2026 – 2027 Cycle
Kindergarten
Ages 5 – 6
ONUS Scholars Kindergarten is the foundation year — where formal reading, writing, and number sense first take root — built as a full 36 instructional weeks across four nine-week quarters, five days a week, with each day running about three hours. It runs roughly one grade ahead of typical Common Core scope: by Week 36 your child reads emergent text, counts and works with numbers to 100, and writes simple sentences independently.
The year is built on the ONUS five-method blend — Montessori as the daily backbone (sandpaper letters, the work cycle, practical life), Singapore Math’s Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract progression, Reggio Emilia’s child-as-researcher with a year-long nature journal, Waldorf’s predictable daily and seasonal rhythm with arts woven throughout, and World Book scope-and-sequence alignment. It moves through four themed quarters — Seeds, Roots, Sprouts, and Blooms — from first sounds and counting to fluent CVC reading, place value, and an ABC Alphabet Book capstone the child authors and illustrates.
What your child will achieve
Nine strands, one year of growth.
Phonics & Reading
Daily decoding, fluency, and read-aloud, paced to the grade.
Knows all 26 letter sounds and the five short vowels; blends CVC words fluently; reads five word families and four digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh); reads about 30 Tier-1 sight words by sight; develops long/short vowel awareness; reads emergent-reader text and retells stories with beginning, middle, and end.
Mathematics
Singapore CPA progression — concrete to pictorial to abstract.
Counts and writes to 100; understands teen numbers as ten and ones; compares groups to 10; adds and subtracts within 10 with fluency within 5; knows number bonds to 10; identifies 2D and 3D shapes; measures with non-standard units; skip-counts by 5s and 10s. First-grade previews: place value to 99, telling time to the hour, coin name and value.
Writing
From letter formation to long-form composition, step by step.
Forms all 26 letters; progresses from adult-scribed to child-authored simple sentences; writes labels and captions, a personal narrative with beginning/middle/end, a simple opinion, and a how-to; uses periods, question marks, and exclamation points.
Science
Reggio-style investigations the child documents themselves.
Keeps a year-long nature journal; studies living vs. nonliving, plant parts and life cycles, animal habitats and adaptations, weather/seasons/water cycle, states of matter, soils and landforms, the human body, and sound/light/magnets — closing with a STEAM design-and-build.
Geography & Social Studies
Mapwork, community, and the wider world as field study.
Maps home and neighborhood; uses cardinal directions; learns “we live in the United States”; identifies the seven continents and five oceans; meets landforms, US national symbols, and brief biographies of Washington, Lincoln, and Dr. King.
Arts
Seasonal Waldorf art — watercolor, form drawing, handwork.
Builds a 180-day nature journal; creates botanical drawings, habitat dioramas, a seasonal art series, symmetrical butterfly painting, and geometric compositions — culminating in the authored-and-illustrated ABC Alphabet Book.
Music
Singing, recorder, and rhythm woven through the week.
Builds a repertoire of about 20–25 songs across cultures; develops steady beat, rhythm, and high/low, loud/soft, and fast/slow distinctions; performs in four family showcases including a year-end concert.
SEL
Social-emotional learning built into circle time and reflection.
Expands feelings vocabulary from 4 to 12+ named emotions; internalizes grace-and-courtesy routines; practices kindness, gratitude, patience, and cooperation; gains the confidence to host a family showcase and speak to a small audience. (Character emerges as its own explicit strand in Q3.)
Practical Life
Montessori care of self and environment — the work that grounds the day.
Masters the full practical-life sequence — pouring, sorting, transferring, sewing, polishing, sweeping, food prep, plant care, and self-care — and completes an independent work cycle without prompting.
How the five methods show up here
Five lineages, each week.
Montessori
The daily backbone: sandpaper letters, the three-period lesson, the work cycle, and practical life anchor concentration and order every single day.
Singapore Math
Every concept moves Concrete → Pictorial → Abstract — counters and number bonds before symbols, bundling sticks before place value.
Reggio Emilia
Science and geography unfold as documented investigations in a year-long nature journal, with child-chosen wonder questions in Q4.
Waldorf
A predictable daily and seasonal rhythm, with arts, music, and handwork following a seasonal cadence.
World Book
Every strand cross-checked against grade-level benchmarks, confirming the child meets or exceeds standards in every state surveyed.
The year at a glance
Four quarters, one rising arc.
| Quarter | Weeks | Name | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 1–9 | Seeds | Work cycle, first sounds, all 26 letters; counting to 20, number bonds to 10, +/− within 10; plants and senses. |
| Q2 | 10–18 | Roots | Digraphs and 30 sight words; place value to 99, skip counting; water cycle and Earth science; continents and oceans. |
| Q3 | 19–27 | Sprouts | Long-vowel awareness, CVCC blends; counting to 100, compare groups, 2D shapes; body and life cycles; narrative writing. |
| Q4 | 28–36 | Blooms | Reading fluency and leveled readers; time to the hour, coin ID, 3D shapes, data; sound, light, magnets; ABC Book capstone. |
Portfolio and family showcase weeks fall at Weeks 9, 18, 27, and 36 — the final week is a year-end celebration with the ABC Alphabet Book presentation, a family concert, and a portfolio gallery walk.
How the year unfolds
How each strand grows across the year.
- Q1 SeedsAll 26 sandpaper letters, 5 short vowels, CVC blending
- Q2 RootsDigraphs (sh, ch, th, wh) and 30 Tier-1 sight words
- Q3 SproutsLong-vowel awareness, CVCC final blends, retelling
- Q4 BloomsLeveled-reader fluency and nonfiction text features
- Q1 SeedsCount to 20, number bonds to 10, +/− within 10
- Q2 RootsPlace value to 99, skip counting by 2s/5s/10s
- Q3 SproutsCount to 100, compare groups, non-standard measurement, 2D shapes
- Q4 BloomsTime to the hour, coin ID, 3D shapes, data, +/− within 10 fluency
- Q1 SeedsAdult-scribed sentences, first sand-tray letters
- Q2 RootsEquations, sight words, descriptive writing
- Q3 SproutsPersonal narrative, labels, captions, opinion
- Q4 BloomsHow-to writing, poetry, and the ABC Alphabet Book
- Q1 SeedsFive senses, living/nonliving, plant parts, habitats, weather
- Q2 RootsWater cycle, seasons, states of matter, soils, rocks, landforms
- Q3 SproutsHuman body, butterfly and plant life cycles, animal adaptations
- Q4 BloomsSound, light and shadow, magnets, Earth materials, STEAM build
- Q1 SeedsHome, room, neighborhood, sun and day cycle
- Q2 RootsLandforms, continents and oceans, map skills, US symbols
- Q3 SproutsBody in space, climate zones, migration, habitats on the map
- Q4 BloomsGlobe vs. map, time zones preview, mapping the wonder topic
- Q1 SeedsObservation drawing, botanical art, habitat diorama
- Q2 RootsWatercolor, four-seasons tree, salt-dough relief map, world map collage
- Q3 SproutsBody outlines, symmetrical butterflies, geometric art
- Q4 BloomsShadow drawings, STEAM design, ABC Book illustration
- Q1 SeedsSteady beat, echo-singing, high/low pitch
- Q2 RootsTempo, world songs by continent, duple meter
- Q3 SproutsMovement songs, songs of growth and cycles
- Q4 BloomsSound experiments, poetry-as-song, year-end concert
- Q1 SeedsFeelings vocabulary, grace and courtesy, kindness, patience
- Q2 RootsCooperation, gratitude, wonder, mastery
- Q3 SproutsSelf-awareness, empathy, transformation, voicing opinions
- Q4 BloomsAudience awareness, courage, gratitude, year-end reflection
- Q1 SeedsSpoon transfer, pouring, sponge squeezing, sewing cards
- Q2 RootsSweeping, table setting, map-folding, independent work cycle
- Q3 SproutsSelf-care, snack prep, planting and tracking growth
- Q4 BloomsFollowing recipes, book-making, hosting the year-end celebration
Every strand begins close to the child and travels outward — left to right, Seeds through Blooms.
One purchase
Everything your child needs.
A full 36-week school year, delivered in a PDF downloadable package the moment you purchase.
- All four quarterly curriculum documents — every lesson, fully scripted, week by week
- Master Scope & Sequence — your roadmap for the entire year at a glance
- Master Shopping List — every material you’ll need, organized with budget tiers so you spend only what you choose
- Nine fully-scripted academic strands — Mathematics, Phonics & Reading, Writing, Science, Geography & Social Studies, Arts, Music, Social-Emotional Learning, and Practical Life
- Lifetime access — buy it once, own it forever, and teach it to every child in your home
Every purchase ships with a branded ONUS Scholars Welcome Box, designed to make the first day feel like the milestone it is.
- A signed welcome letter from the founder
- The ONUS Scholars credo card — Onus. Nutrio. Ubertas. Sapientia. — ready to frame
- A branded 16GB flash drive with your entire curriculum backed up offline, so you’re never locked out by a lost connection
- A year-long sketchbook for the art strand
- A branded composition notebook
- A grade-specific handwriting practice book — guided print-letter formation to build the foundation for writing
- A set of four quarterly theme bookmarks
- An achievement sticker sheet for tracking milestones all year long
- A grade-specific collectible enamel pin from the ONUS elephant series — a new design for every grade your child completes
One-time purchase · lifetime access · Welcome Box ships free
A sample week
One week, start to finish.
Walk Monday through Friday and watch the methods name themselves, lesson by lesson — teacher-script lines included.
Continue the journey