Junior kindergarten · Age 4
Junior kindergarten: little hands, big first year
Junior kindergarten, or JK, is the first year of Ontario’s two-year kindergarten, at age 4. For many children it is their first year in a classroom. Here is what that year looks like and some short games to support it at home.
Getting started
A five-minute game for today
Draw a big circle on paper and put a toy car at the start. Your child drives it along the line without leaving the road, slowly. Then swap: you drive, and they tell you when you go off the road.
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What JK is
In Ontario, kindergarten is a free two-year program for 4- and 5-year-olds. The first year is usually called junior kindergarten and the second senior kindergarten. Other provinces simply say kindergarten, and each one sets its own ages.
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Tracing in Ziippi
In My hands, the voice says “Trace the circle” and your child follows a dotted circle with a finger, from the green dot to the end. Laying the phone or tablet flat on a table makes it easier.
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Strong hands away from the screen
Squeezing play dough, opening clothes pegs and tearing paper into strips all build the hand strength a pencil needs later. Ten minutes of this is worth as much as a perfect line.
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Taking turns
In a JK classroom children share materials and wait for a turn. At home, any game where each person adds one block to a tower, or rolls a ball back and forth, practises the same thing.
Frequently asked questions
Is junior kindergarten mandatory?
In Ontario, kindergarten is free but children must attend school from the September of the year they turn 6. Check your province’s rules with your school board.
How long should my child play?
A few minutes is enough. Stop when they lose interest and come back another day.
Where do I download Ziippi in Canada?
Use the download buttons on this page: they open Ziippi’s listing on the App Store or Google Play.
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