Preschool

Our preschool is open to those 3 and 4 year olds who meet the age requirement using September 1st as our entry date. Our 3 year old programs are Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8:45 a.m.– noon or Monday–Friday from 8:45 am–noon. The 4 year old program is Monday – Friday from 8:45 a.m.–noon. 

Highlights of the Preschool Program:

Our preschool program is centered with the curriculum, Beyond Centers and Circle time and the weaving in to our day of the Bible and chapel times. With our curricula we focus on the play based approach to enhancing their developmental progress. Our holistic goal for each child is to see them equipped to be the very best learners while also becoming the very best person they can be!  

These goals are supported in various ways through Beyond Centers and Circle Time, the use of the biblical stories and how they relate to a child’s daily life, and support from caring teachers who know and understand each child’s developmental and emotional needs. To read more about what your preschooler will do at Noah’s Ark, read “A day at Noah’s Ark”

Praise Notes:

In looking for very intentional positive and supportive ways to encourage the children daily we start each week with a Praise Note reading at snack time. Praise Notes come with the child on Monday mornings, written by a family member or friend. This note speaks to a positive action, kindness, character trait or personal accomplishment that the child achieved over the last week. After being read at snack time these are saved by the teacher and placed in a simple book form and returned to the children at the end of the year. This creates a wonderfully positive journal of the school year for the child to treasure.  

Their daily routine follows this schedule:

  • Outside Play at Arrival Time 8:45
  • Clean Up Time 9:25
  • Chapel Time 9:35                                                                                                         
  • Morning Snacks 10:00
  • Center Time Play 10:20
  • Outside Play 11:30
  • Playground Pick Up Before 12 Noon  (No lunch)                                                                              

Stay N Play

Our Stay N Play program is open to all children enrolled in our morning preschool program, noon-5:00 pm or noon -3:30 pm, 5 days a week. This program can be utilized any day of the week without a prior commitment. The daily fee is only charged for the days a child stays.  

The Stay N Play routine follows this schedule:                               

  • Clean Up and Bathroom Time 12 Noon
  • Lunch Time 12:15
  • Rest Time 1:00                                                                                                              
  • Wake Up and Bathroom Time 2:45
  • Outside Play 3:00                                                                                                         
  • Playground clean up 3:45
  • Washing up and bathroom time 4:00
  • Afternoon snack 4:15
  • Afternoon activities 4:30
  • Pick up before 5:30

Preschoolers engaging in outdoor water play at our giant water table!

Our school has chickens! Each day the children participate in feeding the chickens and harvesting the eggs. 

One area on our playground for natural building.

A glimpse inside one of our preschool rooms.

Building with various shapes and colors is not only super fun but  important in a child’s developmental growth.

 

Art should be open ended, no sample to follow, unique and creative, entirely open to the child’s interpretation, a plethora of materials and tools the children can learn to explore and create. We love this particular artwork because the student was entirely self guided and decided to paint a rectangular rainbow. Very neat!

Emergent literacy at it’s best!

 

One to one correspondence is a basic math skill we like out four year olds to master as they approach the move to kindergarten.

 

Block building builds mathematical skills in a fun way for young children.

 

Conversations with young children help us to build trust and confidence.

 

Science experiments at the water table.

 

Learning to spell their own names is an important step in a child’s emergent literacy development.

 

Dramatic Play opens worlds of exploration for young children.

 

Dramatic Play is a wonderful way for children to explore adult roles in daily life situations.

 

We love to celebrate and make special gifts for the wonderful Mom’s we have at Noah’s Ark on Mother’s Day.