school life

Primary Program – Levels V, VI and Kindergarten
The Suzuki School Primary Program is designed for children three through five years of age. At this age, the children begin to recognize the impact of their decisions upon themselves and their classroom. They are now ready for a more structured presentation of math, language, and science concepts. They remain intensely interested in practical life, which now includes caring for pets and plants, arranging their furniture, helping with meal preparation and cleaning up. They take responsibility for keeping their room orderly and have a voice in deciding the room activities and rules.

Interactive Classrooms: Children in the Primary Program are confident in their abilities and eager to absorb more of the world around them. The classroom retains the same design elements seen at the Pre-Primary level; however, the children now arrange the room to suit their activities and needs as the day progresses. Encouraging this independence insures that the children form a close bond to their room and with each other.

Curriculum & Materials: Children, having been introduced to language and fine motor control in the earlier levels, are ready for more rigorous focus on language, math and fine motor skills. The preschool, Kindergarten and First Grade series of “Alphatime” and “Handwriting without Tears” are taught in Levels V, VI and Kindergarten, respectively. In Level V, the children are introduced to beginning mathematical concepts according to a Suzuki scope and sequence. In Level VI and Kindergarten, the children use the Scott Foresman “Investigations” Kindergarten and First Grade level math program, respectively. A Suzuki-developed science and multicultural social studies program is used in a spiral curriculum that starts in Level V and continues through Kindergarten.

Homeroom & Rotation Routines: Each child is assigned a homeroom teacher to facilitate communication with the parents. The children are placed in multi-ability groups and rotate throughout the week to all the teachers during their morning lesson block. This rotation allows the children to work in succession with all the classroom teachers in the areas of math, phonics, fine motor skills, art, practical life and social studies/science.

Foreign Language: Native French or Spanish speakers teach children French and Spanish in Levels V-VI and Kindergarten twice a week using a language immersion curriculum. These programs are taught during both the school year and during the summer program.

Enrichment: Our regular curriculum is supplemented by special visitors, including storytellers, musicians, magicians and nature specialists. Students participate in small group music instruction once a week. They also have the opportunity to participate in optional enrichment activities such as private music lessons, ballet, gymnastics and sports movement classes.

Communication: At Suzuki, we recognize the parent as your child’s first and best teacher. To foster our partnership, we communicate with parents daily so that you are informed of your child’s progress and of his or her day. Parents are encouraged to communicate directly with the teachers in the afternoons after the end of the academic day and through email.

Accreditation: Our 4-year-old program and Kindergarten program are accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission with their highest quality level, Accreditation with Quality.