KINDERGARTEN • K5
A Strong Foundation for a Lifetime of Learning
Kindergarten at Canterbury is a remarkable year of growth. Children move from recognizing letters and sounds to reading words, sentences, and stories; from counting objects to working confidently with numbers; and from early pencil skills to beautiful cursive handwriting. Our classroom combines careful, systematic instruction with stories, Scripture, poetry, singing, conversation, and hands-on discovery.
16 Students Maximum
Small enough for every child to be known by name.
Phonics-Based Reading
Systematic instruction, not guessing strategies.
Cursive from Kindergarten
Handwriting taught alongside phonics from day one.
Low-Tech Classroom
Books, discussion, and hands-on learning over screens.
8:15 AM–3:00 PM
A full school day. Extended care available to 5:30 PM.
By the End of Kindergarten
Our goal is not merely to complete a Kindergarten curriculum. We want students to leave K5 equipped with real academic skills and the habits needed for first grade and beyond.
Reading
Decode phonetic words and read beginning stories with growing fluency, expression, and comprehension.
Writing
Form cursive letters correctly and write connected words and simple sentences neatly.
Mathematics
Work confidently with numbers through 100 while building foundations in addition, subtraction, time, money, measurement, and problem solving.
Knowledge
Develop foundational knowledge of Scripture, science, history, geography, poetry, and the natural world.
Habits
Listen attentively, follow directions, complete work carefully, practice good manners, and participate confidently in classroom life.
The Canterbury Difference
These facts are more than logistics. A class of sixteen means every child is known by name, corrected in real time, and given room to be delighted in as an individual. Students wear uniforms, a small daily habit that cultivates order, unity, and a sense of shared purpose. Freedom from screens is a deliberate choice: young children learn to read, write, and think by engaging directly with people, books, and ideas — not by swiping at a tablet.
Kindergarten at Canterbury is academically serious yet age-appropriate, rooted in phonics rather than guessing strategies, integrated with Scripture and character formation from the first day, and designed to prepare students for the rigor of our classical grammar program beginning in first grade.
Structured yet joyful. Academically serious yet age-appropriate.
Learning to Read with Confidence
Reading is the heart of the Kindergarten year at Canterbury. Students begin with the sounds of the alphabet and move systematically through short and long vowels, consonants, and blending — combining sounds into one- and two-vowel words. As the year progresses, they learn dozens of special sound patterns, including blends, digraphs, and diphthongs, along with the phonics rules that govern them and a set of essential sight words. By spring, most students are reading complete sentences and short stories, developing accuracy, fluency, expression, and real comprehension along the way.
We don’t want children merely to recognize familiar words. We want them to possess the tools to approach a new word and read it.
Our most advanced Kindergarten readers move further still, into prefixes, suffixes, and well over a hundred additional sound patterns. Parents are often astonished at how quickly a child moves from naming letters in September to reading a story aloud by spring.
Cursive from the Beginning
Handwriting instruction begins on day one, taught alongside — not after — phonics. Students first learn proper pencil grip, posture, and paper position, laying the physical foundation for good penmanship. From there they progress through correct cursive letter formation, connections between letters, and the consistent slant and spacing that make writing legible. By the end of the year, students are writing their own name, words, and simple sentences in cursive, with real attention paid to neatness and care.
We teach children that written work should be legible, careful, orderly, and beautiful.
Building Number Sense and Mathematical Fluency
Mathematics at Canterbury moves in careful sequence. Students count to 100 by ones, twos, fives, and tens; learn to write numbers and spell number words; and build an early sense of place value. From there, they add and subtract, solve oral story problems, tell time, recognize coins and money combinations, and take first steps into fractions, basic geometry, and measurement. Written and oral review throughout the year keeps skills sharp and mastery — not mere exposure — the goal.
Children learn both how to work with numbers and what those numbers mean.
Learning to Speak, Think, and Understand
Kindergarten develops thought and language, not merely worksheet skills. Students practice speaking in complete thoughts, building vocabulary, and using descriptive and positional language. They work with opposites, comparisons, and simple analogies; they classify objects, solve riddles, and put ideas and pictures in logical sequence. Careful listening is treated as a skill to be practiced, not assumed — the foundation for the more formal reasoning of the grammar-school years ahead.
Poetry Worth Remembering
Canterbury Kindergartners memorize and recite thirteen classic poems over the course of the year, including works by Robert Louis Stevenson and Christina Rossetti. Poetry builds vocabulary and a feel for rhythm and expression; reciting before the class builds public speaking skill and quiet confidence — and gives children a store of beautiful language they will carry for life.
Children should have good words, beautiful language, Scripture, hymns, and poetry stored in the memory.
Discovering God’s World
Our science studies are an invitation to observe and delight in creation. Kindergartners explore the five senses, the human body, weather and the seasons, and seeds and plant growth, along with the animal kingdom — farm and zoo animals, insects, birds and reptiles, and life along the seashore. Learning happens through direct observation, hands-on activity, and guided drawing rather than a textbook alone.
Beginning to Understand Our Place in the World
Kindergartners begin to situate themselves in time and place. They learn about the community helpers who serve them — firefighters, doctors, pastors, teachers, and farmers — and meet formative figures from American history, from Christopher Columbus and the Pilgrims to George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington Carver. They learn the meaning of national symbols such as the flag and the Liberty Bell, and begin map and globe work: cardinal directions, the continents and oceans, and a first introduction to countries and cultures beyond our own.
Faith Woven Through the School Day
Christian formation at Canterbury is not confined to a single subject on the schedule; it is woven through the whole of the school day. Students study the Creation and Genesis narratives, the life and ministry of Christ, and His Crucifixion and Resurrection. They memorize Scripture, learn foundational Christian doctrine through question-and-answer drills, pray together, and sing hymns and songs that shape both voice and heart.
Alongside doctrine, teachers cultivate the everyday virtues of a Christian classroom: obedience, truthfulness, kindness, attentiveness, respect, diligence, generosity, and self-control — habits practiced daily until they become character. Patriotic songs and civic formation have their place here as well, forming students who love both their God and their country rightly ordered.
Learning with Head, Heart, and Hands
Kindergartners also learn by making, with a weekly art class taught by an on-campus art instructor. Regular classroom projects in drawing, coloring, painting, cutting, folding, and gluing build fine motor skill alongside creativity — and these projects tie into the Scripture, history, phonics, and mathematics already being studied, rather than standing apart from them. Puzzles, manipulatives, and sequencing activities sharpen hand-eye coordination and visual perception, while daily classroom responsibilities build independence.
The goal is a child who is increasingly capable, attentive, curious, courteous, and ready to learn.
Come See Kindergarten at Canterbury
The best way to understand our Kindergarten is to see it in action. Visit Canterbury, meet our teachers, and see how strong academics, Christian formation, beautiful habits, and the joy of childhood come together in the classroom.