ABOUT US

Village Church Weekday Preschool is a NAEYC accredited and KQRIS Five-Star rated preschool that offers a developmental program of quality education for children ages 3-5. The program uses the HighScope curriculum and is taught by Early Childhood Education/Elementary Education degreed professionals in every classroom.  

Three Year Old classes meet on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9-11:30 a.m., with optional extended days until 3 p.m. 

Four Year Old classes meet on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings from 9-11:30 a.m., with optional extended days on Wednesday and Friday until 3 p.m. 

The Five Year Old class meets on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons from 12:30-3 p.m., with optional extended days on Tuesday and Thursday mornings beginning at 9 a.m.

PRESCHOOL ENROLLMENT SCHEDULE

During the month of January, Village Preschool begins accepting applications for next year’s fall enrollment. All forms can be found at the links below. Several years ago a tiered schedule was implemented due to the demand for limited spaces in our program. Thank you for understanding and adhering to this policy. 

ENROLLMENT FORMS & CALENDAR FOR 2017-2018

NEWSWORTHY

Enrollment Schedule for Fall 2017-2018:

Jan. 17
Enrollment opens for Current Preschool Families and Village Church Members.
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Jan. 19 
Enrollment opens for Current Preschool Families and Village Church Members

Jan. 23
Enrollment opens for Community Families

Monthly Newsletter

Check here monthly to get the latest news, reminders, updates and to learn about all of our upcoming events. 
December 2016 Newsletter >
November 2016 Newsletter >
October 2016 Newsletter >
September 2016 Newsletter >

LET'S PLAY

Over the past two years, Village Church Preschool has been working to develop a long-range plan for the upkeep and enhancement of the playground space that is so vital to our daily program.

You can still join in our playground enhancement project! Learn more about our vision for an outdoor classroom by viewing the presentation below or learn how you can donate by viewing our Let's Play brochure.

ADDITIONAL OFFERINGS

Creations by Kids

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The art class “Creations by Kids” will visit each preschool class once a month. The method will be process art, which encompasses all of one’s senses. Process art, not product art, means that the child is free to experiment with different art materials and enjoy what happens. There are no concerns about right or wrong or copying an example. Each child is the artist, whatever they create is right and most times more exciting than what we as adults imagine. The CBK curriculum rotates monthly with the “Monet Michelangelo and Me” program and is administered by Debbie Smith, coordinator of CBK.

"Monet, Michelangelo and Me"

When looking at art, children tend to focus on the subject of the art rather than the aesthetics. Monet, Michelangelo and Me helps to develop children’s language skills by talking about shape, size, color and texture. Teachers ask questions and engage in meaningful conversation about specific artists and their creative styles. Preschoolers will participate in Monet, Michelangelo and Me classes four times a year, learning to have fun with visual imagery. Both “Creations by Kids” and “Monet, Michelangelo and Me” classes help develop fine motor, cognitive, language and social skills. 

Another program available outside of our preschool day is a Monday AM & PM Creations by Kids process art class offered by Debbie Smith.This optional program is open to children currently enrolled in the 4’s and 5’s preschool classes. Spring classes are offered for our 3’s. If enrollment is not filled by preschool children, it is opened to church and community members.

Music Is Fun

In addition to the music the children experience daily in the classroom, Jenny Hull, our music teacher, visits each class once a month. She follows the key experiences in the High Scope music guidelines, including: 

- moving to music 

- exploring and identifying sounds 

- exploring the singing voice 

- exploring musical instruments 

- singing songs 

Jenny provides wonderful opportunities for family participation with the annual Christmas Sing-A- Long!

Movement Is Fun

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The Movement Is Fun (MIF) program was developed for use in preschools to enhance normal growth and development. Using concepts of movement exploration embedded in a framework of sensory integration development, children learn how to move their bodies through space. They also learn about how muscles work and how to visualize body movement and then plan and execute the ideas (creative movement). Because of the emphasis on a sensory integration framework, the activities concentrate on enhancing the basic sensory systems - activities which are at a much lower level than most movement exploration programs.
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A curriculum has been developed for use in preschools that provides each child with the MIF program once a week for the school year. The Village Preschool has two occupational therapists, Joy Anderson and Martha Sparks, who work with our children. A minimum of equipment is utilized, so that the children will concentrate on their body movements rather than on a piece of machinery.

Snacks with Stacey "SWS"

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Stacey El Attar, a Master Food Volunteer through the K-State Research and Extension, has developed a wonderful preschool nutrition program to be used along with our early childhood curriculum at Village. Visiting our classrooms monthly, sharing a fun lesson about eating right and following the USDA Food Pyramid, Stacey teaches the children the importance of a balanced diet. Family partnerships are created by her parent classes, her nutritional website is available to families and the informational handouts are available on the parent bo

Speech and Hearing Screening

We offer, through Children’s Therapy Group, a screening test for articulation to assess speech sound development, an observation of the child’s expressive and receptive language skills and a hearing screening. All test results are reported to parents by the speech pathologist performing the screening. This screening is done in the fall for our 4s and 5s and in the spring for our 3s.

ASSESSMENT POLICY

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Village Church Preschool places a great value on the individual development and uniqueness of each child. The team teacher approach in the classroom allows the assessment of sixteen children to be done in a step by step process with observational record keeping at the very core. Six general categories of child development are addressed with parents at least twice a year. It takes time to create an accurate picture of each child and how they are relating all of the areas; to the teacher, to each other and the group as a whole. The documentation (observational record keeping) is important verification of the whole picture and how the child’s development unfolds throughout the school year.

​Our policy is to respond outside of the twice a year format when it is deemed necessary by the classroom teacher or is requested by a parent. It is our charge as teachers to have a constant and accurate evaluation of each child and to relay information to the parents in a systematic way. Our team approach includes the teachers, administration and the parents using the following process:

-  Providing developmentally appropriate settings for children to explore their world and 
   teachers that understand child development and children’s needs. 

-  Anecdotal record keeping focusing on child-initiated behaviors (actions the child undertakes independently rather than in response to adult directions)

-  Daily and weekly planning time to review status of children and plan activities around the needs of each child. 

-  Meetings with the director to assess child’s development and if necessary to help formulate and articulate appropriate feedback and response to teacher and or parent concerns. 

-  Thoughtful and timely response to parent’s request for feedback through phone calls, notes and conferences concerning their child’s development in school.
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Our 3-year-old classrooms use a two part form that shows Reflections (observations by the teachers) and Looking Ahead (goals) with mutual input by parents and teachers. These opportunities for decision making and planning ahead for the children are a valuable part of our supporting family partnerships.

Our 4-year-old classrooms use the High Scope COR form in reporting to the parents. The six categories of observation are:

1. Initiative

2. Social Relations 

3. Creative Representation 

4. Music and Movement 

5. Language and Literacy

6. Logic and Math

Our 5-year-old classroom uses the portfolio system of reporting that supports child centered learning. Both teachers and children collect work samples, take photographs, use anecdotal records and involve families in the process. These are shared twice a year with the formal conferences and then sent home at the end of the year with the children.
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All three methods of evaluation ( for 3s, 4s & 5s) will utilize some form of a portfolio as a means of showing the continuum of each child’s development. This will be sent home at the end of each school year.

2016-2017 TEACHING STAFF

Back Row L-R:
Mary van Thullenar, Anita Menke, Anne Huxtable, Julie Hauber, Emily Kuntz, Stacey El Attar, Terri Gaeddert, Debbie Smith, Renee Reimer, Bentley Messner, Jill Kirkland
Front Row L-R:
​Sarah McKee, Debbie Spurlin, Lisa Wright, Stephanie Leiserowitz, Heather Ream, Beth Richardson

2016-2017 ADVISORY BOARD

L-R:
Jenna Brack, Mary van Thullenar, Cheryl Couch-Thomas, Katy Platt, Shelby Krumm, Terri Gaeddert, Renee Reimer, Sarah Reeves, Danielle Harrison
Not Pictured- Debbie Smith
CONTACT:
Sarah McKee
Director of Village Church Preschool
Email
913-671-2338
CONTACT:
Debbie Smith
Assistant Director of Village Church Preschool
Email
913-671-2379