The primary focus for preschool is the same as all of St Mary Parish School's focus: developing the whole child, including their faith in God. By choosing our preschool you are selecting a place where Jesus' name is used often. We begin our day with prayer and pray again at snack time. In formal religion series, children hear Bible stories, learn songs and occasionally make crafts to take home to remind them of our story. Children also bring home a postcard or scripture page with not only a picture of the story they heard but also the story itself, a family prayer, and an activity that you can do together that revolves around the story.

The greatest joy of selecting Catholic preschool is that we are blessed to be able to tie our faith into every aspect of our day. We don't just learn that getting along is good; we learn how Jesus wants us to treat each other and why. We don't just learn about plants and our bodies and how they grow. We learn that God created everything that we are and that we have. Another whole window of the beauty around us is opened up. All lessons lead to God.

Children are giant sponges and their most valuable time to learn is from 0-5 years of age. The more you expose them to now, the more successful they will be in school. Our preschool helps you expose your child to a huge spectrum of topics. We lay the foundation for academic and spiritual growth, often offering children completely new experiences.

Each week's lessons revolve around a theme and a letter. We have some seatwork, which usually involves developing fine motor skills and/or teaching an academic concept. In circle time, children learn to recognize numbers and weather conditions through calendar activities. We use the Letter People to introduce the alphabet and the sounds that are made by each. We have a story time everyday and also have a time for children to look at books on their own.

Do we play? Sure! We have a free-play time during which children learn through their participation in many kinds of centers. They can paint, make pictures using many different materials, use a computer, listen to stories, build towers, pretend to be a car driver or a mommy, sift through sand, put together puzzles, and many other things. They learn to share with others and learn how to use words and kindness to resolve their conflicts during this time. Do we have free-play all day? As much as the children would like it, no! It is only a part of our day. We have PE to build our gross motor skills and religion to build our spiritual skills. We end our day with outside play. Learning doesn't happen only in the classroom, on the preschool playground or in the traditional way. Our preschool recognizes the importance of learning from a field trip, too. Our classes have visited an apple orchard, Lake Afton Observatory, a plant nursery, Great Plains Nature Center, and of course, the Zoo.

We hold a special evening of fun and learning once a year that targets reading or math. Guest speakers come into our room and teach us about such things as how people lived and dressed in the 1800s, "Stranger Danger," pet care, and other topics. We have parent education, too, by providing Parent & Child magazines, articles of importance with our newsletters, and an evening presentation on an early childhood topic. We end our year with a big picnic at High Park-fun and food for everyone in the family!

I could go on for a long time about the many things we do here at our preschool. We are here to continue the work you started at home. We care about children and their spiritual and academic future and hope you will let us be a part of your child's early childhood education. For more information, to schedule a visit or to pre-enroll, call the school at 788-3151.