Preschool's Goals and Strategies

Trinity Lutheran Preschool’s Goals
In accordance with this mission statement we therefore strive to:

• Provide a Christian curriculum and environment that leads your child to a closer relationship with Jesus.
• Act in partnership with the home and to work hand in hand with parents in nurturing and loving your child.
• Provide avenues for emotional and social growth through interaction with other children, with teachers and with materials.
• Provide your child with a solid and sound readiness for entering Kindergarten.
• Serve as a friendly and welcoming place for parents by providing various opportunities for interaction with other parents and with our staff.

 
 Strategies: Here are some of the ways we want to achieve our goals.

1. Jesus is Our Friend and Savior:
As a Christian preschool we have the privilege of being able to put Jesus first. We show His active role in our school by:

• ¨ Learning that we are very special and unique children of God.
• ¨ Learning that God is with us always and is important at all times.
• ¨ Getting to know God and Jesus through Bible stories.
• ¨ Knowing that Jesus loves us very much and has saved us.
• ¨ Discovering that Jesus’ love lives in our hearts and is there for us to share with others.
• ¨ Looking to Him as a role model and trying to be more like Him through kindness, love and forgiveness.
• ¨ Understanding that we can talk to Him when we pray.
• ¨ Singing lots of happy songs about Him.
• ¨ Recognizing Him as our best friend and Savior.

 
2. Home Connection:
Preschool is the children’s first taste of school life and often their first time away from home and family. This is a BIG step for both the children and parents alike. We therefore like to bridge the gap between home and school by:

• ¨ Creating a “homey” atmosphere that is friendly and welcoming to both children and adults.
• ¨ Reassuring the children that all the adults who love them are working together to help them grow up as God would have it.
• ¨ Supporting the children through parent-teacher communications, during conferences and at school.
• ¨ Providing a safe environment which is free from unsafe equipment or people.

 
3. Growth:
Preschool provides many opportunities for your children to grow socially and emotionally. They will learn how to:

• ¨ Make a comfortable separation from Mom and/or Dad and become independent from home.
• ¨ Accept and respect their teachers as their “school-time” grown-ups.
• ¨ Get along with a group of other children.
• ¨ Recognize the importance of others and the joys of friendship.
• ¨ Play together with others and learn to share and take turns.
• ¨ Listen to what others say.
• ¨ Control emotions and actions.
• ¨ Practice being “kind” to one another and to follow Jesus’ commandment: “Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12

 
 4. Readiness:
At Preschool the children will learn basic behaviors and skills. By the time they are ready to go to kindergarten they will have had experience:

• ¨ Working independently.
• ¨ Participating in group activities.
• ¨ Accepting routines and the idea that there are special times during the day for each activity .
• ¨ Sitting quietly and listening when the teacher is talking.
• ¨ Sharing themselves during sharing time and by helping with snacks.
• ¨ Taking care of their own belongings .
• ¨ Putting materials and toys away.
• ¨ Raising their hands and waiting their turns.
• ¨  Forming a line with the whole class.
• ¨  Counting, reciting the alphabet and singing simple songs.
• ¨  Recognizing numbers, letters, colors and shapes.
• ¨  Developing their fine motor skills through coloring, printing, cutting, etc.
• ¨  Developing their large motor skills through gym and outdoor activities, games   and dance.

 
5. Parents Welcome
We delight in getting to know the parents too, and in seeing them develop new friendships with other parents in the school. In order to foster this fellowship we provide the following:

• ¨ Chapel Talks each month.
• ¨ Opportunities to assist in the classroom and to get to know the other children.
• ¨ Class parties and field trips which involve parents.
• ¨ Time to chat during arrival and dismissal.
• ¨ A very special “graduation” at the end of the 4 year old class.