Kindergarten Curriculum

Clifton Children’s Academy is committed to encouraging and nurturing academic excellence. The school uses the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) as a benchmark in their academic planning. However, due to our small student to teacher ratio, we are able to explore our subject matter in far greater depth and are able to extend our lessons in a more personalized manner. The following is a brief description of the subject curricula taught at Clifton Children’s Academy.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Language Arts is taught in a phonics and whole language. The Literature Experience (Houghton Mifflin) is used as a guideline textbook. We continuously explore language through listening, speaking, reading, writing and dramatizing poems and stories from various authors and artists.

READING: The Reading Program instills an appreciation of poetry and literature, authors, and illustrators. Its aim is to develop in students the skills necessary to understand the sounds of letters and how to blend these letters to form words and read. The reading program emphasizes tactile learning (magnetic letter boards and felt boards), oration, poems, and nightly book folders in addition to both group and shared reading.

WRITING: Formal instruction in handwriting corresponds to our “Letter of the Week” component of the language arts curriculum.  Students learn to write the upper and lower case letters of the alphabet, their first and last names, and to communicate their ideas by writing stories using phonetically spelled words.

SCIENCE

Our Science curriculum is a hand's on and thematic based approach. Experiments, observations, discussions, and projects are extensions of the current class theme. Emphasis is placed on using the senses to gather information. Students are expected to develop skills in posing simple questions, measuring, sorting, classifying, and communicating information about the natural world. Some of the topics covered include the five senses, weather, sink and float, life cycles, magnets, and shadows.

HISTORY AND SOCIAL STUDIES

Our social studies program focuses on historic people, events and holidays and teaches students about good citizenship and patriotism.  Each day students learn about taking turns, being responsible for their actions, and practicing honesty, self-control and kindness to all.  Students recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily and learn about the American flag and our country’s great leaders.  Throughout the year we also learn about people who work in our community.  Students learn to read simple maps as we explore the geography of our environment.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Foreign Language is included, specific language may change from year to year. Languages included at date of publication are Spanish and Japanese.