Mathematics | Language Arts | Science | Social Studies | Foreign Language
Physical Education | Computer Skills | Art | Music

JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN

Mathematics
There are many math activities throughout the morning, beginning with taking the roll and figuring out how many children are present/absent. We count, estimate, sort, classify, explore, compare, measure, weigh, learn math vocabulary like the names of shapes, graph, learn cardinal and ordinal numbers, and explore spatial relationships.

Language Arts
Junior Kindergarten students are encouraged to use clear speech and descriptive language in addressing the class or participating in group discussion. An Audiologist/Language Specialist checks each child’s speech and hearing in the fall. Daily activities provide opportunities to recall and practice familiar terminology; they also invite children to explore new concepts and to acquire new vocabulary. Children engage in sequential story-telling and poetic and dramatic expression. The Letterland program, fully explained in the Senior Kindergarten section, has its debut in the Junior Kindergarten when children are introduced to alphabet characters such as Munching Mike and Dippy Duck. Tracing and coloring activities reinforce the recognition of these letter characters.

The Junior Kindergarten is a print-rich environment. Children begin to name, recognize, and compare upper and lower case letters. They quickly learn to recognize their own names and often the names of their peers and of simple signs and labels, as well. They become aware that letters are symbols for sounds.

We emphasize pre-writing skills like sewing, cutting, folding, drawing, painting, and working with clay, all of which strengthen the muscles and coordination needed to write. The first thing each child learns to write is her or his own name. Children engage in activities that encourage writing as communication (labeling, making signs, writing messages to friends at the message center, and dictating stories).

In our weekly trips to the library for hearing a story and checking out books, we develop the art of browsing through, selecting and sharing books with friends and family.

Science
Our science curriculum comes straight from the world around us. We are blessed with an excellent campus which provides many opportunities to explore nature. Specific topics studied vary from year to year depending on the interests of children and teachers, but they usually include seasonal changes, gardening of various kinds, the interdependence of living things, and the importance of good stewardship of our earth. Of particular interest is the study of the needs, behaviors, and life cycles of certain insects and mammals common to our area. Also included are activities that invite the child to investigate the properties of matter; cooking “chemistry” is a favorite. In the spring, we look at how the earth “tells its story,” a study which includes elementary geology and paleontology as we look at the layers and fossils which tell us about earth’s past.

Social Studies
Junior Kindergartners are still in the process of figuring out the group dynamics in the classroom. We spend a good bit of time at the first of the year just learning about what school is (and is not), and what is expected of us as students at Summit. We learn about each other’s families, celebrating similarities as well as differences. Additionally, we look at globes, maps, pictures of other places, in an effort to orient ourselves to our world. We talk about things historical and political in ways appropriate to four and five-year-olds. Role-play and cooking enhance our understanding of the unfamiliar, as we look into other times, other places, other people, and other families.

Foreign Language
Twice weekly, we have a 15-minute period of oral foreign language. French is taught during the first half of the year, and Spanish is taught the last half. We learn simple songs and games, color names, and conversational phrases.

Physical Education
Three times a week, we meet in one of the Summit gyms with a specialist who helps us to develop the skills we’ll need for the competitive games children play later on and for pursuing a healthy and active lifestyle. Walking, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, throwing, catching, and climbing are explored in a grand variety of cheerful activities. Emphasis is on personal effort and improvement. Good sportsmanship is encouraged at all times.

Art
Most young children are interested in process, not product. They want to know how to use the materials we present. We introduce a wide variety of media, and include responsibility for equipment and cleanup in our lessons. Materials are on low shelves where they are available to the children throughout the morning. We believe that art is one of the most important means of expression for the pre-writing child, and we celebrate all efforts by displaying children’s work throughout the kindergartens.

Computer Skills
Because they are a vital tool in modern education, we introduce computers to even our youngest children. In addition to a systematic, sequential exposure to how one treats the machine, we offer several educational programs which the children may choose to use during work times or free times.

Music
Four days a week, the children spend 20 minutes with a music specialist teacher.   They dance, play instruments, learn about pitch, rhythm, volume and tone and discover the instruments of the orchestra.   Music is used to teach self-expression, exploration, creativity, listening, coordination and self confidence.   Singing is a daily activity and everyone's favorite!