Kindergarten

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If you are seeking an outstanding private, Christian kindergarten in North Atlanta, Pinecrest Academy is the place for your child. One of the best private Catholic schools in Georgia, our kindergarten program offers the excellence of a Christian education that you’d expect, in a warm environment where your child will be known and loved, able to thrive and grow. Our students come from Cumming, as well as closeby Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Duluth and Suwanee.

The kindergarten classroom at Pinecrest is an active place. Children make new discoveries about themselves and the world around them. Our focus is on the development of the whole child, utilizing the Catholic educational philosophy of Integral Formation®. This proven method involves the concentrated, systematic and directed way of educating a child who becomes capable of projecting God’s love into the wider community and culture around him. We view Integral Formation® as four pillars: Intellectual, Human, Spiritual and Apostolic Formation.

Our kindergarten provides age-appropriate activities for students, including time to listen, talk, work, play, explore, manipulate and be creative.

The day begins with greetings and morning work. Children come into the classroom, greet their friends (just as grown-ups do when they get to work) and take care of morning routine work, such as unpacking snacks and water bottles. They then complete an assigned morning task reviewing a previously taught skill.

After morning prayers, the classes have morning meeting. Children participate in calendar math, sing songs, engage in class discussions, and have loads of fun learning through poems and games. It's a great way to start the day at North Atlanta’s award-winning private Christian school!

Wonders Reading, Phonics and Writing program follows the morning meeting. Reading  provides daily opportunities for students to interact with rich texts through small and whole group lessons.  Instruction in kindergarten builds strong foundational skills, including phonological awareness (manipulation of sounds and words), phonics and word recognition, and fluency and vocabulary development.  
 
Learning Centers come next. During center time, students dive into concepts they learn through the following activities: practice word patterns, spelling rules, do word building, fine motor skills practice, learn math concepts with manipulatives and small reading groups. Teachers confer with children in guided reading groups, helping them develop reading skills and strategies at their instructional level. The children also work on handwriting and writing skills.

After a very busy morning, everyone is ready for snack time!

The day continues with the following engaging study areas:

Catholic Formation: Children read books, Bible stories with Christian messages, and make crafts to learn about God, Jesus and virtues. The children also have daily chapel time, which may include praying for special intentions, singing a song, listening to a book or having a discussion about what they are learning in class. Once a week, children attend Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a hands-on approach to making our faith real.

Math: Although classes have a set time for math, it is also integrated throughout the day, especially during calendar activities. The series Pinecrest uses is Saxon. Children are learning by using many types of manipulatives, including teddy bear counters, pattern blocks, rulers, balance scales, linking cubes, foam dice and many more. Students often do not realize that they are learning basic concepts that they will need to build upon for all their future math courses! At this point, paper and pencil math takes second hand to having them experience the concepts our teachers are teaching.

Science and Social Studies: The focus of the Kindergarten Science curriculum is on developing an awareness of the world in which we live. The Kindergarten Social Studies curriculum focuses on the students and how they relate to others in their families, classroom, school, community, and celebrate holidays. Many topics are covered in these areas. The classes read books, participate in computer activities, crafts, reenactments and simple experiments, as well as worksheets and mini-books to cover the objectives.

Play Centers: Children are learning through play.  This time is for children to experience opportunities for “free play” and take place a few times a week.  Children learn many social and emotional skills through play. This is an important time, integral to the growth and development of all children.

Besides all of the activities that take place in the classroom, children have daily recess, lunchtime in the dining hall, PE, Spanish, Music, Art and library time. A Pinecrest kindergartner's day is full of fun and learning!

Pinecrest Academy's private Catholic kindergarten is conveniently located in Cumming, South Forsyth, just minutes from Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton and Suwanee. We serve families of all faiths seeking a Christian education for their children.