JK and TK Programs

Information

JK and TK work diligently on reading and school readiness with a hands on approach.  Programs used are Happily Ever After, The Alphabet Curriculum, and Handwriting Without Tears.  

The variety of programming allows instruction in a multimodal approach where students learn through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities.  Using this approach readies students for reading (vision), spelling (auditory), and writing (kinesthetic).  

Skills taught to students are integrated and embedded throughout the curriculum where students are kept engaged.  Explicit instruction allows instructional support at every step of the process. 

Happily Ever After includes beautifully illustrated stories; lively discussions; a great variety of hand-on activities, group games, and art projects. 

The Alphabet Curriculum encourages students EXPLORE and LEARN the letters through hands-on and engaging activities that utilize all modes of learning. It covers five areas of phonemic awareness: repeating sounds/sentences, identifying rhyming pairs, syllable counting, blending onset & rhyme, and identifying beginning sounds. Handwriting Without Tears was developed by an occupational therapist. It is the only developmentally-based program on the market, which means it pays particular attention to the needs of children who are learning to write. It offers basic exercises in figure-ground discrimination and top-to-bottom, left-to-right sequencing. These two programs focus on phonics and correct letter formation for alphabet mastery. 

For math lessons, a comprehensive math curriculum that engages the students with music, movement, and hands on instruction. They build a strong foundation in number sense and foster a love of learning. Topics covered are sorting, shapes, patterns, positional words, comparing numbers, combining and subtracting sets, and kindergarten prep. Mrs. Fernandez also uses The Math Mingle Program, which offers a blended approach to the traditional calendar block with a focus on number sense and hands-on learning experiences.

Religion and bible stories are a daily part of our Junior Kindergarten. Our students learn that God is present and active in their lives and in the world. A faith-based education provides our students with a strong sense of direction in life. We pride ourselves in a long tradition of great academics, athletics, character building, and community service, but FAITH formation is the most important and is what makes our school special.  Jesus loves us!

Geared toward children who turn four years old by August 31, 2023. JK is an opportunity for children to gain rich experiences. Students will be entirely ingrained in a curriculum specifically focused on preparing them for kindergarten. Students who complete JK may go directly into our kindergarten program or take advantage of the gift of time and move into the TK program.

Geared toward children who turn five years old between September and December 2023. This program would also benefit students who make the cutoff date for kindergarten, but have a late birthday. Like preschool, it’s not required that kids attend, but kids who enroll in TK are required to complete the traditional year of kindergarten the following year.