Early Childhood

Pre-Kindergarten

St. Ambrose School offers Pre-K3 and Pre-K4 classes that provide our young students with a curriculum focused on hands-on activities and small-group learning to strengthen their academic and social skills.  Students practice rhyming, identifying shapes, colors, counting, and recognizing numbers and letters. Fine motor skills are enhanced by writing letters and words, cutting and pasting, and playing with puzzles. Teachers implement small group learning centers to ensure time to work one-on-one with students. Students start attending mass in the church once they are taught procedures and will be assigned a church buddy to help them during this time. Mass is played in their homeroom until they begin going to the church with the rest of the study body.  Students will have a 90-minute nap time, as well as enrichment classes daily, such as music, library, PE, or Spanish.

Kindergarten

St. Ambrose has two classes of full-day kindergarten, led by a full-time teacher and one teacher assistant shared by the two classes. Phonics is continued in kindergarten and students are introduced to double phonograms, learn to sound out words, read sight words, and write a complete sentence. Most students can read by the middle of kindergarten. Students receive a good understanding of numbers, and are introduced to addition and subtraction and many other concepts with the help of a Math series entitled “Everyday Mathematics”. This Math program has a very hands-on concept-oriented approach. The Reading program used is called “Superkids”. Religion is taught daily and the children attend Mass every Wednesday. Social skills are enhanced, especially through sharing and cooperation.