Blessed Beginnings Preschool

“Excellence in early childhood education from a Christian perspective.”

A ministry of the Christian Church of Anthony

Classes for 2 1/2-5 year olds

Director/Lead Teacher: Shelly Koehn

(620) 842-3022

blessedbeginnings@gmail.com

Governing Authority

Blessed Beginnings Preschool is a ministry of the Christian Church of Anthony (a non-denominational church) and governed by the Church Board of Elders, Deacons, and Deaconesses.  The preschool board consists of members of The Anthony Christian Church.

Curriculum Goals

Upon finishing two years at Blessed Beginnings, we expect your children to know the following:

Bible

1. To know God is the Creator of all things

2. To know the Bible is God’s Word

3. To know Jesus is God’s Son

4. To know that daily prayer is important communication with God

5. To teach godly character through stories, experiences and daily life situations

Social

1. To gain an understanding of the world around them

2. To interact with peers in a positive way

3. To cooperate in classroom routines

4. To develop self-help skills

5. To help the parent and child separate easily

Fine Motor

1. To develop and strengthen hand-eye coordination

2. To be able to manipulate a variety of writing and paint tools

3. To strengthen scissors skills

4. To be able to stack 10 small blocks vertically

5. To write their name using correct upper and lower case letters

Gross Motor

1. To be able to throw, catch, and bounce a large ball

2. To be able to balance on one foot

3. To be able to climb and descend stairs with alternating feet

4. To be able to skip

Literacy

1. To be exposed to a variety of literature

2. To model written language through journaling

3. To develop comprehension skills

4. To recognize rhyming words

5. To recognize upper and lower case alphabet

6. To recognize letter sounds

Math

1. To recognize shapes

2. To develop sorting, matching and graphing skills

3. To be able to identify existing patterns, copy patterns and create new patterns

4. To be able to count to 30

5. To recognize numbers 1-10

6. To begin simple addition with manipulatives

Science

1. To gain an understanding of God’s Creation

2. To gain an understanding of cause and effect

3. To have numerous “hands on” opportunities

Art

1. To recognize colors

2. To expose children to a variety of media

3. To encourage creativity through a variety of open-ended art activities

4. To experience cause and effect through various art activities

Music

1. To expose children to different styles of music

2. To foster listening skills and promote sound awareness

3. To encourage enjoyment of and creativity through music

Mission Statement

To provide a loving Christian environment for preschool age children where every child is encouraged to grow both intellectually and spiritually.

Purpose

Our purpose is to provide a safe environment that allows young children to explore the world around them, learn through play, and gain a biblical understanding of Godly values

Philosophy

Early Childhood is an exciting and important time of life.  With the exception of infancy, there is no other time in human life when so much is learned in so brief a time.  Our view of early childhood is a time of discovering, experiencing, exploring and “hand’s on” learning is best described through our curricular goals.

While the teacher brings to the classroom his/her own style and personality, three important goals are consistent through the following:

1. Christ-centered:  Not only do we teach the Bible and Biblical concepts but we also strive to integrate the love of God (John 3:16) throughout the program.  Often spontaneous events provide the best setting for sharing with a young child about Jesus.  Children are taught that they are special and unique, made by God (Colossians 1:16) for a special purpose, and that God desires to have fellowship with them personally through prayer and learning about His Word..

2. Developmentally Appropriate:  This means that staff are trained and expected to provide activities that take into account how young children develop and learn.  (II Timothy 2:15)  Young children neither think nor learn like adults; they are concrete thinkers who learn by hands-on experiences.  Therefore, they must be allowed to move around freely and explore in order for maximum learning to take place.  In addition, language and pre-reading skills develop best when children are encouraged and challenged to express themselves verbally.  The development of reasoning skills is much more desirable than that of rote memorization.  We strive for an environment where natural curiosity and creativity flourish.  In summary, childhood is viewed as a time to be relished rather than hurried through.  We hope your child leaves this place believing that learning is fun!

3. Well-rounded:  We believe that a superior program for young children views them as “whole persons”.  We understand that they have emotional, physical, spiritual, social, creative, and cognitive needs that are integrally related.  We therefore approach early childhood education with a necessity for addressing all aspects of the child’s “self”.  Curriculum plans for each child will include activities to enhance his/her development in math, science, creative arts, language arts, social studies, movement, Bible, and music.

Parents as Partners

The staff of Blessed Beginnings recognizes the obligation of parents to educate and care for their children and exists to assist parents in that responsibility.  Parent participation is not only welcomed, it is necessary for the program to be of maximum benefit to the children.  We therefore encourage parent participation in the program in a variety of ways:  classroom volunteers, field trip sponsors, party helpers, and special project workers.