Academics
Early Childhood

Junior Kindergarten

4-Year-Old Preschool
Junior Kindergarten

Junior Kindergarten nurtures students in Catholic love while fostering the awareness that they are children of God. Teachers create a happy, caring, and positive environment where each child explores and builds both a solid academic foundation and a positive self-concept. Teachers largely implement the curriculum through play, with a growing emphasis on the routines and readiness skills that carry into kindergarten.

Teachers design learning around each child's growing independence, blending individual exploration with group experiences that build confidence and cooperation. Teachers weave spiritual, emotional, social, intellectual, and physical growth through every activity, in line with the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards that Archdiocese of Chicago early childhood programs follow. 
Archdiocese of Chicago Early Childhood Education.
Building confidence, curiosity, and readiness for what comes next.

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  • Parent School Partnership

    Through daily pick-up and drop-off, newsletters, MySOSM updates, and phone calls, parents stay closely connected to classroom life. Trimester assessments and parent-teacher conferences give a fuller picture of each child’s academic and social progress.

A Day in the Life

Days and times may vary.

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  • Morning

    • 8:30 a.m. Arrival: Enter through the Early Childhood entrance (south doors). 
    • Morning Meeting: Prayers, discussion, calendar, weather, songs.
    • Reading: Happily Ever After.
    • Individual Work: Sunform Motor Plan and Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Program.
    • Snack (parent provided)
    • Morning Outside Play
    • Centers: May include a special in art, music, physical education, Spanish, or library. 
    • 11:30 a.m. Dismissal: Half-day only. Curbside pick-up at the Early Childhood doors.

  • Afternoon (full-day students)

    • Lunch: Prayers and lunch in the classroom; hot lunch available.
    • Rest Time
    • Afternoon Outside Play
    • Choice Time: May include a special in art, music, physical education, Spanish, or library. 
    • 3:10 p.m. Dismissal: Full-day only. Curbside pick-up at the Early Childhood doors.

Junior Kindergarten Parent, Catholic Schools Week

"This morning was magical! My daughter has been so excited about the 'Art Show,' and I was amazed. It was also special to join the morning meeting, see the homework presentations, and hear her follow along with phonics. Thank you so very much for giving the kids and the parents that priceless experience!"

How Junior Kindergarten Learns

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  • Religion

    Teachers model Catholic love through prayer, demeanor, and daily interactions. The Allelu! textbook provides weekly leaflets presenting Bible stories from both Testaments, with activities that engage the whole family.

  • Social-Emotional Learning

    Children learn to identify their own and others' feelings, take others' perspectives, and practice empathy. Lessons explicitly address regulating strong emotions and a three-step problem-solving process.

  • Language Arts

    Large- and small-group activities, including the daily calendar, weather, day counting, songs, poetry, stories, and dramatizations, build receptive and expressive language and literacy. Children formally learn the alphabet and corresponding sounds through the Sunform Alphabet and Phonics System, and letter formation through the Sunform Motor Plan. Teachers use the Happily Ever After curriculum to build reading readiness through familiar stories, and the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Program to teach rhyming, blending, and segmenting sounds.

  • Mathematics

    Teachers introduce numerals, shapes, one-to-one correspondence, matching, sorting, classifying, sequencing, patterning, estimating, measuring, and graphing, alongside the concepts of more and less, building critical thinking and problem-solving through hands-on exploration.

  • Science

    Children explore, experiment, and integrate knowledge through theme-based units, including Scholastic's Clifford Magazine science articles.

  • Social Studies

    Teachers build awareness of family structure and relationships, the local geographic community, and holidays through theme-based units.

Specials

Our specials teachers lead classes in art, music, physical education, Spanish, and library. Schedules vary by class and program.

  • Art

    Children explore a variety of media, building fine motor skills and creativity both in the classroom and with our art teacher.

  • Library

    Story time in the library introduces children to books, builds listening skills, and nurtures a love of reading.

  • Music

    Students explore movements, rhythms, and instruments.

  • Physical Education

    Outdoor play and indoor activities in the gymnasium build gross motor skills.

  • Spanish

    Teachers use an immersion approach, introducing young children to Spanish through songs and storytelling.
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Session Information

The academic year begins in late August and ends in early June. The first week opens softly, and the year closes with an end-of-year social. Children must be 4 years old by September 1st. For exact dates, see the current School Calendar.

Extended Day is available before school for all Junior Kindergarten students, and after school for full-day students.

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  • 5 Mornings

    Monday through Friday; 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

  • Lunch Bunch

    Optional for half-day students; 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

  • 5 Full Days

    Monday through Friday; 8:30 a.m. to 3:10 p.m.

What Comes NextKindergarten (Full-Day)

After Junior Kindergarten, students move into Kindergarten, our full-day bridge into elementary school, where play meets formal learning.

A Roman Catholic School Since 1917

To Learn, To Serve, To Lead

Primary Grade Center

900 West Everett Road
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
(847) 283-9800

Upper Grade Center

185 East Illinois Road
Lake Forest, Illinois 60045
(847) 234-0371