Lower Elementary
Lower Elementary is comprised of grades 1-4. The early elementary years are foundational, as children absorb the rules of learning and build a knowledge base from which to think critically. We place a strong emphasis on reading and mathematics, and the students also take Bible, phonics, language arts, writing, penmanship, spelling, science, health, and social studies. The students also have “specials” in computer technology art, music and physical education.
Isaac Newton uses a wonderful Bible curriculum called “Building on the Rock” from Summit Ministries. It is the first fully integrated worldview and Bible survey course for elementary school students. This unique curriculum is designed to help younger students begin to formulate and relate learned Bible facts with a genuine Christian worldview, while laying the groundwork for later comparative worldview studies.
You can learn more about Building on the Rock, Click Here.
For a more in depth look at our Biblical integration program, Click Here.
There are two subjects we get asked a lot about...math memory work, and cursive writing! Here is some helpful information:
Why students still do memory work in math: why not just give a student a calculator for basic math computations? Although many public school systems have de-emphasized memorization of math tables in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division (they hold to a constructivist math approach), we believe that this type of memory work is still relevant, and crucial to learning deeper math concepts. Studies show that when students master their math facts, they are better enabled to retrieve that information automatically and can then more easily devote their “working memory” to problem solving and learning new concepts and skills. Quite simply, we believe that it is essential to develop critical thinking skills in mathematics, but we want students to have a memorized body of knowledge from which to think critically!
For a deeper dive into memory work and math success, Click Here.
Why our students still learn cursive writing: As a child grows into adolescence and adulthood, we know that most of what they write will take place on a keyboard, mobile, tablet or other electronic device. While keyboarding has taken the place of many previously handwritten notes, there are still many important developmental reasons to learn cursive writing! Researchers have discovered a link between writing by hand to critical thinking, memory success, and language skills. Studies show that students who take notes by hand not only remember it better but also improves understanding and recall. Can printing do the job just as well? Not according to some neurologists.
“Cursive writing, compared to printing, is even more beneficial because the movement tasks are more demanding, the letters are less stereotypical, and the visual recognition requirements create a broader repertoire of letter representation.” (Neurologist William Klemm)
You can find a lot of great articles on this topic but we thought this article was especially good. Click Here.