Early Childhood

The basis of Core Knowledge is simple and powerful: knowledge builds on knowledge. The more you know, the more you are able to learn. This seemingly logical insight, well-established by cognitive science, has profound implications for both teaching and learning. Nearly all of our most important goals for education – greater reading comprehension, the ability to think critically and solve problems, even higher test scores – are a function of the depth and breadth of our knowledge.

By outlining the precise content that every child should learn in language arts and literature, history and geography, mathematics, science, music, and the visual arts, the Core Knowledge curriculum represents a first-of-its-kind effort to identify the foundational knowledge every child needs to reach these goals and to teach it, grade-by-grade, year-by-year, in a coherent, age-appropriate sequence.

With a strong focus on challenging, but age-appropriate content, the Core Knowledge Curriculum is unique among early childhood programs. It outlines a cumulative and coherent progression of knowledge and skills in all developmental areas and integrates developmentally appropriate practices for both content and instruction.

The skills and knowledge of both the Kindergarten and Preschool Sequence provide a solid foundation for the content that children will encounter in their daily lives. Those children who transition from the SVA preschool in Highlands Ranch to a content-rich kindergarten class, like the one found at SVA, have the greatest advantage in terms of future academic success. Those that continue on into SVA’s kindergarten will be prepared for the continued success of the content-rich, ever-building liberal arts program that Core Knowledge is known for. Learn more about Core Knowledge.

Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) is the only comprehensive PreK-5 English language arts program that intentionally builds background knowledge early, and with increasing depth over the grade levels, enabling students to make deep connections within and across grade levels.  The curriculum combines rich, diverse content knowledge in history, science, literature, and the arts with systematic and research-proven foundational skills instruction.  Today’s rigorous college-and-career-readiness standards are taught through the lens of rich content knowledge.  An explicit, systematic approach to phonics and foundational skills help to accelerate fluency.  CKLA includes history, science, literature, and culture domains that get students excited to learn about the world and builds vocabulary within and across grades.  AmplifyCKLA

Capturing Kids’ Hearts is a program that helps develop healthy relationships between members of a school’s educational community and to teaches effective skills that help participants to do their best and be their best. The program uses a universal language to teach children to self-manage and how to handle conflict when it occurs. The core of the program is, “If you reach a child’s heart you will reach their mind.” Learn more about Capturing Kids’ Hearts.

Saxon Math is a proven curriculum that distributes instruction, practice, and assessment of related concepts throughout the year while building on the knowledge learned. Saxon Math provides the time for every student to learn, practice, process, and go beyond mastery. As a result, students retain learned concepts and reach proficiency. Unlike a traditional chapter approach that separates different concepts, such as whole numbers from fractions, Saxon Math integrates and connects strands on a daily basis. Students communicate, reason, and make connections.

Our preschool curriculum is carefully aligned to lay the foundation needed for elementary school. Math will be executed in both whole-group and small-group instruction. The Saxon Math Scope and Sequence is adjusted in age-appropriate methodologies to reflect kindergarten goals at the preschool level and first-grade goals at the kindergarten level. Learn more about Saxon Math.

The Zoo-phonics Multisensory, Language Arts program is a kinesthetic, multi-modal approach to learning all aspects of language arts, including vocabulary development and articulation, based on phonics and phonemic awareness. The principle of Zoo-phonics maximizes understanding, memory, utilization, and transference to all areas of the reading, spelling, and writing process in a playful and concrete manner. Learn more about Zoo-Phonics.

SkyView Preschool in Highlands Ranch uses a research-based curriculum called Stop and Think. This curriculum is used to help guide students in gaining conflict resolution, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. It also helps students with learning to make good choices through large group and small group role activities. Learn more about Stop and Think.