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Rochester Central Lutheran School

Off-Canvas

Curriculum

Stepping Stones Logo

At RCLS's Stepping Stones, children will experience a safe, stimulating, and happy environment where they can develop a set of skills needed to successfully enter kindergarten, eager and ready to learn. Early learning skills are taught within the context of a Christian environment that prioritizes an academic and spiritual foundation, ensuring that the whole child is educated. Distinctively, RCLS's Preschool and Prekindergarten programs are taught by licensed educators in a larger school environment. Read more about the advantages this distinctiveness grants to young children:

Preschool boy doing puzzle

Foundational Learning

A structured, play-based learning environment ensures preschool and prekindergarten students develop skills and habits that will facilitate kindergarten readiness and independence for their school years. A progressive curriculum that is written by licensed educators offers children a solid foundation for future learning.

Integrated Lessons

Children learn best by exploring topics that are related to things they have already experienced. In RCLS’s Stepping Stones, topics of study are integrated so lessons incorporate learning in many subject areas. The integrated themes of our preschool curriculum include:

  • Religion 
  • Literature and Communication 
  • Mathematics 
  • Social Systems
  • Physical and Motor Development
  • Art 
  • Music 
  • Science
  • Spanish

Preschool boy on tractor

Preschool boy singing

Whole-child Education

RCLS’s guiding principles and Stepping Stones' comprehensive curriculum together equip us to nurture students academically, artistically, physically, socially, and spiritually. Art, vocal music, physical education, and technology are included in students’ school day, while Christ-centered teaching and the use of the larger school’s activities and facilities contribute to our mission to educate the whole child.

Varied Opportunities

RCLS’s Stepping Stones is a school within a school. As such, our preschool and prekindergarten students have access to resources and opportunities in the K-8 program--a significant advantage for school-readiness training. Because of our location in the larger school, our preschool and prekindergarten students will participate in or have access to the school’s:

  • Music classes
  • Spanish curriculum 
  • Technology program 
  • Library 
  • Hot-lunch program 
  • Christmas program 
  • Field trips 
  • Gym 
  • Reading-buddy program 
  • Special events 
  • Chapel service, where, in "chapel families," Stepping Stones students form affirming relationships with older students.

Preschool girl eating lunch

Preschool girl coloring with grandma