The Kindergarten students of our Academy's Blended Learning program continue to work diligently, in Christ, to further their knowledge and skills in the areas of language, phonics, and mathematics. Their learning is enriched by their engaging on-line lessons with Mrs. Anna Ramirez, as well as their exposure to and discussion of related science topics and quality literature, artworks, and classical music.
Each week we continue to learn about and practice good manners (e.g., ‘Be courteous about voice volume.’ ‘Give people courteous attention.’ ‘Place a napkin in your lap when you sit down and use it politely during a meal,’ ‘Don’t place your elbows on the table if food is present,’ and ‘Chew with your mouth closed and wait to talk while food is in your mouth.’).
In phonics, we have completed our focus on each individual letter of the alphabet (the last three of which were Q, Y, and Z), and we are, now, focusing our attention on identifying and reading words with ‘long a’ sounds, such as in the words ‘cake,’ ‘stay,’ and ‘train’). In mathematics, students are continuing to practice skip counting by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 10s, solving word problems, counting the value of American coins, and solving addition problems (no larger than a sum of 7) and subtraction problems (beginning with 1, 2, or 3).
In the past several weeks, students have enjoyed reading and discussing ‘Abe’s Fish’ by Jen Bryant (which narrates a true story of selflessness and generosity from Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood), ‘The Frogs and Toads All Sang’ by Arnold Lobel (which are a collection of poems written by the famed author and published posthumously by his daughter), ‘Roxaboxen’ by Alice McLerran (which relates the real-life story of a play town that the author’s mother and neighborhood friends created and played in at the turn of the 20th century), and ‘Cactus Hotel’ by Brenda Z. Guiberson (which is a story about the life of a cactus and how it supported different creatures during different stages of its growth from seedling to its end as a two-hundred-year-old cactus). In addition to reading and discussing excellent literature, students engage in a craft related to the story of the week, so as to further engage in the topic of focus.
Our Preschool students continue to read quality storybooks, and engage in lessons, activities, and exercises to further strengthen their ability to correctly identify various colors, shapes, letters, and numbers. In the past several weeks, they have read ‘Cars and Trucks from A–Z’ by Richard Scarry (to learn letters of the alphabet and the sound that each makes), ‘Jesus Hears Me’ by Joni Walker (to practice observation and asking questions using the words ‘who,’ ‘what,’ ‘where,’ ‘when,’ and ‘why’), and ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’ by Beatrix Potter (to learn new vocabulary, such as ‘garden,’ ‘lettuces,’ ‘net,’ ‘jacket,’ ‘wriggled,’ etc.).
They are, also, continuing to sing nursery rhymes, play games, engage in activities to help develop their fine and gross motor skills (e.g., popping bubbles, playing tug-o-war, singing traditional hand songs like ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ and ‘Open, Shut Them’). And they are learning good manners when interacting with their peers by using the words/phrases, ‘Please,’ ‘Thank you,’ ‘You’re welcome,’ and ‘I am sorry,’ as each situation calls for their use.
We are grateful for the opportunity to share with our students a quality, Christ-centered, classical curriculum that honors their hearts, minds, and souls as creations of our Triune God.
