Welcome to Kindergarten!
MEET MRS. WEINKAUF
St. Timothy’s welcomes Jennifer Weinkauf as our new Kindergarten teacher. Jennifer is a St. Timothy’s parishioner and has had a distinguished career in Catholic education. She has most recently taught at St. Stephen’s Catholic School in Anoka where she has been the Kindergarten teacher the past 2 years (prior to that she taught 3rd grade for 1 year). Jennifer has also served over her career at St. Peter’s and Paul Catholic School in Loretto and Mary Queen of Peace Catholic School in Rogers, teaching virtually every grade except 1st (including 11 years teaching Kindergarten). Jennifer has her Education degree in Elementary Education from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She is trained extensively in the Science of Reading (certified Believe and Read instructor) and has contributed greatly to every school she has worked at through her passion and drive for Catholic education (directing plays, musicals, coaching, having a great interest in religious presentations, teaching servant leadership and much, much more). Our Kindergarteners will enjoy the many traditions and activities she brings to the classroom, centering on both religious instruction, fun projects, and academic excellence. She looks forward to challenging her students to grow in their love of Jesus and learning as she joins St. Timothy’s. Jennifer loves spending time with her family boating, fishing, traveling, and reading.
Kindergarten Notes:
Religion:
Our students in Kindergarten learn the basic building blocks of the Catholic Faith. We read the Bible daily and use the Word of Life curriculum as our guide to learning Catholic doctrine. We participate in weekly Masses and even help with the Readings at Mass. Finally, through daily prayer we grow closer to Jesus.
Reading:
We use the Science of Reading as the backbone of our instruction. We focus on letter sounds, names, and word patterns. Our fingers and body movements help make the connections in our brains so we can become fluent readers. The Superkids Curriculum is one tool we use along with keyword cards, Heggerty lessons, decodable readers, and Write the Rooms.
Handwriting:
We practice our handwriting daily using the Superkids curriculum, Zaner Blozer workbooks, and our assignments in class. We incorporate body movements to reinforce letter formation, too.
Math:
The Kindergarten students work hard learning numbers, shapes, patterns, attributes, addition, subtraction, and math vocabulary. We use the My Math curriculum in addition to other resources to reinforce concepts taught. The concepts are continually reviewed throughout the year.
Science & Social Studies:
We use Little Thinkers which covers animals, plants, properties, motion and space, maps, solar system, long ago, holidays around the world, citizenship, 5 Senses, Needs and Wants, and citizenship. I also supplement with other units and projects to enhance the learning experience of the kindergarten students.
Enrichment – Art: (weekly)
We incorporate art into all the different subject areas. We learn to sew and do some woodworking. We use different mediums and materials in our projects. While doing these projects, we focus on different elements and principles of art.
Specials:
Physical Education instruction (2 days/week) with Mr. Ketter, Library (1 day/week), and Music (2 days/week), Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (1 day/week).
