Curriculum

Curriculum and Assessment

Christ Lutheran Day School’s curriculum philosophy is based upon the following principles:

  • Developmentally appropriate practices as established by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
  • A focus on the whole child – to include development in the areas of literacy; sensory organization; motor activity; social-emotional development; and approached to learning.
  • A belief that children develop through a developmental continuum, rather than accomplishing a particular skill set all at once.

Christ Lutheran Day School has created a curriculum that looks at each child’s individual needs and goals to help scaffold him/her to his/her fullest learning potential.  The foundation of our program is based on the Creative Curriculum.  We use this program as a framework to support the learning environment each teacher creates in the classroom.  This includes creating interest areas around the room, and a consistent schedule that meets the needs of the children.  The Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines are followed as well.

In addition to Creative Curriculum, we use the Learning Without Tears curriculum.  This multisensory, developmentally appropriate instruction helps to give our children all the tools they need to learn to express their thoughts, step by step, and eventually letter by letter.

Conscious Discipline is utilized as a foundation for our teachers to integrate social-emotional learning into our curriculum.  (See Discipline & Guidance section for more information)

CLDS students are continuously assessed on the continuum.  These assessments are designed to measure a child’s performance of a real or designed task or activity relevant to the desired learning. Performance observations are directly related to the child’s development and achievement.

We are utilizing the Teaching Strategies Gold system to assess and meet the individual goals of each child.  This allows teachers a set of developmentally appropriate and intentional goals to set forth for each child.  It also gives each teacher a valid assessment tool in order to see the progress each individual child is making throughout the school year.  The formal assessments are given at varied times throughout the year and include family feedback and collaboration.   The teachers use formal and informal assessments to guide their weekly lesson plans.  Teachers use daily observations, the Teaching Strategies Gold observation/documentation program, and individual weekly journals to keep track of each child’s progress throughout the year.

Objectives for Development & Learning

Social-Emotional

  1. Regulates own emotions and behaviors
    1. Manages feelings
    2. Follows limits and expectations
    3. Takes care of own needs appropriately
  2. Establishes and sustains positive relationships
    1. Forms relationships with adults
    2. Responds to emotional cues
    3. Interacts with peers
    4. Makes friends
  3. Participates cooperatively and constructively in group situations
    1. Balances needs and rights of self and others
    2. Solves social problems

Physical

  1. Demonstrates traveling skills
  2. Demonstrates balancing skills
  3. Demonstrates gross-motor manipulative skills
  4. Demonstrates fine-motor strength and coordination
    1. Uses fingers and hands
    2. Uses writing and drawing tools

Language

  1. Listens to and understands increasingly complex language
    1. Comprehends language
    2. Follows directions
  2. Uses language to express thoughts and needs
    1. Uses an expanding expressive vocabulary
    2. Speaks clearly
    3. Uses conventional grammar
    4. Tells about another time or place
  3. Uses appropriate conversational and other communication skills
    1. Engages in conversations
    2. Uses social rules of language

Cognitive

  1. Demonstrates positive approaches to learning
    1. Attends and engages
    2. Persists
    3. Solves problems
    4. Shows curiosity and motivation
    5. Shows flexibility and inventiveness in thinking
  2. Remembers and connects experiences
    1. Recognizes and recalls
    2. Makes connections
  3. Uses classification skills
  4. Uses symbols and images to represent something not present
    1. Thinks symbolically
    2. Engages in socio-dramatic play

Literacy

  1. Demonstrates phonological awareness
    1. Notices and discriminates rhyme
    2. Notices and discriminates alliteration
    3. Notices and discriminates smaller and smaller units of sound
  2. Demonstrates knowledge of the alphabet
    1. Identifies and names letters
    2. Uses letter–sound knowledge
  3. Demonstrates knowledge of print and its uses
    1. Uses and appreciates books
    2. Uses print concepts
  4. Comprehends and responds to books and other texts
    1. Interacts during read-alouds and book conversations
    2. Uses emergent reading skills
    3. Retells stories
  5. Demonstrates emergent writing skills
    1. Writes name
    2. Writes to convey meaning

Mathematics

  1. Uses number concepts and operations
    1. Counts
    2. Quantifies
    3. Connects numerals with their quantities
  2. Explores and describes spatial relationships and shapes
    1. Understands spatial relationships
    2. Understands shapes
  3. Compares and measures
  4. Demonstrates knowledge of patterns

Science & Technology

  1. Uses scientific inquiry skills
  2. Demonstrates knowledge of the characteristics of living things
  3. Demonstrates knowledge of the physical properties of objects and materials
  4. Demonstrates knowledge of Earth’s environment
  5. Uses tools and other technology to perform tasks

Social Studios

  1. Demonstrates knowledge about self
  2. Shows basic understanding of people and how they live
  3. Explores change related to familiar people or places
  4. Demonstrates simple geographic knowledge

Literacy

  1. Explores the visual arts
  2. Explores musical concepts and expression
  3. Explores dance and movement concepts
  4. Explores drama through actions and language

English Language Acquisition

  1. Demonstrates progress in listening to and understanding English
  2. Demonstrates progress in speaking English