Academics/Programs > Junior KindergartenJunior Kindergarten
In Junior Kindergarten, students will be engrossed in a responsive environment of comfort and discovery. The JK curriculum is tailored to student interest and individual needs, including rotations of literacy, math, language arts, social studies, science, music, art, physical education, emerging projects, block work , and pretend play. Our curriculum is integrated and subject content interweaves throughout all that the children do.
Emerging Projects
Projects in Junior Kindergarten are both child and teacher initiated, with a primary focus in student interests. Children are naturally intellectually curious, and projects give them the power and freedom to explore that curiosity. While a more structured rotation schedule takes place in the mornings, afternoon is our time to focus on expanded creativity through projects. Projects can last from one day to six months, depending on student’s interest levels. Teachers stimulate the children’s interest to expand projects and increase rich content. We start with the children’s questions, and set forth to answer them together through our project work.
Pretend Play
Play has been called the work of children, and in Junior Kindergarten we truly believe this. Literacy begins in the pretend play area where children create their own stories. During this bridge between pre-school and kindergarten, development of social skills is extremely important and pretend play is a key venue for this development. Pretend play is part of our structured morning Learning Centers, our outdoor recess, and our free play times.
Block Work
Block work is a central focus to our early childhood education experience in Junior Kindergarten. In JK, we use unit blocks; wooden blocks proportionally sized for mathematical concept development. In the beginning of the year, the JK students work on group projects guided by their teacher, learning to plan before building. After the students have acquired these initial block building skills, they begin to work in teams independently of their teacher practicing social skills, math skills, creativity, science, and literacy. Blocks are used during morning Learning Centers, free play, and project time.
Spanish
Spanish is interwoven into the children’s day at all times. Spanish in Junior Kindergarten is basic and focused in school vocabulary, routines, and basic conversations. By the end of the year, Junior Kindergarteners are able to label their school environment, greet teachers and friends, count, respond to requests, ask questions, express basic needs, label colors and shapes, as well as learn some vocabulary words specific to curriculum.
Academics
In Junior Kindergarten, our academics begin daily with our Morning Meeting, rich in all content areas. Formal academic instruction occurs in the morning. Instruction is given in small groups in rotations called Learning Centers. Learning Centers include varying levels of teacher support and instruction in math, reading, writing, handwriting, pretend play, block work, and free choice activities. Instructional groups are based on children’s needs. Science and social studies are taught through experiential learning, during our project time. The Junior Kindergarten year is a transitional year and the students are on many different levels. It is important to us to respond to our students with individual education plans to appropriately fulfill their educational experience.
Language Arts
Language arts are explored in many different ways in the Junior Kindergarten. Our environment is literacy rich with labels found all over our classroom to begin the children’s awareness of the written word, and its connection to the world around them. Learning concepts of print and phonemic awareness through Read Alouds and Word Work is how we begin our year in reading and writing. Our writing starts with telling stories through drawing and dictation. As the year progresses, we begin learning sight words to support our reading and writing and then jump into writing our own words and reading books. Students in Junior Kindergarten work at their own level and progress in literacy, as they are ready. While one student may be focusing on letter sounds, another may be reading. We also follow the “Hand Writing Without Tears” program, which allows the children to develop their fine motor skills at their own pace while learning how to write the letters of the alphabet. Our Learning Centers model gives teachers the opportunity to work individually with children and in small instructional groups, to best teach the children at an appropriate level.
Math
As with language arts, math is experienced in many outlets in Junior Kindergarten. We start with our environment, where tables are numbered, number charts hang, and students label shapes in every inch of our classroom. Students practice math skills while building with unit blocks, and playing with money in pretend play. We use math in our all of our projects because math is something we all practice daily. In JK we open the student’s eyes to the math that has been surrounding them since they day they were born. Specific concepts we explore over the year are counting, sorting, recording data, measurement, estimation, number systems, money, connecting abstract symbols to mathematic concepts, patterns, 2D and 3D geometry, addition, subtraction, and surveys.
Science
We are fortunate to study science in the classroom and with our school science teacher, Señor Royce. Science themes are usually generated by our student lead projects. While specific themes are many, we focus on learning to be problem solvers. Our science studies help the JK students develop an understanding of the workings of the world around them. The scientific method is a key component to thoughtful living, so we teach the students in JK how to ask the thoughtful, appropriate questions, and effectively search for the answers through hands on work and teacher guided research. Our goal is to inspire the children’s curiosity to question the world around them, and to go out and find answers as educated thinkers.
Social Studies
Social studies are an integral part of the Junior Kindergarten curriculum. Our classroom is a community, and we learn how a community works. The school year starts with a study on families. We learn about different kinds of families and learn about the families and cultures in our own classroom. As the year progresses, our project work always gives us a chance to study the different kinds of jobs that are part of the world around us. We step out into our community during neighborhood walks, create 3D maps out of blocks, and learn about ourselves as social beings.
The Arts
Art and music are seen in our classroom on a daily basis. During our Learning Centers, each transition is accompanied by a movement, including song and dance. This time to get up and move, feeling the rhythm of the music, is very important for the focus of the JK students. We are visited by two very special music teachers; one on a weekly basis, and another once a month. These visitors fill the room with drums, guitar and piano. Visual art is a part of free choice, literacy, projects, and math on a daily basis. We also work in the school’s art studio once a week, studying techniques of art and learning about influential artists in history.