Curriculum Overview:

ELC:

The ELC program has adopted the Frog Street infant to 18 months program to enhance early learning outcomes.  St. Ignatius works to develop all areas of growth and development; Social-Emotional, Language and Literacy, Cognitive, and Physical.

2K:

St. Ignatius 2K program has partnered with Frog Street Toddler program (18-36 months), Starfall, and Catholic Icing to create positive early learning outcomes to ensure alignment across our Early Childhood Program and into our Elementary grades.  These curriculums offer the basic teaching components of early learning and create continuous growth and learning experiences in early literature, math, and our Catholic faith.  The social-emotional developmental curriculum in Frog Street helps children learn how to solve conflicts, manage emotions, develop independence and strengthen fine and gross motor development.  Our curriculum supports Alabama state standards and is developmentally appropriate considering the children’s individual abilities and creates a continuum of learning that builds on into 3K.

3K:

St. Ignatius 3K program integrates Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Quantitative Awareness, as well as Social-Emotional, Cognitive, and Physical(gross and fine motor) development.  Through programs Heggerty Phonemic Awareness, Phonics First, Handwriting Without Tears, Starfall, and Allelu! Early Childhood Catholic Curriculum our students are offered a well-rounded education which creates continuous growth and learning that builds on the previous years into our K-8 programs.  Comprehensive teacher-led and child-centered lessons with the whole group, small group, and small goals each day of phonemic awareness and engaging investigation create pre-emergent readers.  Phonemic awareness is the understanding that spoken words are made up of individual sounds, this awareness leads to our Phonics First curriculum which focuses on letters and their corresponding sounds. Handwriting Without Tears allows students to develop fine motor skills.

4K:

Our phonics programs have become the cornerstone for our Early Learning Center and are integral to our literacy program.  The 4K program continues what was introduced in our 3K program: Heggerty Phonemic Awareness, Phonics First, Learning Without Tears, Starfall, and Allelu! and is excellent in preparing our students for kindergarten.  From 3 through 4 years of age, children show rapid growth in literacy through whole group and small group instruction.  All of our preschool teachers are trained in both Phonemic Awareness and Phonics First to help our students bridge the gap between phonological skills allowing them to progress considering their individual abilities.  Our focus better equips students to be successful in reading and writing.  Learning Without Tears writing and math curriculum support independence through engaging investigations and independent discovery.