Lower School | Grades K–2

Kindergarten – 2nd grade

The students experience a variety of medias both two-dimensional and three dimensional. The art elements of line, shape, space, color, and texture are also incorporated into the art making experience. Art history and cultural perspectives are also discussed. Students are also encouraged to be creative and problem solve to come up with their own unique solutions to each art project.

3rd grade – 5th grade

The students experience a variety of medias both two-dimensional and three dimensional. The art elements of line, shape, space, color, form, and texture are also incorporated into the art making experience. Art history and cultural perspectives are also discussed. Students are also encouraged to be creative and problem solve to come up with their own unique solutions to each art project. Self-reflection, feedback, and critiques are implemented to enable students to critically evaluate art.

Our music curriculum is based on the Kodaly method, which seeks to teach music to children in a system which mirrors their natural learning process; each new element or concept introduced is one that progresses naturally from an element or concept already learned and internalized. The main instrument used is the voice; and, at the lower grade levels, the main repertoire used is American folk song, including children’s game songs and rhymes. This method seeks to engage the student’s mind and creativity as it teaches the skills needed for a lifetime of joyful music making.

In the kindergarten-2nd grade classes, students continue vocal exploration while being introduced to formal aspects of rhythm and note reading, the repertoire of American folk music as well as that of other countries and cultures, and the classical music of the great composers.

In the 3rd-5th grade classes, the students continue to advance in their study of music theory and its application, mainly through singing. An introduction to music history is an added element to the study of musical repertoire and composers. As part of the natural progression of their musical skills and knowledge, all 5th grade students join the middle school choir.

In K- 2nd grade physical education classes, age appropriate activities provide opportunities to let the child show competency in motor skills such as jogging, skipping, running and hopping. Teacher directed activities help the child learn start and stop patterns as well as introducing the concept of teamwork and playing fairly. At this age, it is also important to be able to play with others, use kind words and share equipment. By 3rd grade, the students should be able to demonstrate basic strategies as well as responsible behavior such as tagging others with appropriate force during tag type games and be able to participate for the entire class time. At Ave Maria Academy K-2nd grade students get the opportunity to demonstrate these skills through several activities and units including variations of soccer, baseball, volleyball, floor hockey and basketball. Other examples of activities also include variations of line tag, relay races and dodgeball games like “Clean-up your room”.

In 3rd grade -5th grade physical education classes, age appropriate activities provide opportunities for the student to demonstrate the ability to combine locomotor skills such as hoping, skipping and jumping in a sequence or pattern. The student starts to be able to use feedback from an instructor and improve a skill such as dribbling or shooting a basketball. The student should also be able to identify bones and muscles and stretch before each class. By 5th grade, the student should show competency in activities such as effectively serving a volleyball or moving to an open area to receive a pass. At Ave Maria Academy students get the opportunity to demonstrate these skills through several activities and units including variations of soccer, baseball, volleyball, floor hockey, basketball. Other examples of activities also include variations of capture the flag, dodgeball and team building challenges providing even further opportunity for students to show good sportsmanship and virtue.

K – 2nd Grade

Our Spanish class focuses on learning in a very dynamic style, creating an active learning environment with fun games, music and oral and written activities, encouraging active participation from the children. The children are exposed to various Hispanic cultures as well. They will learn Spanish greetings, colors, numbers 1-50, calendar, weather, season, days of the week and month, identify the Spanish alphabet, as well as spell words in Spanish. They will receive a basic introduction to Spanish grammar such as the use of definite and indefinite articles in the singular and plural form as well as vocabulary related to animals/pets, clothing and how to describe them. They will also learn to respond to basic commands.

3rd grade:

Our class will focus on learning the curriculum MUY BIEN level B of the Spanish language and on empowering the children to improve their communication skills in a second language. The children will also be exposed to various Hispanic cultures and traditions around the world. We provide a nurturing learning environment filled with fun games, music, projects and activities, encouraging active participation from the children.

In 4th & 5th grade Spanish the students start with a review of basic vocabulary necessary to learning the Spanish language. They move on to learning vocabulary about what they like and don’t like to do, what they are like, their school day, and the classroom and location. The grammar studied includes but is not limited to learning how to express agreement and disagreement, word order, articles, present tense verbs and finally beginning to learn the differences between ser and estar.

Ave Maria Academy’s technology class focuses primarily on typing and keyboarding skills. Students in first and second grade learn and master the following keyboarding concepts: turning on their computer, learn home row, the left and right hand keys, the space bar, the delete key, the enter key, tab, caps lock, shift, numbers, and proper typing posture. Starting in the third grade, students are introduced to programs such as Word and PowerPoint, that will further help them in their academic career.