What is Christian Education?

 

Christian education is distinctive in that it presents all subject areas in the context of God’s view of the world. When a student is taught from a Biblical worldview, by a teacher with a personal relationship with Jesus, the result is Christian Education. The student develops higher level thinking skills, character qualities, and a work/study ethic based on an understanding of what the Bible has to say about life. All of his life choices are made based on his understanding of the Bible and the plan God has for his life. Students are encouraged to develop their intellect to its fullest potential through cultivating the habits of mind that enable them to become life long learners. It is our desire that students who leave CCS will encounter and impact today’s culture with the ability to think Biblically, defend their faith and manage their personal and professional lives in a way that will bring honor to God.

 

What are the characteristics of a typical second grader?

 

The average second grader is beginning to calm down a bit. He is beginning to reason and concentrate. A second grader can be critical of himself, worry, and express a lack of confidence. He does not like being singled out from the group, even for praise.

 

During this year, you can expect your second grader to:


· develop a concept of himself as an individual

· begin to understand and respect others

· build relationships with others and develop a sense of personal responsibility

 

SPIRITUAL FORMATION
  

At CCS, our spiritual formation program is the most important thing we do.  Through daily chapel and classroom Bible instruction, we want to teach our students to know His Word, praise His name and grow daily as young believers.

 
CHAPEL
  

Students in grades 1-4 participate in Chapel every morning. This is an innovative Bible memory program using word studies, pictures and American Sign Language. Students delight in learning to sing contemporary Christian music. Students also memorize passages of Scripture each month and sections of the Shorter Catechism.

  
BIBLE
  
Second graders learn about Bible characters and demonstrated character traits in their lives. Familiar Bible characters include:
Moses, Joshua, Daniel, James, Elijah, Esther.
  
SERVICE PROJECTS
  

Second grade students participate in class-specific and school-wide service projects designed to help them follow Biblical principles to serve others and benefit the community. Some examples of previous service projects include Thanksgiving baskets for a family in need, coats and canned goods for the homeless and  Christmas shoeboxes for needy children.

 
MATH
  

Through the study of our number system with its exact, precise, reliable and logical nature, children are      provided a glimpse of our Creator. The Saxon Second Grade Math program provides a system of daily instruction, practice, and assessments which actively engage students in the learning process.   Concepts are developed through hands-on math experiences and concrete examples that help the children develop abstract and higher-order thinking skills.

 

The core of the second grade mathematics curriculum focuses on these concepts and skills:

 

· Mastery of basic addition and subtraction facts with regrouping
· Missing addends

· Tells time to minute intervals, elapsed time

· Show amounts of money using coins

· Making change from $1.00

· Measurement, ordinal positions, even/odd numbers

· Estimation, symmetry, geometric shapes

· Introduction to basic multiplication facts through 5

 

  
Resources and Textbooks
  

· Open Court Reading & Writing
· Shurley English
· ABEKA Spelling
· Wordly Wise Vocabulary
· Discovery Works, Concordia Ed.

 
LANGUAGE ARTS

The goal of the Language Arts program is to teach students to enjoy the many avenues of communication available to them through reading, writing, speaking and listening. The students will understand that the ability to communicate with others and with God is part of the plan God has for them.
 

The highlights of the Second Grade Language Arts program are:

· Review of instruction in phonics to improve phonemic awareness, oral fluency and decoding skills
· Use of  summarizing, predicting, and comparing and contrasting strategies to develop stronger  comprehension skills
· Systematic instruction in grammar using the Shurley English program
· Daily exposure to a variety of quality children’s literature through the reading curriculum, read-alouds and independent reading time.
· Vocabulary development through reading aloud daily and a vocabulary workbook
· Review of high frequency word lists
· Continued practice in handwriting
· Spelling is taught using word families and spelling patterns and tested via weekly assessments
· Creative writing opportunities
· Learning how to evaluate a story and apply Biblical principles
· Developing listening and speaking skills through presentations to classmates

SOCIAL STUDIES

Analyzing past and present events in history and identifying God’s purposes through them provides a perspective that will enable students to better affect their community and world as the Lord directs them through life.

Some of the units of study in second grade are:

· Communities

· Constitution

· Colonial America

· War for Independence

· Map Skills
SCIENCE
The teaching of science at CCS is designed to reveal the glory of the Creator.  Students are taught that God is in all of science and all that takes place in nature is directly under the control of a sovereign God.
The second grade curriculum includes these units of study:

Matter
· Light and Color

· Muscles and Skeleton of the Human Body

· Butterflies

· Earth through Time
Field Trips and Special Events

· Capitol Building Tallahassee downtown tour
· Happy Trails
· Chinese Restaurant
· Joe Budd fishing trip
· Pas de Vie ballet