Primary

Kindergarten - Active Learning
Children's University's Kindergarten Program combines the basics of math, English and science with art, music, theater, photography and computer skills. Proposed to retain the attention of this active age group, our curriculum incorporates kinetics and music and movement to keep learning fun. Kindergartners learn phonics through rhythm, rhymes, chants, and movements. Our hands-on math program enables students to understand relationships between numbers, while our nature school and discovery labs introduce science through activities such as organic gardening.

Kindergartners at CU experience their first glimpse into aerospace engineering, premed, and ecology. Spanish vocabulary pronunciation through games and songs is added to the curriculum. During the kindergarten year, children explore computer animation and graphics. Cultural activities include two- and three-dimensional design as well as an introduction to jazz and creative movement. CU kindergartners establish an awareness of the world around them by exploring the traditions of North and South America, Australia, Antarctica.

First Grade - Academic Foundations
The integrated First Grade program at Children's University encourages students to master the skills learned in Kindergarten, with an added emphasis on critical thinking and problem solving. In reading, children read literature phonetically as they practice reading comprehension and listening skills. With English, the different parts of speech are touched upon. Modes of creative writing are explored. Individualized reading is introduced through Reading Counts. Activities which include writing TV reports and manuscripts, help students develop the mechanics of writing, while the excitement of theater production brings great literature to life.

Fundamental math skills such as telling time and addition and subtraction are combined with higher level skills including mental computation and estimation. Our science curriculum encourages a hands-on exploration of botanical studies, geology, physics, magnetism, and telecommunications. Lessons in desktop publishing and Windows give children real-world experience with computers.

Second Grade - Independence and Confidence Building
Our world habitat classrooms expose first and second graders to the art, culture, and history of a specific region. World-renowned masterpieces inspire our young artists to create their own works of art through painting, print making, and clay. Music for second grade students includes ear training, music history, and production of a musical. Children's University second grade gains confidence as they perfect their skills through a series of unique interactive activities and projects. In English, children are introduced to listening expression, spelling dictation and cursive writing. Creative writing assignments include a narrative and desktop publishing of student books.

Second grade math adds regrouping, geometry, money, and word problems to their addition and subtraction lessons. In addition, our math program includes individualized programs such as Math Facts in a Flash, and Accelerated Math, which improve computational and higher-order critical thinking skills. Second grade science courses include a hands-on study of perennials in the school's garden along with physics, robotics, meteorology, and entomology.

Our second grade students spend the year exploring the culture of their classroom's world habitat. Children begin music appreciation and musical theater. Profession-based learning programs for this age group include broadcasting and advertising, MS-DOS and graphic presentations. Rising Star is an annual competition sponsored by Texas State University to promote and improve students' creativity. The program began in 1992. Students in second -- sixth grades throughout Texas are encouraged to submit work in the areas of art, poetry, and narrative writing. Entries are judged at the campus level, then first place entries in each category at each grade level advance to the state level of competition. From this group, approximately 14% of student entries are selected for publication in the Rising Star Magazine. Children's University has participated in this program since 2003.