Through the study of the natural environment and human interaction, students learn that all of creation is a medium for God’s self-revelation, says Dave Moon, a teacher at Rhema. The studies help them get to know the Creator better.

The curriculum also highlights creation as a channel for human response to God, which is first of all to offer praise to God, says Moon.

There is also the call to respond by taking care of the earth and one another, as God commands. “We are charged with a huge responsibility to look after the snails and the frogs and the whales,” says Moon. “We are also to look after one another,” including those who are less able to care for themselves.

In each aspect of its studies, the curriculum takes students from a thorough exploration of creation back to how each connects to the creator. For instance, one stream, Life Systems, begins with Grade 1 students learning that plants are God’s gift for life and an incredible part of his creation plan. Through hands-on exploration, students discover the intricacies of plant-life. The resulting expressions of awe and amazement are directed to God, a description of the curriculum states.

In a stream on Canadian culture, students investigate the privileges and responsibilities of Canadian citizenship. The objective is for student to see some of the Creator’s design for living in community, including serving and shaping the future of their country, Canada.

The curriculum, titled Creation Studies, meets all the learning expectations of the Ontario Ministry of Education. It has been developed by a team from the Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools and is geared for Grades 1 to 3.

Moon notes that while in the past fragmented studies on social environmental issues have been available; none is as thorough and well-structured as this one. It builds along eight or nine subject streams from the more basic concepts in the early grades to the more global and complex later on. The focus on plants in general in Grade 1 moves to a more specific focus on flowers in Grade 2 and on trees in Grade 3, for instance.

The primary goal of Christian day school, according to OACS, “is to help each student grow into an independent person who serves God according to his word and is able and willing to employ every talent to the honour of God, for the well-being of fellow creatures in every area of life.”

The Creation Studies curriculum for Grade 1 to 3 offers a strong foundation for practically fulfilling this objective.