Growing Tree Preschool
For Growing Tree Preschool Forms, CLICK HERE
Quality Education Rooted in a Christian Atmosphere
Children are a gift from God, entrusted to parents and community for preparation for life. The preschool years of a child’s life help lay the foundation for success in school and life.
While parents are the child’s first and most significant teachers, it is vital that parents and educators work in partnership. As your child’s teachers, we share with you the responsibility for nurturing family life and healthy child development.
Growing Tree Preschool strives to provide a comprehensive preschool experience designed to enhance the child’s physical, social, emotional, spiritual and cognitive growth.
The Growing Tree Preschool endeavors to:
Help each child recognize that he/she is a unique individual, created in God’s image and blessed with God’s grace.
Provide opportunities for interaction with peers to develop healthy social relationships.
Provide developmentally appropriate activities based on special interests of the child.
Provide a variety of materials and activities, with time to explore inviting play.
Enhance and facilitate development in all learning domains: physical, cognitive, language, and spiritual.
Admission
Applications for fall enrollment may be obtained by calling, writing, e-mailing, or visiting the Director. Children must be three years old on or before their first day of attendance. Child must also be toilet-trained. Completed applications plus a non-refundable $30 application fee will be accepted beginning March 1 of the year of enrollment and continuing throughout the school year. When maximum enrollment is reached, applications will be placed on a waiting list, if parents/guardians so desire. Upon receipt of the completed application and fee, the Director will schedule a pre-enrollment visit and interview.
Families who apply for admission in the spring will be notified in writing of their acceptance into the program the first week of June. Families who apply later in the year will receive acceptance notification within three days of the pre-enrollment visit and interview. A child is considered officially enrolled upon receipt of a non-refundable $100 deposit which will be deducted from the first month’s tuition.
Families who wish to re-enroll their children for a second year do so by completing a re-enrollment form and returning it along with a $100 deposit. Re-enrolling children, whose forms are received by the deadline, will be given priority when the class rosters are developed in the summer. Re-enrolling children whose forms are not received by the deadline will be enrolled in chronological order according to the date on which their form is received and space is available.
All children must have paperwork required by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services on file at all times. This paperwork includes the Child Enrollment and Health Information form and a medical form signed by a physician or certified nurse practitioner. The medical form must be submitted within 30 days of admission and must be updated yearly.
Christian Curriculum
It is our privilege to discover God’s presence and uncover God’s action in our lives. As teachers, we will share this discovery process with young children. We can help them name God in their life experiences. Through exploration and reflection on their experiences, young children grow in their understanding and appreciation of the meaning and value of these experiences in their lives.
A goal of Growing Tree Preschool is to construct curriculum that is challenging, interesting and developmentally appropriate. The Christian curriculum is integrated into the content of the preschool curriculum. The following Christian curriculum components include some examples of content areas that would provide opportunities to develop an awareness of God in children’s lives:
God Made The World.
Seasons
Plants, trees
Animals, birds, fish, insects
Wind and air
Water
Light
Multi-cultural experiences
God Gives Us Many Gifts.
Family
Friends
Community
Books
School
Art
We Care For The World God Made.
Recycling
Gardening
“Clean up time”
God Made us and Loves Us. We Love God.
I Am Special
Five Senses
Our Bodies
Colors
Gold is Always with Us.
Safety
Feelings
Daily Routines
Dramatic Play Experiences
God Wants Us to be Kind to Others.
Developing Class Rules
Problem Solving/Conflict Resolution
Sharing
Pet Care
We Praise and Give Thanks to God.
Prayer at Snack Holidays
Special Times:
Thanksgiving – We give thanks to God.
Advent – We get ready for Christmas
Christmas – We celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Valentine’s Day – We love one another.
Easter – We thank God for new life.
Enrollment
There are three enrollment options:
5 mornings per week (Mon. through Fri.) ($335 per month)
3 mornings per week (Mon. Wed. Fri.) ($250 per month)
2 mornings per week (Tues. Thurs.) ($190 per month)
Enrollment is limited to 24 three-four- and five-year old children with three teachers.
Maximum group sizes are as follows:
Main classroom – 24 children with three teachers
Snack room – 24 children with three teachers
Growing Tree maintains a staff/child ratio of 1:12, as required by state licensing regulations.
Guidance Policy
At Growing Tree Preschool, discipline is viewed as the respectful guidance of young children and the teaching of problem solving skills. The goal of discipline is to develop children who are responsible, confident and have self-control. By creating an interesting environment with materials and activities that encourage hands-on exploration for children, we hope to limit inappropriate behaviors. A warm, caring, nurturing relationship between teachers and young children provides a feeling of trust.
Teachers use positive guidance techniques to help children develop the social skills needed for solving interpersonal problems. These skills include cooperating, helping, negotiating, and talking with the person involved. Children learn by observing appropriate behavior demonstrated or modeled by their teachers. Teachers are consistent and predictable in dealing with inappropriate behaviors. As children experiment with what is appropriate or inappropriate behavior, they do make mistakes in judgment. Teachers encourage the expected behaviors and redirect children to a more acceptable activity. Teachers set limits clearly and positively, and enforce appropriate rules firmly and fairly.
Growing Tree Preschool Staff
Kathy Mangen
Director of Growing Tree Preschool & Children's Ministry
kathy@firstumcathens.org
Angela Strycker
Preschool Teacher
Laura Burton
Preschool Teacher