Children enrolling in the 3-Year-Old Class are 3 years old by September 1. Children can join if their 3^rd birthday is after September 1 based on available openings and continue in this class the following school year.

Our Three Year Old Class is three mornings per week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 9-12 noon.

No, potty training is not required. Please include diapers or Pull-Up’s in your child’s backpack if he or she is learning to use the bathroom regularly or for the occasional accident.

St. John’s Preschool is part of the Children, Youth and their Families ministry at St. John’s Lutheran Church. We are a Christ-centered preschool where prayers and Christian Education time are part of each day. Holidays, including religious holidays, are celebrated. We do recognize, respect and encourage a culturally diverse experience for all children.

At St. John’s Preschool, Playing to Learn is our educational approach that uses play as the primary method for teaching and learning. Our teachers create environments that encourage individual learning, foster confidence, and a love of learning in enjoyable and meaningful ways. We believe it is the best way to prepare children for a lifetime of success. Through our Playing to Learn curriculum, foundational skills are introduced and taught daily throughout the school year.

Children develop social skills through communication and working together in collaborative play. They gain cognitive growth with hands-on exploring and learning. Their physical growth, small and large motor skills, and sensory integration are developed by engaging in active play. We approach learning in ways that nurture curiosity, engagement, and persistence. We provide children with safe, loving spaces where they learn to manage emotions and express themselves to develop their sense of emotional well-being.

Social Skills– Making friends and interacting with peers, playing cooperatively with other children, beginning to use turn-taking in play, and participating in social activities, art, and music and movement activities.

Language Skills– Expressive/ Speaking Skills; Expressing wants, needs; verbal and non-verbal, using language to interact with peers, a range of vocabulary, length of typical sentences, using parts of speech such as pronouns, using appropriate words, and using speech that can be understood.

Language Skills- Receptive/ Listening Skills; Paying attention in the presence of background noise, recognizing common sounds in the environment, responding to verbal requests, recalling spoken instructions, and following two-step directions.

Early Literacy Skills– Interest in reading activities, interest in writing their name, and recognizing the letters in their name.

Early Math Skills– Identifying colors and basic shapes, naming numbers, counting in proper sequence, understanding one-to-one correspondence, determining which group has more or less and determining patterns with two objects.

Small Muscle Skills– Eye-hand coordination, holding, tracing, and copying with a pencil, crayon, or marker and copying from a flat surface in front of them, and exploring materials of different textures.

Large Muscle Skills– Balance, speed and agility, large muscle coordination, and sense of direction e.g., up, down, beside.

Self-regulation Skills– Adjusting to change in routine, functioning independently of adult attention, consistency of behavior and mood, recognizing emotions of others, showing a range of emotions, learning to express anger and frustration appropriately, understanding the consequences of behaviors, using planning prior to activities, using words to solve problems with peers, persisting in difficult tasks, and concentrating for brief periods.

Self-care Skills– Putting on, taking off, and hanging up coat, eating without difficulty, drinking from cup, using a napkin/wipe for hands and face, washing hands before eating and after toileting, toileting independently with supervision.

Classroom Skills- Following the daily classroom routine, transitioning from one activity to another, and paying attention during group activities.

The average class size for our Three-Year-Old Class is thirteen children. Your child has a guaranteed slot in our Get Kids Ready 4K Class the following year.

Yes, we always welcome new students throughout the school year based on available openings.

There is a Healthy Snack Time in the middle of each preschool day provided by St. John’s Preschool.

Our Healthy Snack Program provides nutritional foods that children enjoy each day at snack time that include a variety of fruit and whole food crackers and snacks. We provide water at snack time.

We encourage “polite food tasting” to try new foods. The Healthy Snack List is posted daily in each classroom. A complete list of the foods is available by request.

St. John’s Preschool is a peanut-free and tree-nut free school.