The kindergarten curriculum is designed to meet the needs of new learners. It prepares them for formal education and aims to help them make the most of their potential.

Children are given activities in which they experience the beauty and joy of living and working with others, along with challenging, satisfying, and interesting experiences that help them acquire the basic skills needed to become competent at study and play. The emphasis of the programme is placed on learning the basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics.

Science — Kindergarten

The kindergarten science curriculum is aligned to the CCSS standards. Children study earth and space, learning about gravity and its effect on objects, and coming to identify the moon, the sun, and the stars and to tell the difference between day and night.

They learn to describe and explain the differences between objects using an object's properties, practise using categories to organise different objects, and discover that objects change in many ways over time. Pushes and pulls are used to introduce the idea of force, and sound and the movements that cause it are explained. Finally, children explore biology by deciding whether a living thing is a plant or an animal, describing the parts of a plant, and learning what plants and animals need in order to live.

Science — Grade 1

Following the CCSS standards for first-grade science, this course gives students an overview of many types and aspects of science, including scientific inquiry, biology, physical science, and geology. Students practise using their five senses to observe the world around them — the basis of science — and learn the difference between living and non-living things from their properties.

Plants are discussed, including their different types, their parts, and how they develop. Students then learn about animals — what they eat, where they live, and how they differ from plants — and study the functions of the organs in their own bodies, including the brain, heart, lungs, skeleton, skin, and stomach. They explore the Earth from the inside out and study how it changes through weathering, erosion, and earthquakes; learn why day and night occur and about the constellations in the night sky; and learn what matter is, how to describe its properties, and its three states.

Science — Grade 2

Aligned to the CCSS standards for second-grade science, this class covers many of the same topics as earlier science classes but expands on them with greater depth. Students learn the basics of force, explore gravity, and learn about magnets. They review the states of matter and add an explanation of how a substance changes from one state to another.

Students learn new things about plants and animals — how they move, how they get food, and what keeps them safe from harm — and review the function of key organs in the human body such as the brain, heart, muscles, and digestive system. They also learn how to keep their bodies healthy through proper food, exercise, and avoiding germs where possible. Finally, they review the function and motion of the Earth, moon, and stars; learn about slow and fast land changes and about fossils; and study weather, including the water cycle, the four seasons, and the types of severe weather they may experience.

Science — Grade 3

In accordance with the CCSS standards, this course covers many types of science, including physical science, biology, and earth science. Students begin by reviewing the parts of plants and how they grow and change, then learn new information about cells, how materials move through plants, and how plants reproduce. They move on to studying animals — how they are grouped, how they use life-supporting substances, and how they grow and change — and learn about their senses and how their eyes, ears, nose, and taste buds work.