Chapel: Children participate in periodic chapels. Bethlehem’s pastor gives a message. Children learn a Bible verse and accompany praise songs with musical instruments. Alphabet Program: Children learn the names and sounds of each alphabet letter during the year. A puppet tells the story featuring the letter of the day, and children practice tracing and writing the letter. There is often a craft about the letter. Children learn three letter words and sight words. They are encouraged to draw and write in our Communication Center. Many thematic activities support our PreReading and PreWriting program.
Art Program: Children explore a variety of art media and collage materials. Some projects are inspired by famous artists. Age appropriate tips on technique are given. Children’s art work is displayed attractively on feature walls in the classroom. Artists are invited in to demonstrate use of various media.
Music Program: Children sing songs, and accompany songs and rhymes with musical instruments. Guests come in to play an instrument, and explain how it works. Children guess the name of the instrument, and each child gets a chance to make sounds on the instrument. During the year children make homemade instruments, and do movement activities to music. They learn about famous composers, and are exposed to music from around the world.
Gymnasium Play: Children play group games, participate in movement activities and dance, and play with riding toys, balls, hoops, and a variety of specialty gymnasium equipment. Bringing in firefighter clothes and tools, a castle and dress up clothes, a McDonald’s Restaurant, or a carpentry center provides additional opportunities for socialization and play.
Special Days: Themed days enrich a topic or culminate a unit. Some special days are Valentine’s Day, Teddybear Day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Beach Day, Bicycle Day and Clown Day. Each Spring we host a “Father and Preschooler Evening”. In May there is a Mother’s Day celebration.
Holiday Celebrations: We celebrate Christmas and Easter with a Christian emphasis. We celebrate Pumpkin/Dress Up Day at the end of October. There are special activities and a potluck event for the following events: Pumpkin/Dress Up Day Christmas Valentine's Day Mother's Day Year End Friendship Party Grandparents, parents, siblings and special friends are invited to join us for these holiday celebrations.
Special Days: Themed days enrich a topic or culminate a unit. Some special days are Teddybear Day, Saint Patrick Day, Beach Day, Earth Day and Clown Day.
Field Trips: Various field trips are planned during the year. Parents drive their children to the field trip site. Parents and siblings stay for the trip, or parents pick up their children from the site when the trip is done. There is excellent supervision by staff and parents on field trips. Some trips we enjoy are visits to Greenland Garden Center, Sobey’s Grocery Store, John Janzen Nature Center, Galaxyland, Dairy Queen, Millennium Place, a nearby farm, and Safety City.
Guests: Guests visit during the year to provide in house field trips. A guest could be a community helper, animal specialist, artist, musician or local entertainer.
A Parent’s Perspective: “There is lots of variety in the program. There are always new and exciting things for the children to learn and do”.