Our classroom, the Happy Campers, prepares children ages 4 ½ – 5 to transition to Kindergarten the following year. The Jr. Kindergarten was specifically designed for students who do not meet the Kindergarten cut-off date (5 years old by September 1st) or for parents who would like to give their children an extra year before transitioning into Kindergarten. We work throughout the school year to strengthen social-emotional sills, academic skills as well as Kindergarten readiness. We use Learning Without Tears curriculum (formerly Handwriting Without Tears) to learn how to properly form and write our upper and lower case letters, numbers, and strengthen proper grip through enhancing our writing skills. Letter sounds and sight words are also taught. Some students master early reading skills by the end of the year. We introduce more complex math skills such as: patterning, graphing, making sets, measuring and ordering, sequencing and dividing a whole into a half. Students also enjoy participating in monthly science experiments.
Jr. Kindergarten students also participate in monthly “fun days” including:
- Grandparent’s Day in September
- Orange/Harvest Days in October
- Thanksgiving Parties
- Happy Birthday Jesus Christmas Parties
- Western Days
- Valentine’s Parties
- Seuss Days
- Easter Parties
- Mother’s Day Parties
