At WCS, our sincere goal is to partner with parents to provide students with consistency and partnership between the home, school, and church. Just as you would thoroughly research a car seat, new vehicle, or food additives, we strongly urge parents to carefully develop their philosophy of education and consider how Wooster Christian School can fit into your plan for preparing your child for his future.
From kindergarten through fourth grade, your child will spend around 6,000 of her waking hours at school. Our teachers and staff do not underestimate the influence of their respective roles in guiding, instructing, nurturing, and caring for the students of WCS. Through smaller class sizes, carefully selected curricula, and immersive learning activities, we provide each student with an individualized and engaging educational experience.
Above all, Wooster Christian School is set apart by our Biblical roots. Society will tell our students that they are unworthy and point them toward shallow pursuits and worthless endeavors. Through Chapel, daily Bible lessons, Scripture memorization, and in many other ways, we are committed to giving our kids a foundation in God's Word.
The primary goal of WCS's Bible curriculum is to make the Word of God more meaningful in the lives of our students. While factual knowledge of the Bible is extremely valuable, we view their ability to see the truth of the Scriptures at work in their lives as even more important. It is our goal that students find knowledge, wisdom, and understanding for themselves from the Word of God, that they may find within it instructions on how to live from their earliest childhood experiences.
Students will begin during the second semester of first grade to find easily located Scriptures to answer questions. Second and third grade students will focus on a specific book of the Bible and follow the story line through the book to find scriptural truth. Fourth grade students will be able to use the entire Bible as their source with passages from various books used in each lesson.
While it is important to begin with factual knowledge of the Bible, students need to go beyond this to grow in wisdom and understanding. Our Positive Action Bible Curriculum presents them with the kind of material that will help them comprehend, discern, apply, analyze, and evaluate a variety of concepts for themselves. This material helps students form personal convictions, supporting these from their own study of God's Word.
A primary goal of our curriculum is to allow the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of our students to "conform them to the image" of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). Therefore, a strong emphasis is placed on character development with practical lessons enabling the students to make life-changing decisions for themselves, even at a young age.
At WCS, our science curriculum allows students to experience science from a Biblical worldview. An emphasis on inquiry-based learning leads students to gain proficiency in research, work collaboratively, think critically, and solve problems using scientific tools. Our Purposeful Design curriculum utilizes the Scientific Method, which develops process and organizational skills, fosters critical thinking, and helps students apply knowledge to new situations.
With a renewed emphasis on hands-on instruction, our science curriculum stimulates a passion for learning. We aim to develop in each student the ability to learn, think creatively, make decisions, and solve problems, that they may succeed in meaningful and productive jobs as adults. Using a variety of equipment, including digital balances, hydrometers, prisms, graduated cylinders, geologic mineral and test kits, students develop these important skills through investigation and use of scientific technology and techniques.
Studies show that students who are taught science in inquiry-centered elementary school classrooms are more successful in middle and high school classes than were students taught in more traditional ways, such as lecture and reading a textbook (The Foundations of Science Education, ODE). Wooster Christian School continues to move in the direction of inquiry-based science.
Our systematic, age appropriate science program covers life, physical, and earth and space sciences and includes education in the areas of health and the human body. Using a Biblical worldview, our creation science unifies science and faith and identifies God as the designer and creator of life.
Our elementary school math program uses curriculum published by Sadlier Oxford. Progress in Mathematics provides rigorous content focused on building deep conceptual understanding of key math skills and concepts at each grade level. Each teacher enhances the curriculum in his or her own unique way through supplemental games, apps, and activities.
A heavy emphasis is placed on practicing and memorizing math facts as a foundation for success in math later on. In third and fourth grades, the Simple Solutions curriculum is used as a supplemental text to allow for extra practice and to keep math concepts fresh in the minds of students.
Students who excel at math will have the opportunity to compete in the Math Olympics through ACSI starting in third grade.
Literacy and communication skills are essential for preparing our students for bright futures.
Wooster Christian School uses the Reading Street curriculum (K-4) and Wilson Fundations (K-2). These programs are designed to nurture a love of reading and inspire confidence in our students. Children are taught phonics, high frequency word study, reading fluency, vocabulary, cursive handwriting, writing, and spelling.
Shurley English is another text used, which teaches grammar, parts of speech, and sentence composition.
Students who excel are given the opportunity to compete in the ACSI Spelling Bee and the ACSI Speech Meet.
WCS uses the Abeka Social Studies curriculum and Nystrom geography curriculum to teach social studies from a Biblical perspective. Teachers supplement the curriculum with their own hands on units, such as the Little House on the Prairie unit in fourth grade. History related field trips are also taken in several grades.