SPIRTUAL Development

As a Christian preschool we feel it is our privilege and responsibility to share our love for God and His love for us and all people.

Children will…

• participate in daily, age appropriate and engaging Biblical stories and activities.
• participate in shared weekly, all school, Chapel times that include praise, scripture, and interactive stories.
• observe examples of the loving, kind nature of God through the interactions with Christian staff who demonstrate the fruit of the spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
• develop strong character and moral substance through faith based teaching.

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL Development

We focus on assisting children develop a sense of safety and confidence away from home. Children will….

* cultivate positive, loving connections with other children and teachers. 

* strengthen language skills by learning to dialogue with others and verbally express their emotions.

* learn to identify and understand their feelings, leading to self-regulation and appropriate respond techniques.

* develop a sense of confidence and autonomy that fosters their self-esteem and unique personality.

* engage in activities that celebrate sharing and caring for others, promoting community minded thinking.

* practice self-help skills that bolster independence and create impulse control.

* engage in interactive play that boosts cooperation, patience and empathy.

CREATIVITY development

Our emphasis is on giving children a variety of materials that encourage their sense of expression and creativity. 

Children will….

• be given the opportunity to create and “get messy”
• allowed to explore a variety of art materials and activities with a focus on their ideas and own curiosity.
• introduced to variety of music genres and musical instruments
• encouraged to create with materials both indoor and  outdoor and that engage whole mind and body play.

COGNITIVE development

We understand that all cognitive or “academic” learning comes organically through children’s play.  Play is not the absence of academics, but the core element to it.  Emphasizing development and celebration of a well rounded children will lead to a lifetime love for learning. This learning includes ABC’s, 123’s and everything in between.

Children will….

• be given intentional activities that weave children’s curiosity with activities in math, science, language and writing. 
• have access to range of tools and instruments that encourage writing
• develop pre-reading skills through conversations that include patterning, predicting, and recall of stories.
• encouraged to love and respect the written word through books, puppets and a word rich environment.
• recognize letters and phonics through group and individual activities
• develop number sense, color recognition, and counting skills through hands on activities. 
• develop critical thinking skills through on going inquiries and conversations with teacher and peers.
• gain attention building skills through listen and respond activities. 

FINE AND GROSS MOTOR development

Children, especially five years old and younger, need to physically move in order to learn!  Brain development is engaged through physical activity and interaction with the environment.  We have an expansive outdoor playground, where children have ample space to run, jump an explore while enjoying nature.  While small motor skills are used in this outdoor play, providing targeted indoor motor play is also necessary.

Children will….

• be given space and time to run, jump and climb safely
• children have opportunity to take cautious risk in order to learn boundaries and body awareness
• engage in group play using obstacle course, balls and other materials to develop hand eye coordination and strengthen large muscles
• be given tools that promote small motor development such as tweezers, q-tips and droppers
• use different sizes of tricycles and scooters to learn balance and coordination