Testimonial from a Junior Kindergarten Parent

"I can't say enough wonderful things about this class.  My daughter was just barely old enough to go to Kindergarten and we decided to wait and participate in the Junior Kindergarten class instead.  It was the BEST decision.  I've seen her mature from a "pre-schooler" to a "kindergartner" this year (and while there is a part of me that is so sad about it), it's been amazing to witness.  It gave her time to still be in that nurturing preschool environment before going into a not-as-nurturing kindergarten environment.  She has socially and educationally matured from just September to January and I'm excited to see what kind of foot-up this will give her next year.  Mrs. Bolyard, Brookie and Mumford have navigated this "transition" class exceptionally well and I've been very impressed with how they've been able to maneuver the "they're still in preschool but they need to be treated like kindergarteners" aspect.  Some of the most impressive aspects have been that she recognizes all of her letters, sounds them out and is always telling me what letter certain words start with.  She asks me how to spell EVERYTHING and doesn't need much assistance other than me just telling her the letters (I've known kindergarteners that are not even at this level).  She counts everything and likes to write out the numbers.  This class does a fun lesson each week of learning about a certain subject, penguins, polar bears, lizards, etc and it's so fun to have her come home and tell me facts (that I often didn't know myself!) about the subject they are learning that week.  How the class is teaching these subjects is done in such a way that she is actually retaining the facts and then can repeat them which has been very impressive!  Something else that has been very rewarding about this class is that they are working on "life" lessons such as manners, how to set a table and prayers.  Overall, I would highly recommend this class to anyone that is teetering on the edge of "should I send them to kindergarten or wait"!"

-Tara R.