10 Reasons To Make La Casa Preschool
Your Choice for Preschool
When choosing a preschool, trust your own instincts. Look and listen for the signs that the people you are going to entrust with the care of your child will do exactly that….care and love your child while they are not just learning BUT learning to love school.
1. Christian Education
Spiritual development is so important, and we feel it is our right, privilege and obligation as a staff to bring the word of God to the children in our care. This is a strong mission statement, but one that we take very seriously in fulfilling. Through Christian role modeling, we help the children to form strong values based upon knowing God’s love. Christian Education is reinforced by incorporating bible stories, bible songs, finger-plays, and prayer into the daily routine, as well as “Kid Talk” as a group once a month with one of the pastoral staff members.
2.Teaching Philosophy
It is our overall goal to encourage the growth of the whole child through learning opportunities in all areas of development: social, emotional, physical, and certainly cognitive, fostered in an environment where each child is respected as an individual of worth. Basic and extended objectives are determined to correspond with the monthly theme. By including sequential and progressive, meaningful experiences into the daily routine, introduced through a proper balance of teacher-directed and child-directed activities and a play based learning approach, optimizes a child’s potential for school success. We incorporate learning opportunities in STEAM into our curriculum, but introduce these through a hands-on approach. This teaching methodology is conducive to our play-based philosophy that children do best through "doing" and experimenting. In essence, we use play to open up the early math, science, and language skills for young children.
Readiness is the key to that success. Rarely is it the cognitive component of the trifecta of cognitive, emotional and social development, which determines a child’s readiness but rather the latter two that when strongly in place help to assure “moving on” after preschool is a much easier accomplishment. We are proud to state, the Kindergarten teachers within our area, both private and public, can very quickly identify the child who has attended La Casa. They feel confident, as can our parents that we have prepared the children appropriately and with skill sets for life.
3. Extracurricular Programs and Flexible Scheduling
The length of the regular classroom program (9:15-12 Noon) is consciously structured in length with the needs of the child in mind. In addition, quality programs such as Lunch Bunch (12 Noon-1:00) and Discovery Time (1:00-2:00) are excellent parental options for extending a child’s day while remaining consistent with our overall philosophy of early childhood learning. Plus, for those children enrolled in the Junior Kindergarten class, an additional Friday Fun option is available with similar school hours.
4. Pint Size PE and Music Enrichment
Pint Size PE and Music Enrichment are structured into the weekly curriculum. Each of these programs augments developmental skills, which are integral to reading/literacy and mathematics.
5. Excellent Staff
La Casa has a long standing reputation in the community for its superior quality of teachers. Lead teachers at La Casa are required to be degreed in the field of education or early childhood education. Years of tenure exceed twenty years in many cases, and all teachers obtain eighteen hours of professional growth each year.
6. Loving and Nurturing Environment
Play and learning are forever bound. A child excels when they are secure in a setting of acceptance and fun. Social and emotional development is the cornerstone of applying learned skills. Happy, well adjusted kids are lifelong learners.
7. Spacious Classrooms
Every classroom is large and open with designated areas for play and learning. A material rich environment, there are water tables for sensory experiences, art easels/carts for artistic expression, library books for fostering emerging early literacy skills, dramatic play centers for developing strong, active imaginations, and tables for science, math, snack, art activities and much more.
8. Facilities
Built with early childhood specifically in mind, La Casa is uniquely blessed to have facilities that directly promote self-sufficiency in young children. The restrooms feature low sinks and toilets, and adjacent drinking fountains that are at a child’s level. The two playgrounds are each equipped with large play structures, which promote large muscle development. Rubberized surfacing surrounds the play structures, with sand areas bordering them for digging and creative expression. Tricycles and swings are also available for use on each playground. Church campus amenities at our disposal include a gymnasium for PE and a Fellowship Hall for our signature, school- wide events.
9. Strong Sense of Community
Our parents enjoy a close relationship with the staff and parents of children in their child’s class. We encourage parent involvement in the classroom and at the many signature events sponsored by the preschool, such as Open House, Country Fair, Thanksgiving Feast, Christmas Program, Dad’s Day, Mother’s Day Tea and Art Walk, Pint size PE Olympics, and others included throughout the busy year. Spirit nights provide opportunities for fellowship and camaraderie outside of school hours as well. It is a community of friends.
10. Church Support
As a ministry of the La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church, the preschool families may avail themselves of any of the support services the church has to offer. Early childhood needs are very well met with strong programs like MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), Sunday School, Summertime Station and Vacation Bible School, choir groups and more. Youth programs attend to the emerging spiritual needs of the growing child. Of course, there is ample opportunity for adult fellowship and guidance as well.
Bonus: Forever a Family
We remain invested in the well being of our preschool family and have traditionally felt that we have a partnership in “raising the entire family”. Each one, from the youngest student to the oldest, and certainly each one of their parents and extended family members, is known to us and considered very important individually and collectively. We are the school that truly cares about the people we are blessed to serve. We will be forever linked by the bond we share.