Children's Garden of the Theotokos a Kindergarten and Primary Curriculum for Home School, Sunday School, and Catechism

Scope  The Church, our Guide Our school year revolves around the life and rhythms of our holy Orthodox faith, and particularly the Church calendar. Our opening lesson, on Sept. 1, teaches the children that the Church is our Mother, guiding us always toward Christ. This theme is kept central throughout the kindergarten year.​ Looking to the Holy Fathers The Orthodox worldview, as articulated by the Holy Fathers of the Church, undergirds the curriculum. We read and considered Sts. John Chrysostom, Theophan the Recluse, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Isaac the Syrian, and many others for their guidance in raising children and families of faith, as we were writing the curriculum. Particularly, the lives of the saints and the rhythm of the liturgical year (its feasts and fasts) are central in The Children’s Garden.​ Educating Experientially Kindergarten is all about learning through experience. The main framework of this curriculum is the life of the church, yet we often wond