Lower School
The first day of kindergarten is a rite of passage in every child’s— and every parent’s—life. On day one, you will marvel that your child is taking this next big step, and the adventure is just beginning.
Kindergarten •
Our curriculum reflects our wholehearted intention to excite your child’s passion for learning—from fall on a farm, to spiders, to Christmas around the world.
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Rich, interdisciplinary units combine science, social studies, reading, writing, and math. We bring these lessons to life with unforgettable experiences such as watching bird embryos develop by shining a light through the incubating egg. Imagine the excitement in class when a duckling hatches!
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Small-group workshops enable our teachers to take every student to the next level in reading and writing.
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Play-based math lessons give kids the foundation they need in numerical fluency, geometric ideas, and measurement.
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Your child’s day will be enriched with classes in Spanish, art, music, Bible, and library skills.
With so much to discover about themselves and the world, no wonder so many kindergarteners say they wish they could come to school on weekends. Yours might, too.
First Grade
Fresh wonders await in first grade. Kids burst as readers and writers. And as they do, whole new worlds open up to them.
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Children write their own book of poetry using “mentor texts” as a guide. Providing students examples of good writing is vital. As kids see many possibilities for what their own writing might look like, they can grab a favorite style and make it their own.
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Want a child to master math? Teach it in a purposeful and playful way. We know that “hands on” is “brains on.” When kids use tangible objects to solve equations, math becomes a part of them.
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During our popular animal unit, your child will choose a favorite animal and tackle a research project for the first time. As one part of our well-designed process, kids learn to use colored notecards to organize their research. Looking for information about the animal’s food sources? Just pull out the green cards.
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As the world of a first grader expands, social studies lessons move beyond family and classroom. Kids learn about neighborhoods, cities, and how people use their talents in different jobs to make society better.
Your first grader will be both nurtured and challenged by a curriculum that balances rigor, reason, reflection, respect, and responsibility.
Second Grade
Second grade bridges the foundational skills learned in grades K – 1 with the more developed thinking and application skills used in grades 3 – 4. It’s also exceptionally fun.
A centerpiece of second grade is the much-anticipated bird unit. The work begins with learning the conventions of non-fiction writing: table of contents, index, glossary. From there, students delve into general research. They assimilate new vocabulary and practice note-taking by studying feathers, eggs, and migration. Then the creativity begins! Every student chooses a species of bird for an individual research and writing assignment, culminating in a book that he or she writes, edits, and illustrates. Students also grow as mathematicians by seeing, doing, and talking math. In social studies, they explore their personal identity with a rich cultural heritage unit that includes a family crest and research on their family’s country of origin. Even the fishing field trip has a strong curricular component as kids are creating, collecting, and analyzing data in a memorable mash-up of science and math.
Third Grade Literally and figuratively, third graders are growing in stature. They move upstairs. They begin to experience the thrill and responsibility of being role models for younger students. And they bring more mental energy to learning. •
Social relationships can start to change in third grade. Our first core novel, the beloved Charlotte’s Web, introduces students to timeless truths about friendship.
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Students sharpen algebraic and higher-order thinking skills through new games and activities. Pi Day and the Holiday Measurement Happening reinforce mathematical concepts.
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From using atmospheric clues to predict the weather to understanding invisible forces like friction, the world around them makes more sense through hands-on activities in engineering, investigation, and discovery.
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Do you recall the first time you heard Shakespeare? Troupe d’ Jour’s entertaining and interactive presentations take the Bard off the page and onto the stage. Your child may even enact the role of Beatrice, Benedick, Claudio, or Hero in Much Ado About Nothing.
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App-based tools such as the ever-popular “Kahoot!” captivate learners by turning lessons into friendly competition, challenging students to push themselves to new limits.
Fourth Grade While so much lies ahead in our Middle School, there is just as much to celebrate this year as fourth graders become leaders of Lower School. Fourth grade is purposefully designed to give students abundant opportunities for leadership. And kids are coming into their own as courageous, independent learners. •
Highly personal writing assignments prompt students to consider and articulate what it means to be a leader.
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When it comes to public speaking, serving as news anchors on KROB and leading prayers and pledges at Lower School chapel increase kids’ competence and confidence.
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For the past four years, students have experienced the buddy program as the younger child. Now they step into the role of older buddy, putting into practice all that they have learned from the older kids they admire.
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Math moves from conceptual to concrete as students apply well-honed computation strategies to bake loaves of bread using fractions and design and build structures calculating volume and surface area.
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Fourth graders deepen their understanding of the world around them—and themselves in it—through lessons in earth processes, sound vibrations, and biological senses that help humans process and react to their environment. Rubber band racers and rollercoasters vivify lessons in energy, motion, and electricity.
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Students continue developing vocabulary and grammar fundamentals in our award-winning Spanish program.
After-school Enrichment When classes end each day, our campus is still brimming with opportunities for students to be energized by new experiences – and have a blast doing it. After-school classes are available for every student in Readiness through eighth grade. Your child can learn Mandarin, practice their golf swing, earn a purple Tae Kwon Do belt, finesse a plie, study the violin, or collaborate with students around the world on a new invention. With a variety of convenient classes, there’s always something new for your child to explore after school.
After-school Child Care Both productive and fun, ROBS after-school programs provide a “home away from home” atmosphere, and parents know their children are safe and nurtured just as much after school as during classes. Prime Time Prime Time is our after-school program for students from Readiness through eighth grade. With child care available on campus until 6 p.m. each day, Prime Time is particularly helpful for working parents. Enrollment is available monthly or annually. Stay and Play for Prekindergarten and Kindergarten The Prekindergarten and Kindergarten school day ends at 2:30 p.m. This program allows students to stay at school and play with their friends until 3:15 p.m., when grades 1-4 are dismissed.
“Children learn best when they are engaged, challenged, making choices, and owning their learning.”
Ambitious academics rooted in abiding Christian values WATERCOLOR TREE Alight with playful color, the watercolor tree represents the beautiful potential and possibility-filled expanse of a child’s life. ACADEMIC PATH Deliberately engineered, research-based, and comprehensive, the School’s thoughtful academic curriculum builds upon itself from grade-to-grade, laying a self-reinforcing foundation for students to be ambitious, courageous, resourceful thinkers.
STYLIZED TREE Fastening together the academic path and the fruit buds, the stylized tree presents a child’s journey through ROBS—the way ROBS guides students toward shaping life direction, forming connections, and preparing them for all that comes next.
FRUIT BUDS Growing naturally from the academic path, the fruit buds represent the practicebased, immersive character curriculum that permeates every lesson and action at ROBS. The nine buds known as the Fruit of the Spirit nourish children’s lives well beyond their time at ROBS.
LAYERED IMAGERY Layering the artistry of the watercolor tree with the technological imagery of the stylized tree signifies the School’s commitment to Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Math—each a priority in our ongoing curricular enhancements and our new master campus plan.
2300 WILLOWICK, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77027 713.623.6938 | WWW.ROBS.ORG