The Academy’s expert enrichment teachers provide a full array of classes in the following subjects, starting as young as our infant rooms.
The Academy’s Spanish program begins in our Infant classrooms and extends through Middle School. Starting with simple songs and rhymes and progressing in complexity as children age, Spanish classes take a gradual, interactive approach that provide students with the necessary tools to succeed in their language-learning journey. We integrate the TPRS (Teaching Proficiency Through Reading and Storytelling) strategy and the Comprehensible Input or CI (Based on Dr. Stephen Krasen’s Compelling Input Hypothesis) pedogogies in our story-based lessons. Academy graduates can:
Integrated and comprehensive, our art curriculum was developed in-house and aligns with Montessori principles, serving students from Primary through Middle School. We encourage children to embrace the medium through engaging, educational, and fun lessons that utilize a vast variety of materials and techniques. Classes uniquely integrate core curriculum subjects and result in multi-faceted, interdisciplinary projects. Our Kandinsky-inspired Abstract Compositions are a prime example of an elementary project that ties in multidisciplinary components! We started by reading a children’s book about the artist Kandinsky, practiced a creative writing element, incorporated geometry and math ideas, all while learning about abstract art and how to work with oil and chalk pastels.
Academy PE classes emphasize developing a healthy lifestyle, rather than perfecting a pitch or making a jump shot. Our program focuses on fitness, fun, and a sense of adventure. The goal is to help children learn and understand how their bodies work, and why it’s important to have this understanding throughout their lives. Fitness and exercise are incorporated into games & activities during which students are moving their bodies and having fun.
The Academy also utilizes the FitnessGram physical fitness assessment by the Cooper Institute which measures the fitness level for all of our Upper Elementary and Middle School students. This health-related fitness test is intended to help students acquire lasting habits of regular activity. We follow the Illinois State Standards for Physical Education and continually modify and differentiate lessons to meet the individual needs of our students.
Academy students begin exploring the world of sound through music class in infancy. Pop into a nursery classroom and you’ll find our Toddlers working with small percussive instruments. Swing by a Primary class, and you’ll find a group sing-a-long. Stop by an Elementary class and you may see our students composing original music. Hang around after school for Ukulele Club and you’ll find young musicians jamming to their favorite songs in a fun, group environment. Overall, our program borrows the best from methods such as Orff Schulwerk, Suzuki, Kodály, and Dalcroze.
The Academy’s technology program develops Elementary and Middle School student proficiency in:
Graduates walk away with a skill set which has informed their learning process within our walls. Our technology program helps students explore STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) areas such as basic coding and programming, 3D carving, and robotics.
