JPII Kindergarten

Visit the Kindergarten

Let us welcome you into our school community.

The first Kindergarten Roundup of the year is happening on January 16th.

Your rising Kindergartener is invited to spend the morning in our Kindergarten classroom and to get a taste of the engaging Montessori activities and “works” that our students enjoy each day.

While the young scholars are visiting the classroom, you’ll hear from our headmaster, learn about our program, meet the teachers, and tour the school.

Register
A young girl with brown hair and a ponytail, wearing a white shirt and a checkered pinafore, smiling and looking to her left.

The JPII Approach to Kindergarten

Drawing from the principles of Maria Montessori and the idea of the Nature Kindergarten, JPII kindergarteners are immersed each day in a peaceful culture of play and work where learning happens both naturally and intentionally. Each day, students

  • Begin reading and spelling through the Waseca Reading and Spalding phonics programs

  • Develop fine motor skills through Montessori-based works and activities

  • Grow in physical balance and control through a weekly gymnastics program

  • Cultivate goodness, courtesy, and kindness through our Excellence in Virtue curriculum

  • Gain confidence and verbal fluency through the performance of poetry memorization and choral music

  • Get plenty of fresh air, exercise, and rest each day through a rhythm of outdoor play, nature studies, music and movement, gymnastics, and intentional quiet time

And most importantly,

  • Develop a deep affection, love, and trust in Jesus through our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) program and regular experience of Holy Mass (3 times/ week). The CGS program is one of the most important aspects of the human and spiritual formation that our youngest students receive at St. John Paul II Academy.

    • In fact, we offer CGS training to all of our teachers of grades K-4, even those who do not work in the CGS atrium. In our view, CGS training is an irreplaceable step in the formation of master teachers in the primary grades.

Curricular resources and activities we integrate into the kindergarten experience at JPII Academy:

Theology:

Math:

Phonics:

Handwriting:

  • Spalding Program

Literature:

Arts:

  • Music

    • Exposure to classical and sacred music

    • Patriotic and folk songs

    • Daily singing

    • Montessori bells

  • Visual Art

    • Exposure to different artists

    • Exploration with different arts and crafts media 

    • Art studies and appreciation

Prayer:

  • Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

  • Holy Mass on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays

  • Daily personal prayer

  • Scripture reading

  • Memorization of traditional prayers

  • Eucharistic Adoration

Science:

Latin:

Practical Life:

  • Care of plants

  • Care of physical environment

  • Care of self

  • Lessons of grace and courtesy

Teacher assisting young students with an activity in a classroom setting.
A teacher sharing a story with young students sitting cross-legged on a carpet in a classroom. The teacher holds a tablet showing text that says 'Be still, and know that I am God.' The students are wearing school uniforms and attentively listening.
Group of young girls and adult women dressed as nuns posing inside a classroom, all smiling and making prayer gestures.
A young girl and a woman are doing educational activities using colorful math blocks and flashcards in a classroom setting.
Four children sitting on a colorful rug, playing a memory matching game with green cards in a classroom.
A young girl in a school uniform coloring a drawing at a desk in a classroom.
Group of young children singing or performing at a school event, standing in front of a gray wall with a banner reading 'St. John Paul II Academy'.
Two young boys with green bandanas talking and smiling at each other, surrounded by other children and some adults.
A teacher assisting two children coloring at a classroom table with shelves and classroom materials in the background.
A young boy kneeling on the carpeted floor, holding a small glass jar with a white label, in front of a small wooden table with a lace cloth, glass bottles, and religious items, in a room with blue walls and educational posters.

A young boy kneeling on the carpeted floor, holding a small glass jar with a white label, in front of a small wooden table with a lace cloth, glass bottles, and religious items, in a room with blue walls and educational posters.

Children sitting on the floor listening to three nuns speaking in a classroom decorated with banners and educational materials.

Children sitting on the floor listening to three nuns speaking in a classroom decorated with banners and educational materials.

Four children walking on a paved path near the entrance of the Rosenblatt Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, on a sunny day.

Four children walking on a paved path near the entrance of the Rosenblatt Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, on a sunny day.

Children looking through an aquarium window at a large turtle swimming nearby.

Children looking through an aquarium window at a large turtle swimming nearby.

A teacher reading a book to a group of children sitting and kneeling on the carpet in a classroom library.

A teacher reading a book to a group of children sitting and kneeling on the carpet in a classroom library.

Children in a classroom chopping vegetables on cutting boards, engaged in a cooking activity.

Children in a classroom chopping vegetables on cutting boards, engaged in a cooking activity.

A classroom with children sitting at desks and preparing food ingredients, such as sliced carrots on a cutting board, in a well-lit room with shelves and educational materials.

A classroom with children sitting at desks and preparing food ingredients, such as sliced carrots on a cutting board, in a well-lit room with shelves and educational materials.

A young girl wearing a white apron and a school uniform is cutting green bell peppers on a white cutting board in a classroom. There is a plastic knife and some vegetables on the table.

A young girl wearing a white apron and a school uniform is cutting green bell peppers on a white cutting board in a classroom. There is a plastic knife and some vegetables on the table.

Group of children wearing aprons gathered around a table, preparing to carve a roasted turkey.

Group of children wearing aprons gathered around a table, preparing to carve a roasted turkey.

Mixed chopped vegetables including broccoli, carrots, radishes, corn, and potatoes in a metal bowl on a gray countertop.

Mixed chopped vegetables including broccoli, carrots, radishes, corn, and potatoes in a metal bowl on a gray countertop.

Young students sitting at a long table during lunch in a classroom, with a teacher standing nearby, all smiling and enjoying their meal.

Young students sitting at a long table during lunch in a classroom, with a teacher standing nearby, all smiling and enjoying their meal.

A teacher and a young girl sit at a table in a classroom. The teacher is pointing at a worksheet with letters and pictures, and the girl is resting her face in her hands, smiling and listening.

A teacher and a young girl sit at a table in a classroom. The teacher is pointing at a worksheet with letters and pictures, and the girl is resting her face in her hands, smiling and listening.

Young students in a classroom seated around a table, engaged in reading and writing activities.

Young students in a classroom seated around a table, engaged in reading and writing activities.