Pre-Kindergarten Curriculum

Program Details The Pre-K curriculum at TCS is designed to reflect our Classical and University-style approach and emphasizes equipping students with the tools of learning. We prepare students for Kindergarten in an enjoyable, active, engaging environment that builds a love for learning. The TCS Pre-K program is available to students who are four years old as of September 1. Classes meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:15am until 2:30pm. An optional elective course is offered from 2:30-3:30 pm for an additional fee. The daily schedule includes lunch, two recesses, and a rest time. Tuition for 2012-2013 for our Pre-K Classical Core is $1,600 per semester. Electives are an additional $320 per semester. There are two semesters each year: Fall (Aug-Dec) and Spring (Jan-May). Our Approach. Pre-K at Trinity Classical School serves as a part-time introduction to our rich curriculum and an enrichment to home life. Early childhood training begins at home, and time spent in the early years with caring family members cannot be matched by additional hours spent in a classroom or extracurricular activities.  There is high value in young children having abundant time for free, creative play, time outside in nature, hours spent simply listening to high quality literature and learning along side their parents. While we expose the children to pre-reading and writing skills and to foundational math concepts, we are most interested in helping them develop a sense of wonder and curiosity. Paramount in our program is training in manners and good habits such as attentiveness and respect for authority. We know this decision to make the preschool years truly “enriching,” with more unstructured time at home, rather than purely academic and institutional, is a unique philosophy among schools, but it has proven extremely effective for many years in other schools similar to ours whose first graders test in the top stanines by the end of first grade. Home day lessons are optional for Pre-K and we encourage parents to be sensitive to their child’s interest, attention span, and development.    Program Overview. The core of our Pre-K program is high quality children's literature.  Each week of school, our students hear an outstanding children's picture book, which is repeated each campus day. Most families also enjoy reading the books again at home together. Our teachers use the Five in a Row curriculum to plan enjoyable and engaging activities for the children related to each week’s book.  Lessons include topics and concepts in social studies, art, science, math, and language arts.  Five in a Row also provides many opportunities for enriching lessons and activities at home.  Pre-K students learn nursery rhymes throughout the school year, which provides an ideal foundation for progressing to our Poetry Memorization Program in Kindergarten.  For more on why we teach nursery rhymes see http://www.amblesideonline.org/MotherGoose.shtml. To prepare for Kindergarten, our Pre-K students learn the 26 single letter phonograms and develop phonemic awareness through oral language activities such as rhyming and language games. Beginning letter formation is also taught. Pre-K students also enjoy a variety of centers, which range from hands-on literacy and math activities to fine motor skill activities to arts and crafts or blocks.   Pre-K students memorize Scripture, learn great hymns of the faith and Bible Truths Sound-Off Questions. Students also hear Bible stories from The Big Picture Story Bible and Bible verses with application from My ABC Bible Verses by Susan Hunt. Reading is a favorite part of our days at TCS. Pre-K students build attentiveness, vocabulary and language skills by listening to classic children’s novels read aloud each campus day, such as The Velveteen Rabbit, Stuart Little, and The Little House in the Big Woods. FOR MORE INFORMATION If you would like more information about the TCS Pre-K program, please attend an Information Meeting to receive an application. Students are admitted on an ongoing basis as applications are received and a waiting pool will be formed when the class size limit is reached. Questions may also be directed to admissions@tcshouston.org.