Finding the Right Path For Your Young Learner

By Angela Levine

It’s that time of year – the time when parents of children ages 3-5 years old make decisions on where they will send their kids for preschool and/or kindergarten. While many choose church-based preschools, it is still tough to compare the many options in our community.

St. John’s Lutheran School not only has a reputable preschool program, but it has a well-known kindergarten program, with a smooth transition between the two. And by the way – a St. John’s education extends all the way through 8th grade, providing a great place for your child to get a “complete” education prior to high school.

These programs have been quietly and successfully teaching early learners for over twenty years. So if you are in the process of making a decision on either preschool or kindergarten, St. John’s is a school you should investigate.

Kindergarten Curriculum:

Accelerated components for more advanced students
One-to-one remediation for students when needed
Variety of teaching methods for individual learning
Phonics-based reading program
Sight word recognition
Sentence and paragraph writing
D’Nealian handwriting
Math focused on 0-30 (adding, subtracting, fractions, telling time, graphs, money, word problems, patterns, geometry)
Daily bible stories and daily prayer
Individual assessment to determine first grade readiness

Strengths of program/school:

Sandy Bryant – kindergarten teacher at St. John’s for more than 20 years
Small class size
Chapel, computer, PE, music, library and art classes weekly
Extras: educational field trips, community service, two musicals
After school care program available for additional cost

What Children Really Need to Get From Kindergarten
At St. John’s, we believe that fundamentally, children need a strong kindergarten program so they can become self-sufficient, self-confident and academically able to do whatever school presents to them.

“Kindergarten prepares a student for future years. A strong kindergarten year teaches the student that doing his/her best is important; that a friend is kind and helpful; that there are people who care about them and will help them; that learning is fun.” – Sandy Bryant, Kindergarten teacher

Preschool curriculum:

The Creative Curriculum balances both teacher-directed and child-initiated learning, with an emphasis on responding to children’s learning styles and building on their strengths and interests. It is designed for children ages 3-5.
The North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development focuses on five domains: Approaches to Play and Learning, Emotional and Social Development, Health and Physical Development, Language Development and Communication, and Cognitive Development.
By using both curriculum tools, St. John’s can assess a child’s progress and the lessons taught while the child is learning through play while ensuring children are ready for kindergarten.

Strengths of program/school:

Sonia Davidson – main preschool teacher at St. John’s for more than 20 years
Small class sizes
Chapel, computer, PE, music, library and art
Extras: music and special projects, two musicals
After school care program available for additional cost

What Children Really Need to Get From Preschool
St. John’s preschool teachers’ goals are to help students reach their full potential by providing an environment and experience that promotes growth and learning beyond their preschool years. Kindergarten readiness is important to us but so is a firm foundation in Christian based knowledge.

“Our teachers work hard getting the children to think about how they fit into being a part of our schools family. They quickly learn to be creative thinkers, be pro-social, increase their vocabulary and how to play with others.” – Sonia Davidson, Preschool Director

For more information, please contact St. John’s Lutheran School to talk with our staff and schedule a school visit.