Our preschool program is focused on creatively interacting with these bright young minds and provides early childhood education and care for children.
Our preschool program is focused on creatively interacting with these bright young minds and provides early childhood education and care for children.
Children have a natural love for learning and minds like sponges.
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Preschool Course Offerings for 2017-2018
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PreK-K School Schedule
PreK-K
Math Readiness
Science - Biology
Language Arts- Sing, Spell, Read, and Write
History & Art
Science - Biology
Language Arts- Sing, Spell, Read, and Write
History & Art
Reading assessment will be given to determine class level for each student
Children have a natural love for learning and minds like sponges. At NGA, we encourage home school parents to narrow the academic focus to Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic for Pre-K through elementary school students. Often this is successfully accomplished by using techniques that incorporate music and interactive games and technology. Our two day per week Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten programs help children develop the readiness and early literacy skills they need with age-appropriate activities. We use the Sing, Spell, Read & Write curriculum because of its high interest use of phonics songs, interactive charts, and games to teach the alphabetic principle, phonemic awareness, sound/letter correspondences, short vowel sounds, and blending in a fun and meaningful way. By the end of kindergarten, students will be reading fully decodable storybooks with single-syllable, short-vowel words.
Math assessment will be given to determine class level for each student
Mathematics is the third leg of our narrowed 3R (Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic) focus for Pre-K through elementary school students. To prepare our children for an increasingly technology-driven world, NGA math classes meet twice per week. We teach our Pre-K through 4th grade students the methodologies of Singapore math. Singapore mathematics refers to the teaching methods or the actual curriculum used for kindergarten through sixth grade in the small island country and has become increasingly popular due to consistent top ranking on an international assessment of student math achievement called the Trends in International Mathematics. Our curriculum, Math in Focus, is an authentic Singapore Math curriculum with problem solving as the center of math learning and concepts taught with a concrete pictorial abstract learning progression through real-world, hands-on experiences. Mastering fewer concepts on a deeper level is stressed rather than memorizing broader concepts for test-taking purposes.
Although homeschool parents of Pre-K through elementary school students are encouraged to narrow their children's academic focus to reading, writing, and arithmetic (known as the 3R's), NGA still offers science, history, Bible, and enrichment classes to this age group. These classes meet once per week. The goal is to provide a practical and interactive venue to enhance their 3R skills. All NGA students, including our Pre-K and Kindergarten, have an opportunity to participate in both physical sciences and biological sciences. Each year an age-appropriate version of our high school science is introduced throughout each grade level. For example, during the 2015-2016 school year, our high school students studied Chemistry. Additionally, our Pre-K and Kindergarten students were introduced to higher-level Chemistry concepts such as the periodic table, elements, molecules, acids, bases, etc. They participated in the labs involving the scientific method and learned how to write a simple lab report. Each year a different science discipline is introduced on a revolving schedule. This schedule includes, but is not limited to, Environmental Science, Physical Science, Biology, Anatomy, and Chemistry. During the 2016-2017 school year, our Pre-K and Kindergarten science students will be introduced to Environmental Science through exploring nature. Our curriculum is The Nature Connection: An Outdoor Workbook for Kids, Families, and Classrooms. Ever since Richard Louv diagnosed nature-deficit disorder in his classic book Last Child in the Woods, parents and teachers have been looking for more ways to connect children with the outdoors. During the 2016-2017 school year, our NGA science team seeks to do its part in helping to accomplish this goal through exploration and interactive projects and hands-on activities.
Reading:
Math:
Science:
History:
Similar to our science program, our history program is determined by our revolving high school history course offerings. A revolving history cycle takes 4 years to complete. It begins with Creation and covers key periods in ancient world history through modern day events in America. This year, our focus will be American history and the upcoming election. At NGA, we believe history is best understood as an evolving chronological story of man's interactions with God and his fellow human beings. The character lessons of history are explored along with the consequences and/or impact of man's choices. Age appropriate concepts and projects are introduced to our Pre-K and Kindergarten students. Our history class meets once per week. This year's history curriculum-TBD.
According to the NGA philosophy, the two most important things a homeschooling parent can emphasize in early education is character and the 3 R's (Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic). If the hurried homeschool parent's schedule only leaves time for a single focus, we believe it should be character training based on biblical truths and principles. It has been said, Good manners can open doors an ivy league education can not. As educators, we encourage every child to reach for the highest academic experience the Lord allows. As Christians, we believe everything begins and ends with God, who has given us His infallible Word as a roadmap for life. Once per week, age-appropriate Bible lessons are taught using hands-on materials including interactive songs, games, and children's biblical literature. Rather than purchase curriculum, parents pay a copy fee.
As homeschooling parents, there are so many things we would love to do with our Pre-K and Kindergarten student if only there were more hours in the day. The intent of our enrichment time is to help set aside time to accomplish some of the most impactful things on that list. Field trips, circle time, presentations, nature walks, arts and crafts, remediation in the 3 R's, and much more will be offered during our enrichment time. Young children are naturally curious and must enjoy learning that involves movement, peer collaboratives, and encourages creativity. Our enrichment time seeks to accomplish these goals through activities loosely based on Montessori concepts and methodologies.
NGA is blessed with several highly qualified Spanish teachers that are certified and/or native speakers. Foreign language is very difficult to teach without a fluent teacher. The typical American education allots 2 or 3 years for foreign language studies and rarely produces bilingual students. To encourage fluency, we offer Spanish to our students as early as first grade through twelfth grade. This year's Spanish curriculum- TBD.
Bible:
Spanish:
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PreK-K School Schedule