Junior Kindergarten Program

One More Year to be Kindergarten-Ready

After a disrupted school year, you may have questions about the fall. Is your child not quite ready for kindergarten? Did they have an abbreviated Pre-Kindergarten?

Consider Junior Kindergarten. Our all-day program offers a kindergarten curriculum adapted for a younger age group that ensures a successful kindergarten transition. It’s another year of critical skill development before elementary school, with a focus on:

Self-regulation
Following complex directions
Effective communication
Sustaining attention

Schedule a Tour

Junior Kindergarten Classroom

The Junior Kindergarten classroom reflects a kindergarten environment, offering opportunities for children in six individual learning areas.

Dramatic Play Center

Imaginative play opportunities allow children to try on different roles and practice cooperation and communication skills.

Block Center

Children practice problem-solving skills through exploring how things work and using materials to build a variety of structures.

Fine Arts Center

Children develop self-expression and creative skills as they work with a variety of engaging art materials.

Science & Math Center

Children practice critical thinking skills and deepen their understanding of math and science concepts through simple science experiments and exploration of math manipulatives.

Writing & Language Center

Children strengthen verbal and written communication skills through vocabulary development, sound-letter correspondence, and word recognition.

Library Center

In this quiet cozy space, children deepen their appreciation of books and practice the critical literacy skills of story reasoning, print awareness, and alphabet knowledge.

Comprehensive Curriculum and Knowledge Areas

Our Junior Kindergarten classroom provides a positive environment for your child to spend additional time gaining essential academic and social-emotional skills to succeed in kindergarten. With a robust, comprehensive curriculum, we enable students to increase their knowledge about the world around them. Classroom activities explore the following subject areas:

Language & Literacy

Activities include naming all the letters (upper- and lowercase) in the alphabet, putting sounds in the right order, writing and reading short words, plus other early writing, reading, communication, and vocabulary.

Sample Activity: Finding Mm in text!

Milestone: Names all letters of the alphabet, upper- and lowercase.

Desired Outcome: Students have the ability to name all 26 letters of the alphabet, upper- and lowercase.

$icon$

Math

Children receive an introduction to math concepts that they will explore more fully in kindergarten. There is both large and small group math instruction, daily math routines, and math workstations. Concepts such as numbers, sorting, ordering, and patterns are explored.

Nature and Science

This subject features hands-on learning experiences for children to explore, discover, and investigate themes including Animals, Health and Feelings; Weather/Seasons; and Plant Life Cycles.

Sample Activity: Build a Habitat!

Milestone: Observing and Describing Living Things: Describes/draws the type of shelter used by familiar animals.

Social Studies

Let’s take a look at ourselves, our families, our community, and the big, wide world.

Creative Arts

The ability to express themselves, their ideas, and their feelings, by engaging in experiences of music, movement, drama, and visual arts.

Physical Development and Health

The ability to use fine and gross motor skills to explore their environment, as well as to deepen their understanding of health and nutrition.

Critical Learning Skills

To develop a positive learning process, it’s important for children to strengthen six Critical Learning Skills: self-regulation; the ability to follow routines; to sustain attention; to take different perspectives; to follow complex directions; and to communicate effectively.