ECEM

May 17, 2010 Director's Note

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Download 2010 0517 Director's Note

May 3, 2010 Director's Note

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Download 2010 0503 Director's Note

National Lutheran School Accreditation

King of Kings Early Childhood Education Ministries is accredited by National Lutheran School Accreditation (NLSA).  Like most accrediting processes, NLSA has established a set of rigorous national standards that demonstrate school quality.  Accredited schools must establish that they conform with required standards by completing an exhaustive self-study process.  Even after a school has been accredited, school leaders must organize and implement a school improvement process that provides for ongoing improvement.

NLSA is unique because, in addition to standards that address educational quality, the school also evaluates its Christ-centered nature, based upon its defined purpose.  The Spiritual dimension of Lutheran schools is the defining element that sets them apart and makes them a great place to grow.

NATIONAL LUTHERAN SCHOOL ACCREDITATION

THE LUTHERAN CHURCH – MISSOURI SYNOD

1333 S. Kirkwood Road

St. Louis, MO 63122-7295

(314) 996-1294

www.lcms.org

Welcome Letter

Welcome in the Name of our Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, Savior and King! Thank you for visiting our website. The following information will give you some idea what we have to offer in the way of early childhood education as a Christian Preschool. We pray that God will bless the important decision you are about to make regarding your child's early learning years.

The King of Kings Lutheran Early Childhood Education Ministries (ECEM) program was established in 1995 with an enrollment of 17 students. With God's blessings, we have been able to expand and add Mom's Day Out, Kinder-Ready and Kindergarten classes. During the 2001-2002 school year, we served 200 students and their families. Since that time, we have had an enrollment of over 250 students with a present enrollment of over 220. King of Kings Lutheran Church is committed to providing a safe and loving environment for the children enrolled in these classes. The current facilities include:

• Six large well equipped classrooms
• Computers and education software in each classroom
• An indoor gym
• A toddler size outdoor fenced play area - for the younger children
• A large outdoor play area - for the older children

Our school is a ministry of King of Kings Lutheran Church. We are here to educate, enrich and help each child grow to their fullest potential. Our curriculum is based on the belief that children should be challenged academically, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Therefore, worship is a vital part of life at King of Kings. Every day, a brief devotion of Jesus Time is held in the classroom. Prayers are spoken before snacks and weekly chapel services are held in Luther Chapel to give all children an opportunity to worship our Lord, Jesus Christ in a formal setting.

The objectives of Christian Education depend upon a mutually cooperative relationship between parents and teachers. Teachers provide parents with a bi-weekly or monthly newsletter and a weekly director's letter is distributed to keep parents informed about current events. We encourage parents to become involved in our school activities. Volunteers may assist with:

• Field Trips
• Monthly Reading Sessions
• School Fundraisers
• Holiday Parties
• Market Day
• School Scrapbook

Choosing a school is a difficult decision; we pray that the information we have provided on the website will make your deicion easier. After prayerful consideration of all your options, we pray that you will find King of Kings is the place for your child's early education experience. Please do not hesitate to call our Director, Gil Schepmann at 513-398-6089 with any questions or concerns.

In His Name,

The King of Kings Early Childhood Education Ministries

Mission and Philosophy

Mission Statement

Through a Christian environment, we educate and nurture children so that they remain life-long faithful followers of Jesus and use their God-given abilities wherever He calls them.

Philosophy Statement

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

• Every child has been uniquely created by God and is included in His plan of salvation. God has accepted the victory of His Son Jesus over sin, and desires that all children receive this victory through faith and be adopted as His very own children. (Mark 10:14)
• God has entrusted parents with the responsibility of guiding their children to a faith relationship which is constantly growing and is lived out according to His purpose. (Proverbs 22:6)
• God has also called His church to assist parents by providing multiple Christ-centered opportunities that lead children to faith, that enable children to grow in their faith and share their faith.
• We are privileged to provide a Christian educational environment which assists parents in fostering their children's spiritual, social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development through play and through hands-on experience.

Objectives

Our primary purpose is to provide the opportunity for students to find identity, purpose and power for their life in Christ. Methods of instruction are developmentally appropriate and adjusted when possible for individual differences. Our objectives are to guide each child to:

• Recognize himself as a child of God
• Develop an understanding of God and His love
• Cultivate an inquiring mind and thinking skills
• Acquire knowledge and skills in the prescribed curriculum
• Experience, appreciate and respect God's creation
• Develop a positive self-concept
• Learn personal responsibility
• Respect the authority of home and school
• Grow caring relationships by recognizing the rights, privilages and individual differences of others

Licensing

King of Kings Lutheran ECEM is licensed by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Program Information

Mom’s Day Out

Mom’s Day Out is a once a week class designed to give your two-year-old a safe and loving place to learn and play while giving you some free time each week.  This program gives children and opportunity to leave home and interact with other children and adults in a loving, Christ-Centered nurturing environment.  The morning that your child spends at King of Kings will be filled with a variety of activities including:

• Circle Time
• Music and Movement
• Indoor or Outdoor Play
• Art
• Jesus Time
• Group and Individual Creative Play
• Story Time

Each Mom’s Day Out class is staffed with a teacher and a teacher’s aide.  The small size (10 children) gives the teachers an opportunity to interact with each child on an individual basis.  This is a great opportunity for you and your child to become acquainted with the Christian education we provide here at King of Kings.  We offer class for 2-year-olds and 2 ½-year-olds.  Student teacher /aide ratio is 5:1.  The 2-year-old class meets on Monday from 9:00 – 11:30am.  The 2 ½-year-olds classes meet on Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday from 9:00 – 11:30am.

Early Learners

We offer a morning (9-11:30am), an afternoon (12:30-3pm), and an All Day (9am-3pm) early childhood program for the 3-year-olds – Early Learners.  The 3-year-old Early Learning classes meet 2 days a week (Tuesday and Thursday).

The objective of our program is to enable each child to develop their full potential, to be responsible, caring, creative, spontaneous, happy and independent.  We believe that a child’s attitude about himself, about others, and about the world in which he lives is formed during the early childhood years.  Out program is designed to provide a secure place for each child to develop these characteristics.  Planned learning activities are appropriate for the age and development of the children.  These include:

• Jesus Time
• Creative Art Activities
• Indoor or Outdoor Play
• Math and Language Skills
• Fine Motor Skills
• Identify their name in print
• Begin to write their first name
• Social Skills
• Computer Time
• Science
• Music
• Discovery Table Items
• Making Friends

The Early Learning program is designed for children who are 3 years old by September 30^th.  For many this may be their first experience away from home and familiar surroundings.  Our loving teachers are here to help them adjust to this new experience.  The teachers will guide the children in playing, exploring, wondering and developing relationships.  They are introduced to the alphabet, numbers, colors and shapes.  Cooperative play with peers and learning to follow 2-step directions are important aspects of our daily routine.

The All Day Program is an extension of the half day program which are both based on the Ohio State Standards for Early Childhood Education.  Some of the main features are listed below.

· The All Day Program allows the teacher more time to spend on preparing the child for going on to the next level of education

· Child would need to pack a lunch to eat during the noon hour

· Class size will be the same 12 children (max)

· A teacher and teacher’s aide would be responsible for the children 9 to 11:30 am and then again 12:30 to 3:00pm (depending when they have lunch this may vary by 15 – 20 minutes)

· Hired staff would be with the children during their lunch time and midday recess – 11:15am to 12:15pm (again time may very)

· A quiet time may be part of the afternoon session that would give each child time to relax before finishing out the day – napping is not a requirement

· The class will attend the same number of in house programs

· Parents will still have the opportunity to volunteer to help in the classroom as they do now as well as helping during the lunch time as the Kindergarten parents who help out 2 – 3 times a month for about an hour each time (this is not a requirement)

The Early Learners have chapel once a week led by our pastor or our school director along with Jesus Time in the classroom.

 

Preschoolers

We offer a morning (9-11:30am), an afternoon (12:30-3pm), and an All Day (9am-3pm) early childhood program for the 4-year-olds – Preschoolers.  The 4-year-olds Preschoolers classes meet 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday).

The objective of our program is to enable each child to develop their full potential, to be responsible, caring, creative, spontaneous, happy and independent.  We believe that a child’s attitude about himself, about others, and about the world in which he lives is formed during the early childhood years.  Our program is designed to provide a secure place for each child to develop these characteristics.  Planned learning activities are appropriate for the age and development of the children.  These include:

  · Jesus Time

• Creative Art Activities
• Indoor or Outdoor Play
• Pre-Math and Pre-Writing Exploration
• Language Skills
• Recognition of first and last name in print
• Writing first and last names
• Music
• Discovery Table Items
• Making Friends
• Field Trips
• Jesus Time
• Fine Motor Skills
• Computer Time
• Social Skills
• Science
• Enrichment Programs

The Preschooler program is designed for children who are 4 years old by September 30^th.  They will learn to recognize and write letters (Upper and Lower case), letter sounds, numbers 1 -10 and write their first and last names.  The preschooler child is developing his self-worth, values, uniqueness and attitudes.  The classroom and teachers provide a secure place for each child to have successes, be responsible, share with others and develop an interest and joy in learning.  The 4-year-old program continues to focus on academics and social skills in preparation for kindergarten.

The All Day Program is an extension of the half day program which are both based on the Ohio State Standards for Early Childhood Education.  Some of the main features are listed below.

· The All Day Program allows the teacher more time to spend on preparing the child for going on to the next level of education

· Child would need to pack a lunch to eat during the noon hour

· Class size will be the same 14 children (max)

· A teacher and teacher’s aide would be responsible for the children 9 to 11:30 am and then again 12:30 to 3:00pm (depending when they have lunch this may vary by 15 – 20 minutes)

· Hired staff would be with the children during their lunch time and midday recess – 11:15am to 12:15pm (again time may very)

· A quiet time may be part of the afternoon session that would give each child time to relax before finishing out the day – napping is not a requirement

· The class will attend the same number of field trips and in house programs

· When the class goes on a field trip the children will return back to the classroom for the remainder of the day

· Parents will still have the opportunity to volunteer to help in the classroom as they do now as well as helping during the lunch time as the Kindergarten parents who help out 2 – 3 times a month for about an hour each time (this is not a requirement)

The Preschoolers have chapel once a week led by our pastor or our school director along with Jesus Time in the classroom.

Kinder-Ready

The Kinder-Ready program is for children who are 5 years old by December 31^st.  It is a five half-days a week program.  We offer both morning and afternoon classes.  The main purpose of the Kinder-Ready program is to provide additional time for the young five year old and the older 4 year old to refine their Kindergarten readiness skills.  We believe that a child who begins school when they are developmentally ready is more likely to have a successful education.  The extra time spent in the classroom allows the children to grow emotionally, spiritually and intellectually.  The following lists some of the skills your child will learn in the Kinder-Ready classroom:

• Identify Upper and Lower Case Letters
• Identify Letter Sounds
• Learn their Telephone Number and Address
• Know their Birth Date
• Name and Classify Shapes
• Pattern and Identify Sets
• Recognize and Count Numbers to 20
• Write First and Last Name
• Name the Days of the Week and Months of the Year
• Sequence Pictures to Tell a Story
• Begin Developing a Sight Vocabulary

Our Kinder-Ready program reinforces basic preschool skills and further develops those skills so that each child is ready to take the next step in higher education.  We offer a wide variety of hands-on centers where children can play and learn, both individually and in small groups.  We also address academic readiness by introducing your child to elements of language arts, math, science and social studies.  The teachers share their faith, lead the children in prayer and talk plainly about their relationship with God.  Children will have the opportunity to express their faith throughout the school day and attend chapel once each week led by our pastor or our school director.  The student to teacher/aide ratio is 8:1.  The morning class meets 9:00 to 11:30 and the afternoon class meets 12:30 to 3:00.

Kindergarten

King of Kings now offers an All-Day Kindergarten Class.  The goal for this class is to instill the love of learning by providing a well-rounded curriculum that includes academics as well as Art, Music, Spanish and Physical Education.  This class will meet Monday through Thursday each week beginning at 9am and ending at 3pm.   The school year will begin the Tuesday following Labor Day and will end the Friday before Memorial Weekend.  Children must be 5 years old by September 30 of the school year.   The class size will be limited to 18 children with a full time teacher and part time teacher’s aide two half days a week.  The small class size allows us to concentrate on each child’s needs and to quickly recognize areas which might need extra attention.

One of our goals is to introduce pre-reading skills that will eventually usher each child into reading at an appropriate level.  We accomplish this task by creating a world of words for our Kindergartners.  We utilize a combination of phonics, whole language and individual guided reading to reach this goal. 

We use Everyday Mathematics for our math instruction which emphasizes hands on skills.  Teacher created materials provide the curriculum for both Science and Social Studies which uses discovery and recalls experiences in discovering the world that God created for us.

Music, Art, Physical activities are part of the everyday experience.  Once a week they will have a special class in one of the following areas – Art, Gym, Music and Spanish.

A Bible story is introduced each week during Jesus Time.  The children will attend chapel once-a-week which is led by either the pastor or our school director.  We feel that the children should have opportunities to develop understanding, learn cooperation, enhance language skills and grow spiritually.

We do not offer a hot lunch program so the children will bring a sack lunch to have at lunch time.  Parents encouraged packing a balanced diet lunch for their child each day which includes a Protein (meat or peanut butter), Dairy, Fruit& Vegetable, and Grain (breads, crackers etc.) along with Fluid Milk.  The “Shelf Stable Milk” is a great source of milk to pack in your child’s lunch.  It does not require refrigeration.  If a child is missing a food from one of the food groups, we have on hand items that we will offer to the child to complete their lunch.  The child does not have to take the food that is offered to them.  We generally have apple sauce, peanut butter, crackers, beef sticks, string cheese and shelf stable milk.  Healthy bodies – Healthy minds!

Parents will have opportunity to volunteer as a classroom helper and lunch / noon hour recess monitor.  It is very important that parents demonstrate to their child their joy in helping out with their class and the importance of a strong foundation program. 

The daily schedule will be as follows:

9:00 – 9:20     Arrival, devotions and circle time

9:20 – 9:45     Centers, one-on-one time with the teacher

9:45 – 10:45   Reading, Writing, Language Arts

10:45 – 10:55    Washroom break

10:55 – 11:35    Math

11:35 – 12:20    Lunch, washroom and recess break

12:20 – 12:45    Silent reading and story time

12:45 – 1:30   Specials – Monday Music; Tuesday Art; Wednesday Spanish; Thursday Gym

1:30 – 1:50     Science, Social Studies

1:50 – 2:00     Restroom break/wash hands

2:00 – 2:15     Snack

2:15 – 2:35     Extended Language Arts or academic time

2:35 – 3:00     Recess, clean up, pack up and ready for dismissal

3:00   Dismissal