LANGUAGE ARTS: 

Students gain essential skills necessary for the development of a solid foundation in reading and writing. Emphasis is placed upon the identification of the upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet and their corresponding sounds. Oral language is promoted by the development of listening skills, sequencing, syllabication, and the recognition of rhyming words. Students explore the attributes of a book, the purpose of an author and illustrator, and strategies for comprehension and fluency. In addition to the recognition of the vowels and their corresponding sounds, students begin to articulate consonant-vowel-consonant words through the identification of beginning, middle, and end sounds. Students also explore high frequency sight words from the Dolch

Pre-Primer list. Becoming proficient in the basic strokes of handwriting allow students to form letters, numbers, and symbols. Print awareness prepares students for reading and writing through the exploration of directionality from left to right. In preparation for written expression, students learn to draw or label pictures to communicate meaning. Junior Kindergarten prepares students to become successful readers and writers by learning a plethora of new skills and vocabulary words.

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MATH:

Students begin to sort, classify, and order objects while recognizing an assortment of patterns using attributes. Data is collected and represented on a variety of graphs and charts. Students explore number sense by the one-to-one correspondence of objects in a series, recognition of greater than, less than, or equal to, and representation of a given number of objects with a written numeral. In geometry, students explore a variety of two and three dimensional shapes while learning the difference between flat and solid shapes. Students also begin to explore measurement based upon the attributes of length, height, and weight, etc. Students are introduced to skip counting by fives and tens to 100. Junior Kindergarten also provides an opportunity to explore the characteristics and values of a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter.

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SCIENCE:

Students explore the attributes of living and nonliving things while discovering what living things need for survival. Students also investigate the characteristics of plants and animals. A study of matter reveals the existence of solids, liquids, and gases, while students also learn the components of a mixture. During the school wide Human Body Fair, students in Junior Kindergarten explore ways to use their five senses to discover the world around them. Questions regarding day and night, the weather, and the four seasons are answered through an investigation of the Earth and sky. A final study of objects reveals what they are made of, how we can use them, and how we sort them based upon contrast and comparison.

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SOCIAL STUDIES:

Students spend Junior Kindergarten exploring the world around them. They learn what it means to be part of a family, a school, and a community. Students explore a variety of vocabulary words including citizenship, rights, responsibilities, rules, leaders, country symbols, and monuments. A study of economics reveals the difference between wants versus needs and goods versus services. Map skills are introduced in Junior Kindergarten as students explore maps, land forms, bodies of water, globes, seasons, and Earth's resources. Students also compare and contrast a variety of traditions throughout different cultures as they explore holidays and American folk heroes.  

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SPANISH:

Spanish in Primary School is done as a hands-on approach. Later on, students will continue to develop vocabulary and pronunciation skills and an understanding of the target cultures through hands-on and culturally stimulating ways.

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TECHNOLOGY:

Primary School technology classes focus on development of fine motor skills with use of the mouse and basic keyboard. Websites are utilized to reinforce classroom lessons. Beginning lessons in digital safety focus on staying on websites approved by teachers or parents.

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ART:

The Junior Kindergarten curriculum is designed to promote a positive self-image, sensory awareness, growing independence, and an eagerness to learn. Students will spend time learning the basic principles and materials used in different art making processes. Students will focus on primary colors and what happens when mixing colors.

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MUSIC:

Junior Kindergarten students are introduced to music and its concepts in their regular classroom, as well as, the music classroom. Young children engage in music as play. When offered a variety of drums and strikers, children play with sound. When young children hear music, they move to it. Once children learn to sing, they create their own melodies and invent their own words to familiar songs. These practices are realized in each Junior Kindergarten music class that meets weekly. The students explore opposites such as quiet and loud, fast and slow, long and short, and high and low. A variety of musical timbres are presented through singing, hearing, and playing instruments. Movement is also a key component in understanding music in the early phases. As children respond to and explore music through movement, the underlying concepts are reinforced and a foundation for further music appreciation is formed. In Junior Kindergarten, the music curriculum is a tool for developing listening and creative expression.

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LIBRARY:

Junior Kindergarten children begin to explore the library to check out books for personal enjoyment. Students are able to answer questions about a story’s main idea, characters, and story sequence by listening to a variety of literary forms.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION:

Primary School curriculum focuses on movement, balance, depth perception, and spatial awareness. These skills are taught through age appropriate obstacle courses and tag games. Hand-eye coordination are practiced through throwing and catching games.  

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