In our K-4 classroom at Prince of Peace Catholic School, we value our partnership with parents in building a foundation for their child’s successful entry into Kindergarten the following year.
K-4 students have the opportunity to attend a full day or half day program. Instruction is guided by a teacher and a teacher’s aide with a class size of no larger than 18 children. Our program is licensed by the Greenville County Department of Social Services (DSS). Families choose our program because it offers a modest but rich introduction to academic instruction and skill development for 4-year olds.
Our curriculum offers children a healthy environment that balances structure, academics and play. The children experience the “structure of school” when they learn how to respond to and follow instructions, work in small groups, sit in circle time, and follow simple classroom rules like raising a hand to speak or waiting patiently for a turn at a task. As a result, they learn and practice positive social skills with other children in a classroom where courtesy and kindness are modeled. These cognitive and social skills are also reinforced through structured and free (but supervised) play in the classroom, at recess, and while working cooperatively in small groups.
From the start of our school year, we focus on handwriting, letter and letter sound identification, number recognition, colors, shapes, and counting from 1 to 20. Students experience hands-on activities, music, and learning games to develop the skills children need to succeed in Kindergarten.
We use the “Happily Ever After” K-4 phonics program, authored by the non-profit Rowland Reading Foundation and published by Zaner-Bloser, to best prepare our 4-year old students for the language arts programming offered to students in the following years.
Our K4 children also begin the handwriting process with a program published by Handwriting Without Tears called “Get Set for School.” Click here to learn more about Why It Works. The program is designed around three components that best prepare K4 students for full day kindergarten: Readiness and Writing, Language and Literacy, and Numbers and Math. It incorporates a multi-sensory and differentiated approach to learning so that children can learn actively and attentively.
It is important that our students grow spiritually as well as socially and academically. Students are introduced to prayers and major holy days of our Catholic faith, as well as basic lives of better-known saints or simple stories from Sacred Scripture. Starting in October, K4 students attend weekly Mass with their 8th grade “buddies”.
At Prince of Peace Catholic School, our K-4 early childhood program jump starts your child’s learning, so that they are best prepared to experience Kindergarten and beyond..
