Introducing IWCA’s Early Elementary Program – Imparting Wisdom Christian Academy

My name is Samantha Forbes, and I am the Early Elementary Teacher here at Imparting Wisdom Christian Academy in Hustonville (Moreland), Kentucky. Kindergarten and 1^st grade students will be with me throughout the school day, and 2^nd & 3^rd graders will spend time in both my and Mrs. Tomlin’s classrooms each day.

My classroom is designed to be a welcoming, Christ-honoring, developmentally appropriate learning environment for the youngest students at IWCA.

My goals as the IWCA Early Elementary teacher are:

To instill in each child a growing love for God and His Word.
To inspire curiosity and a natural love for learning.
To build a solid foundation in reading and other basic academic skills.

What Can Early Elementary Students Expect at IWCA?

Growing in Love for God and His Word

We will begin each morning with Bible, singing, and prayer time. As a musician, I especially look forward to singing many active Bible songs, old-fashioned hymns, and other worship songs with my class every day. Students will work on memorizing Scripture daily (both individual verses and whole passages), and I will use a variety of interesting activities (hand motions, games, copywork, songs, posters, crafts, etc.) to help ensure that students understand and remember their assigned verses. As a private Christian school, we have the freedom to enjoy the privilege of prayer, both teacher-led and student-led, and prayer will be a vital part of every school day at IWCA. I will be teaching an illustrated Bible lesson each morning, highlighting and reviewing key people and events from the Bible, discussing ways young students can apply God’s Word in their daily lives, and presenting the Gospel message throughout the school year. Early Elementary students will also actively participate in IWCA’s weekly chapel services, and many of these services will be conducted by local volunteer guest ministers.

In addition to morning Bible classes and weekly chapel services, God’s Word and Christian principles will be intentionally infused into every aspect of a student’s day here at Imparting Wisdom Christian Academy. Our goal is to point our students to Jesus Christ and to integrate a Biblical Christian worldview throughout every academic subject and every school activity.

Excellent Academics

I will be using a proven, phonics-based reading program that I have successfully used in teaching my own children over several years of homeschooling.

Through active songs, interesting stories, and daily practice, our Kindergarten students will experience the joys of learning to read and write while students in grades 1-3 will grow in their literacy skills. Because we have kept the teacher/student ratio in my class so low, I will be able to work on reading and writing with each of my students one-on-one every day. This will allow me to accurately assess student progress and quickly provide additional instruction or practice as needed. My classroom will be stocked with a variety of high-interest books and magazines for students to explore during daily independent reading time. I want to pass on to my students an avid love for reading! During our daily read-aloud time, I look forward to exposing my students to a wide variety of rich, wholesome literature.

The math curriculum I use in my classroom is developmentally appropriate and based on a solid mastery approach. In order for my students to be prepared for success in the upper grade levels of study at IWCA, it is absolutely vital that each student in my class take as much time as he/she needs to fully master basic math facts and concepts before moving out of the IWCA Early Elementary program. As a Christian teacher, I view daily math class as an exciting opportunity for me to point my students to our infinite and orderly Creator, Who has set in place certain absolute laws and patterns that we can know and understand. Through studying math, we can marvel at the Biblical concept of absolute truth, and I will be reminding my students that absolute truth reaches into the realms of morality, nature, and academics. I believe this Christian perspective truly sets IWCA’s math program apart from secular institutions in a very refreshing way.

My students will enjoy science and social studies classes a minimum of twice per week. In science class, students will explore the amazing world God has created for us to enjoy. In social studies, students will love learning more about the United States of America and “visiting” many other fascinating countries around the world. Students will also enjoy learning more about health, safety, community helpers, and good manners throughout the year. Hands-on experiments & projects, class discussions, crafts, interesting books and videos, field trips, and special guests will help keep IWCA’s Early Elementary students curious and excited to keep learning more!

Thanks to a generous donation from a local factory, our school is equipped with laptop computers in each classroom. I have set up a computer station in my classroom, and we will be using technology in many ways throughout the year to enhance and enrich learning.

Extracurricular & Enrichment Activities

In addition to Imparting Wisdom Christian Academy’s outstanding academic program, our Early Elementary students will have many opportunities for enrichment and extracurricular activities. We have a nice field beside the school that is perfect for a wide variety of outdoor activities. Students will learn many fun new games and will focus on building important physical and social skills during our P.E. classes. Students will have fun singing and playing a variety of instruments during our music classes. Our Handbell Choir will have the opportunity to perform during our weekly school chapel services, during special school programs, and at various community events throughout the year.

Third graders will also have the option of joining upper-level students in the after-school IWCA Band led by Mrs. Abigail Tomlin.

My students will also have the opportunity to become involved in a variety of 4H (Cloverbud) program activities. Field trips, Family Fellowship Nights, and other special school programs scheduled throughout the year will definitely keep our Early Elementary students engaged and excited about school!