Class Descriptions

Nursery (0-1 year-olds)
The nursery provides attentive childcare by moms of ERC for children under two years old. Our nursery coordinator will be sure to gather all the information needed to best care for your baby.

Toddlers (2-3 year-olds)
Our toddler class provides routine and opportunity for spiritual, social, and physical development. The kids learn about God through songs, Bible reading, and other activities. They are reminded how to participate well in a classroom by paying attention with their eyes, ears, hands, mouths, and hearts. The class provides opportunities to help them grow in toddler appropriate conflict resolution, humility and sharing, and showing love to one another. The class also fosters fine motor skills through crafts and activities as well as gross motor skills in our gym class.

Pre-K (4-5 year-olds)
Our preschool age kids continue to build on previous participation skills. They learn to sit and listen, follow directions, and love their neighbor with self-control. They play games, participate in circle time, crafts, music, gym class, and free play. Curriculum covers seasons and weather, early phonics, opposites, time (days, weeks, months), and more. Kids begin speaking skills with regular show and tell, and begin identifying early literature elements by reading and talking about a book each time. They also memorize a creed or passage of Scripture together.

Kindergarten:
This class is structured around a theme each time (usually corresponding to the time of year). The class reads a book and practices story mapping and basic story elements identification such as characters, setting, conflict and resolution. They work on Bible memory, participate in games, crafts, music, educational activities, and gym class. Each class includes a time for kids to participate in different centers that build thinking and reading skills. This class gives each child the opportunity to participate in the long awaited glory of The Star News. Besides just being a lot of fun, this activity helps kids be comfortable speaking up front and teaches good writing and reading skills.

Beginning Readers: 1^st Grade
First Graders continue to be immersed in great literature, with many classics read aloud. We then identify and recall elements of the story and introduce parts of speech and sentence structure. First Graders also get paired with a 5th/6th grade reading buddy where they hear a short story and discuss it together. Our class continues to work on Bible memory and Westminster Shorter Catechism questions and answers 1-5. Our class participates in gym and art study where we introduce fundamentals and recreate what we have learned. 

2nd Grade:
A new class this year! Description coming soon.

Reading Reflections: 3^rd Grade
At this age kids will split their time into 2 class periods, an art period using Meet the Masters curriculum (see below) and a worldview/literature period. The literature class at this age reads picture books aloud in class, works on fun activities to go along with the stories that build reading, writing, and thinking skills, and discusses 2 main questions:

• What do good readers do?  To answer this question, kids will learn different reading comprehension strategies such as story mapping, re-reading, visualization, text to self, and text to text connections.
• What do Christians do as they read? To answer this question, kids memorize a creed or bible passage to better know the essentials of our Christian faith. From there they learn to ask themselves important questions as they read, such as: What does the author value/ What does this say about God? About people? What does the author view as good? As bad/sin?

Thoughtful Readers: 4^th Grade
Kids will continue to split their morning between literature study and art through Meet the Masters (see below). Literature study at this age will be a genre study. Kids will read different genres through the year and students will have opportunities to share (in partners and in front of class as a presentation) about the books they have read. Some books will be assigned, but often books will be self chosen at their own “just right” level. In addition to learning the traits of various genre, the class will also talk about and practice the “Good Reader” strategies that they learned in previous years, and practice answering some worldview questions on the books they are reading: What does the author think is important/value? Is there anything in the novel that the author deals with a in a non-biblical way, or is against scripture? Kids will also memorize a creed or Bible passage and use fun activities to support what we are learning.

Important note:  Children will come home from class with a homework sheet that will explain exactly what needs to be done before the next class session.  This homework will be an important part of the learning and sharing that goes on in this room.

Bridge to the Why: 5th and 6th Grade
This class is an exciting transition time for students. Our goal at this age is to make a bridge from the foundational, fact building stage of learning to the land of discussion and debate of ideas happening at the older levels.

• Continue adding and sharpening tools necessary for good literary analysis.
• Practice discernment while reading by observing and evaluating the content of a work (the what is being said) and the form of the work (the how it’s being said).
• Work in groups on in-class projects and discuss observations and responses to the books read.
• Learn to see, understand, and love the beauty of poetry, prose, drama, and art through class discussion, play acting, pictures studies, and read-aloud time with a younger buddy.

Kids will be required to read a variety of books throughout the year (audible versions are acceptable). Homework (e.g. worksheets, fun activities, memory work, some writing assignments and oral presentations) will be required each session.

Meet the Masters Art Curriculum
Our 3^rd-4^th graders will all participate in the Meet the Masters curriculum. Meet the Masters combines art history, technique, and activities to help discuss and cultivate an appreciation for the Master Artists. Each lesson has 3 steps. Steps 1 and 2 introduce the Master (life and important work) and the art technique that the Master was famous for. Students will have a chance to practice exercises that prepare them for step 3. Step 3, the Art Activity, will be completed the following class period. Kids will use the techniques learned previously to create a masterpiece like those of the Master Artist being studied.

Worldview Foundations: Middle School
The purpose of this class is to identify prevalent cultural ideologies at odds with biblical Christianity and to learn to winsomely rebut these worldly philosophies with Reformed responses. The class will read pertinent works, answer questions in writing and in group discussion, write papers, and prepare oral presentations.

Family Album
The yearbook is staffed by our middle school kids. The yearbook chronicles our learning and adventures throughout the year and acts as a summary of what God has done for us each year here at ERC. It also gives the kids opportunities to learn how culture is formed and how to winsomely remember and invite others further in. The yearbook staff uses TreeRing.com to produce the book. Each family will receive a yearbook at the end of the year already included in the tuition.

Consequence of Ideas: High School
Non multa, sed multum. Not many, but much. This year students will survey Western philosophy using R.C. Sproul’s Consequence of Ideas series and worldview through mythology. Students should plan to spend approximately 5 hours/week for class preparation.