 | Primary & Lower Schools Curriculum | The Kindergarten program introduces and develops academic skills in reading, language arts, printing, writing, and arithmetic. Critical thinking skills are encouraged and new concepts and techniques are presented sequentially. To balance the program, students engage in hands-on activities to help them grasp the application of basic concepts. Children also work at Centers – special locations set up around the room for activities, games, and puzzles, each designed to reinforce skills and concepts. |
| Reading Kindergarten students focus on phonetic and decoding skills, vocabulary development, and comprehension, including answering factual questions, making predictions, and sequencing. Teachers in Kindergarten employ a wide variety of stories and activities to build students’ vocabulary, through reading and discussion. A core principle of Viewpoint’s Kindergarten reading program centers on our belief that children learn more rapidly and gain more confidence in their decoding skills when they are introduced to the long vowel rule first. Short vowel decoding follows. |
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| Language Arts Kindergarten students learn the parts of a simple sentence, including nouns and verbs. They are introduced to capitalization and punctuation. Students dictate, write, and illustrate creative age-appropriate stories. |
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| Arithmetic Teaching arithmetic concepts to Kindergarten students requires making the abstract become concrete and tangible. Concepts learned include classification and patterns, addition and subtraction to 18, counting and number recognition to 100, introduction to place value, identification of basic shapes, simple measurement, calendar skills, and an introduction to time and money. Teachers use manipulatives to help the students grasp the application of these concepts. Mental math exercises, problem-solving skills, and number relationships are emphasized. |
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| Social Studies Kindergarten students study their families, holidays, community, seasons, and beginning mapping skills. Students learn the richness and diversity of different cultures through our global education program. |
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PenmanshipKindergarteners develop their fine motor skills by learning manuscript printing, with emphasis on proper spacing and letter formation. Children are initially introduced to letters grouped by similarity of formation, such as the “Eight Cs” (the letters c, a, d, g, q, o, e, s). |
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| Art Primary School art instruction takes place outside the homeroom classroom in studios specially designed and equipped for our youngest children, under the guidance of teachers who themselves are specialists in fine arts.
In Kindergarten, fine motor skills are developed and reinforced through drawing, painting, cutting, pasting, and sculpture. The students explore color, line, shape, pattern, collage, and three-dimensional construction while creating projects. Materials used include watercolors, oil and chalk pastels, crayons, acrylic paint, construction paper, and clay. Students are introduced to and encouraged to use the vocabulary of the arts during art appreciation discussions about artistic form and content in master works of art. |
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ComputersThe Primary School maintains a separate computer lab which students regularly visit to enhance their technological skills. The computer lab and equipment is ergonomically designed to accommodate our youngest children. Dedicated computer teachers introduce students to age-appropriate concepts and the correct and safe use of the Internet.
Kindergarten students are introduced to general technological vocabulary and basic keyboard functions. They learn to use the mouse, space bar, enter key, and arrow keys, as well as proper care and safe use of equipment. They also learn to open and close a file, access the menu bar, print, and work cooperatively using information technology tools, including projects using the Internet. Students use age-appropriate application software for comprehension, vocabulary development, classification, grade-level arithmetic concepts, and creative expression through student-generated graphics. |
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LibraryThe Primary School Library is located in the Prinn Library. The Library offers storytelling, reading, and literature-related activities to our youngest students in a warm and nurturing environment. Special programs such as author visits and book fairs augment the Library’s services. A biographical hero and heroine’s life story reflects the character trait being emphasized each month in our Character Education Program. A computer is available for catalog searches and educational games.
Kindergarten students visit the Prinn Library for story time with the librarian, and are introduced to concepts such as parts of a book, pages, cover, title page, and illustrations. Browsing and free reading are encouraged. Students begin to check out books from the library in Kindergarten. |
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| Music In Kindergarten, students are introduced to musical concepts such as steady beat and rhythm, using songs, chants, and rhythm games. They learn through movement to music, and improvisation on pitched and nonpitched percussion instruments. Through solfège, they are introduced to the various fundamentals of music, vocalization, and sight-reading. |
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Physical EducationWe believe that physical education plays a meaningful and necessary role in the overall education of our students. The School’s physical education program enables students to discover their unique talents and to develop their levels of fitness, self-assurance, and teamwork at all grade levels. Our experienced coaches teach fundamental skills and always encourage good sportsmanship.
In Kindergarten, students are introduced to fundamental locomotor skills: running, skipping, jumping, hand-eye and foot-eye coordination, body spatial awareness activities, rhythmic movements, tumbling, and identification of large muscle groups. |
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ScienceViewpoint’s science laboratories showcase hands-on activities and experiments, all of which provide a stimulating exposure to the physical, earth, and life sciences. In the Primary School science lab, tables and equipment are especially designed to accommodate the small size of our youngest students.
Primary Schoolers look forward to their lab time with dedicated science teachers. Class time is spent both indoors and outdoors with special visits to our Ecolet outdoor classroom. In addition, students participate in two science hands-on workshops and/or interactive assemblies during the fall and spring semesters.
Kindergarteners study physical, earth, and life sciences. Students are introduced to lab safety and laboratory equipment. Through numerous exciting experiments, they are introduced to states and changes of matter, simple layers of the earth, magnetism, an introduction to the solar system, human anatomy, study of our senses, health and hygiene, rainforest ecosystems, environmental science, insect study with focus on butterflies, and plant study. Students take a field trip to the Leonis Adobe Museum. |
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World LanguagesPrimary School students enjoy the opportunity to become familiar with a world language in dedicated language rooms supplied with authentic artifacts, props, games, toys, videos, music, pictures, and costumes. World language concepts are taught in the target language: students will only hear French or Spanish spoken by their teacher during class time. The teacher utilizes many bright and colorful objects in the classroom to visually illustrate the ideas for the children, as well as to create a feeling for that language’s culture.
Students are introduced to both French and Spanish in Kindergarten.
Kindergarten French
Kindergarten students spend half a school year being introduced to French. During their one semester, they are introduced to French through songs, rhymes, coloring, play, movement, and stories. The students learn greetings, good manners, simple commands and responses, colors, numbers up to 10, body parts, animals, clothing, and fruits and vegetables. At First Grade, parents will choose which language their student should continue to pursue for a full year’s worth of study.
Kindergarten Spanish
Kindergarten students spend half a school year being introduced to Spanish. During their one semester, they are introduced to Spanish through songs, rhymes, coloring, play, movement, and stories. The students learn greetings, good manners, simple commands and responses, colors, numbers up to 10, body parts, animals, clothing, and fruits and vegetables. At First Grade, parents will choose which language their student should continue to pursue for a full year’s worth of study.
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