Elementary School Academic Program

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Language Arts

The language arts program integrates the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. To develop a lifelong desire for reading, students are provided meaningful activities and learning experiences that include quality children’s literature. As teachers guide them through the writing process, children learn to use writing to express their thoughts, ideas, and feelings as a tool for learning.

Math

The math curriculum gives students a solid background in mathematical concepts, skills, and applications. Applying mathematics to daily life situations enables students to acquire high-level thinking skills. Aside from problem solving and math applications, the other skills developed in the program are estimation and approximation; computation; reasoning and proof; communication using mathematical language and symbols; geometry; measurement; reading, interpreting, and constructing graphs and charts; and the use of manipulatives, calculators, and computers.

Science

The science program is premised on the belief that science should nurture children’s natural curiosity so that they can develop confidence to ask questions and seek answers based on evidence and independent thinking. Science should lead children to explore and investigate God’s world by using a hands-on approach and a variety of instructional materials. The strands of the program are Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science, and Science and Engineering practices. Science processes emphasized are investigating, hypothesizing, experimenting, classifying, making generalizations, and designing solutions.

Social Studies

In kindergarten, the social studies program focuses on children in relation to the family and the community. An expanded and more outward look at countries and continents occurs in first to fourth grades, culminating in the different regions of the world and global issues. Geography, including map and globe skills, and history are incorporated. The international nature of the student body presents a wonderful opportunity to help students understand and appreciate other cultures while maintaining an awareness of their own unique heritage.

Bible Classes

Each grade level has weekly, discrete Bible lessons with an on applying God’s Word to the child’s daily life. Bible verses are studied and memorized. Children learn about God’s characteristics and how valuable each life is to the Creator. In addition to these discrete lessons, teachers integrate instruction from a Biblical worldview across subject areas

Preschool 3 and 4

The Dalat preschool department aims to integrate biblical principles into all areas of the curriculum. We will present the Bible as truth and differentiate it from traditional preschool fiction. We believe in helping children experience the nature of God through nurturing interactions between students and their teachers, learning that allows them to experience God’s world, and encouraging godly character. Our ultimate goal is to help students realize their need for a Savior and understand God’s everlasting love and grace.

Based on research from the U.S. National Association for the Education of Young Children, the educational philosophy for the preschool program is that, with teacher support and facilitation, students best construct meaning and understanding about the world through direct interactions with their environment.

Preschool 3

In Preschool 3, the curriculum focuses on early academic concepts taught through exploration, inquiry, and play.

Social/Emotional Development

  • Independence and self-help skills (*children should already be toilet-trained before entry)
  • Positive social and conflict resolution skills
  • Sense of identity and respect for others’ uniqueness
  • Expression of emotions in healthy ways
  • Introduction to Christian beliefs

Cognitive Development

  • Thematic curriculum used to begin learning sounds and shapes of letters
  • Main character and main events of a narrated story
  • Effective use of English language
  • Concepts of numbers: counting, one-to-one correspondence, and number recognition
  • Concepts of shape, size, color, patterns, sorting, and classification
  • Science concepts nurtured through children’s natural curiosity
  • Concept of relationships within school and family and their roles within them
  • Beginning music and movement skills

Physical Development

  • Development of fine and gross motor skills through crafts, construction, writing, painting, and physical activity

Preschool 4

Preschool 4 uses a curriculum called High Scope to facilitate the learning of language arts concepts.

Social/Emotional Development

  • Independence, self-help skills, and responsibility for actions and learning
  • Positive social and conflict resolution skills
  • Sense of identity and respect for each other’s uniqueness
  • Appropriate expression of feelings
  • Introduction to Christian beliefs
  • Ability to follow multi-step directions

Cognitive Development

  • Letter recognition and identification of the sound each letter makes
  • Correct letter formation
  • Effective use of English language
  • Building and decoding of CVC words
  • Rhyming, alliteration, and segmentation
  • Name recognition and name writing
  • Identification of book parts and knowledge of how to read from front to back, top to bottom, and left to right
  • Vocabulary building to enhance comprehension
  • Building personal connections between self and text
  • Retelling of stories for detail and sequence
  • Making predictions about text
  • Concept of numbers through 20: counting, writing, one-to-one correspondence
  • Concepts of shape, size, color, patterns
  • Measurement of length, height, weight, temperature, volume, and time using standard and non-standard units
  • Basic graphing
  • Beginning music and movement skills

Physical Development

  • Development of fine and gross motor skills through crafts, construction, writing, painting, and physical activity

Preschool 4

Through a variety of hands-on and literature-based activities, children learn phonemic awareness skills, alphabetic principles, concepts about print, and a variety of comprehension strategies. In mathematics, the High Scope curriculum is used to facilitate the learning of number sense, beginning geometry, measurement, data analysis, and patterns and sequencing.

Our Bible curriculum, written by Desiring God Ministries, takes preschoolers on an exciting learning adventure through the New Testament and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Learning in all subject areas is achieved through practical and experiential activities that require both independent demonstration of understanding as well as cooperative and team-building components.

Social Skills

During the first quarter of the school year the classroom teacher (with help from the elementary school counselor) will help students learn skills in personal safety and social competency. 

Teachers will do a review with students during third quarter. The curriculum is from Second Step (https://www.secondstep.org/). Talking about Touching — Personal Safety is used in kindergarten through grade 4. Teachers have the tools necessary to introduce any of the topics as needed and appropriate in the classroom.

Bullying Prevention Unit

During the first quarter of the school year, students from Grades 2 – 4 learn the definition of bullying, with emphasis on recognising the components that help students differentiate between bullying behavior and disagreements. Classes use Second Step online resources (www.secondstep.org) to learn about this topic.

Students are taught to report bullying behavior and are empowered to stand up for themselves and their peers against any bullying behavior.

During the third quarter of the school year the classroom teacher (with help from the elementary school counselor) will help students learn skills in personal safety and social competency.

This curriculum is also from Second Step (https://www.secondstep.org/). Talking about Touching — Personal Safety is used in kindergarten through grade 4. Teachers have the tools necessary to introduce any of the topics as needed and appropriate in the classroom

Child Safety and Personal Protection

In Elementary, all students start by learning rules about common safety hazards, such as fire and sharp objects, then progress to learning about personal protection.

Students learn “The Always Ask First” rule, and recognize safe, unsafe and unwanted touch. Finally, students learn the three Rs of safety, which are “Recognize, Refuse and Report” any unsafe situations.

Conflict Management

The elementary school uses a conflict management program for children called “Kelso’s Choice.” The Kelso’s Choice curriculum empowers children to solve conflict on their own by providing and teaching options to resolve problems in a fair, effective, and peaceful manner. These options are displayed by the “Kelso’s Choice Wheel,” a clear visual representation of the complete curriculum at a glance. 

Students are taught nine choices to use when experiencing “small problems” (conflicts that can be handled on their own) and “big problems” (conflicts that require adult intervention). Teaching these skills to elementary students has proven to prevent bullying, reduce tattling, minimize classroom disturbances, increase students’ self-confidence, and promote empathy and communication skills.