploration.
• Students participate in field trips and hand-on investigations that will help them observe and identify patterns and characteristics of living organisms and the exploration of forces and motion.

History lessons explore family histories, significant historical figures, and events such as Columbus, the Reformation, Separatists, the Mayflower, Pilgrims, Lewis and Clark, the Oregon Trail, and Presidents Lincoln & Washington, offering a comprehensive view of the past and its impact on the present.

We introduce students to geography through the study of the globe, maps, directions, landforms, and bodies of water, cultivating an early understanding of the world around them.

Character development is a critical part of our curriculum, with a monthly focus on traits like honor, integrity, and kindness, integrated throughout the the entire school curriculum that cultivates wisdom and godly character.