We think the answer is most definitely “yes”!

Children enter Kindergarten with many different talents, gifts, abilities, and developmental levels.  Two things all children have in common, however, are an eagerness to learn and a sense of WONDER.  A classical Kindergarten program leads children to discover the richness of God’s creation.

Dorothy Sayers reminds us that the Trivium is comprised of three distinct learning stages: grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric.  These stages were identified in the Middle Ages and are found at every grade level in a classical education.  A classical Kindergarten addresses the grammar stage through its teaching of rich content.  The dialectic stage is demonstrated through many opportunities for kindergarteners to discuss and exchange ideas.  Young students engage in the rhetoric stage by showing mastery of specific skills and the acquisition of truth through written and verbal communication.

What does this approach to learning look like in the classroom?  Let’s examine a typical Kindergarten study about community.  In a traditional program, the children may experience classroom visits by guest speakers such as policemen and firemen.  They may also color “in the lines” on drawings of community helpers and role play as they dress in costumes.  The Geneva Kindergarten offers young students the opportunity to truly experience a community.  Children write a contract using the encoding skills taught in our strong phonics program.  They visit the “bank” (headmaster’s office) to borrow money for purchasing inventory and advertise the opening of a store by posting student-created couplets around the school.  Once new school supplies are purchased, children price the merchandise, open a store, and learn to name and recognize coins as they complete sales.  After sorting and counting the money, each child takes a portion of the profit to their church as a tithe.  The remaining profit is used to buy library books for the classroom.  Reading, writing, math, art, social studies, and Bible lessons are all integrated in this study of community. 

Our Kindergarten does not believe that young children, who learn by using all their senses, should be spending their time at school circling the correct answer, sitting in rows, and filling in the blanks on worksheets.  We believe, instead, that they should be actively involved in learning by applying for jobs in a functional community, designing their own stamps, checking work schedules as they report to their businesses, and using Biblical work ethics to perform their duties.  These engaging community activities take place in just one month of the school year!  Another fun Kindergarten teaching unit

involves making and operating a life-size zoo.  This study provides a wonderful opportunity for the children to learn many facts about animals and to demonstrate their strong phonetic, spelling, and writing skills as they share this information in print!

Young children are naturally curious.  Their favorite question is “Why?”  A classical Kindergarten provides a loving and encouraging atmosphere where students can joyfully pursue knowledge and truth.  John Locke (1632-1704) acknowledged the importance of allowing children to be curious when he stated, “ Curiosity in children, is but an appetite for knowledge.  One great reason why children abandon themselves wholly to silly pursuits and trifle away their time insipidly is, because they find their curiosity balked, and their inquiries neglected.”

The Geneva Kindergarten provides a strong academic program, offering daily opportunities for children to engage in learning by reading, speaking, and experiencing unique and purposeful activities.  The result is a joyful educational experience where learning is celebrated.  Children are given an opportunity to acquire an appetite for that which is good, true, and beautiful.  Let us open the doors of learning and give your child the pleasure of experiencing a sense of WONDER.