Spa Christian School Website

Preschool - 3 year old & 4 year old classes

Thank you for your interest in our preschool at Spa Christian School. The goal of our pre-school is to prepare little ones for the kindergarten experience by providing many opportunities for them

to grow as individuals
to develop social skills in a small group setting
to explore beginning academics and discover the joy of learning
to nurture Christian values and behaviors such as kindness and manners
all in a loving, safe, fun environment.

Our three-year old class meets Tuesdays & Thursdays from 8:45 – 11:15 a.m. and classroom opportunities include:

read-aloud time to experience the joy of children’s literature
Bible lessons relevant to daily life
experiences with oral and written language in developing phonemic awareness
coloring and art exploration with various media
discovery of pre-math skills through daily routine
dramatic play in the dress-up, housekeeping, or other imaginative centers
music and song play to investigate rhythm and sound
finger plays and movement with music and stories
hands-on exploration of science and nature
center activities that incorporate all five senses for growth in various learning styles
involvement in a group as well as learning about themselves as individuals, family, and friends
snack time to learn about manners and thoughtfulness
outdoor recess time, when possible, for fresh air and gross motor movement and development

In taking a Christ-centered approach to education and encouraging young children to express their natural tendency to play and explore, we create a comfortable atmosphere through pre-school to naturally encourage learning. Through creating a literacy-rich environment, dramatic play is deepened to support language and literacy. The classroom set up and learning centers invite children to explore, converse, inquire, build, and create individually and as part of a classroom community. In a small group ambiance, our caring and educated professionals capitalize on teachable moments in a child’s discovery as they listen for and encourage children’s thinking to redirect and extend learning. Teachers plan lessons to make connections across physical, social, and cognitive domains of the child’s development, providing positive reinforcement to help children develop confidence and competence. Throughout the three-year-program, your child will develop further pre-school readiness for the next step to begin exploring letter and number symbols as well as hands-on math/ literacy readiness skills in the four-year-old program.

Our four-year old class meets Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:45 – 11:15 a.m. and classroom opportunities include:

Bible lessons that connect to daily life
read-aloud time to experience the joy of children’s literature
phonemic awareness - time with sounds and syllables - a vital pre-reading skill
introduction to the recognition and formation of the printed alphabet and numbers 1-10
acting out books and stories as well as finger plays to exercise memory and following directions
small-group activities and circle games to encourage taking turns and sharing
both teacher-directed and student-initiated learning centers for individual education time
hands-on activities to focus and wonder about science and nature
counting and sorting; categorizing; seeing similarities and differences
manipulative play with blocks, puzzles, and other various objects to encourage math skill orientation
identifying colors, shapes, and patterns
dramatic play in the dress-up and housekeeping areas for exploration with imagination
outdoor recess time when possible for fresh air and gross motor development
rhythm and music activities to encourage listening and movement
cutting, coloring, pasting and art exploration to investigate various media
snack time to learn about manners and thoughtfulness
show-and-tell and share time to expand verbal skills and public communication

As a Christ-centered pre-school program, we strive to provide a secure classroom environment to foster your child’s discovery and imagination into a rich learning experience. In creating an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to learning, pre-school will ensure the development of the whole child through a variety of concrete activities presented in a meaningful context. Understanding that the development of a child is interdependent and critically impacted by the child’s environment and experience, we present many different opportunities for learning to meet the specifics needs of each child. Overall, our endeavors in pre-school will encourage children to develop confidence, curiosity, intentionality, self-control, relatedness, a capacity to communicate, and cooperativeness. The four-year-old curriculum will encourage children to begin understanding how to learn individually and work independently through many different avenues in building a knowledge base. In this process, your child will develop kindergarten readiness for a smooth transition into the next year of school and beyond.

We desire that children love school and love learning, and we have seen through our elementary school the good fruit of never hurrying a child along in the schooling process. Our many years of running a developmental kindergarten, we have been very successful in preparing children for the academic learning situation. Therefore, we expect that children entering the preschool classes will be fully three or four before beginning the school year and that they will be able to take care of their toileting needs independently. Younger children, boys especially, should consider waiting a year to enter preschool. This will allow your child to develop his/her own unique strengths in emotional maturity, interpersonal understanding, engineering/design insight, and spiritual depth. God is looking for whole people, and we want to help each child develop wholly.

The school years are a delightful time in a child’s life, and we are eager to work with families and churches to provide a safe and nurturing experience for them as they grow up to love and serve Jesus.