Preschool & Transitional Kindergarten / Young Fives in Partnership With Sarett Nature Center
Children are natural problem solvers. They are also natural scientists, engineers, and mathematicians…. constantly wondering about everything then experimenting and answering their own questions. Our nature-based programs believe that it is important to ask children, “ Why is this?” and “What do you notice?” and “What do you think happened here?” Christ Lutheran School provides a developmentally appropriate Licensed Preschool Program for four year olds, and a Transitional Kindergarten program for Young Fives. Our nature enhanced, Montessori and Project based curricula for both programs is hands-on, and multi-sensory. We provide a safe, nurturing environment for students to develop their language, cognitive, physical, and social emotional skills while daily exploring God’s outside world.
Preschool at Christ Lutheran
The Preschool program is a 5-day program (Monday – Friday). Class time begins promptly at 8:15am and ends at 11:00AM.
As long as temperatures are 20 degrees or warmer the first hour and a half of our day is spent outside. “There is no such thing as bed weather…only bad clothing.” This time is spent either playing on our playground, painting at easels, cooking and baking at the mud kitchen, working in our organic garden, shoveling snow, raking leaves, or taking advantage of our 14 acre campus. Regular trips into our ravine which includes a quarter mile of hiking trails and a creek, provides a unique opportunity for our young students to explore, collect, observe, and learn about a variety of woodland and wetland plants, animals and trees. Our nature enhanced program allows children learning opportunities which can not be easily be duplicated in a traditional preschool classroom. Most importantly, preschoolers hear God’s Word and a sense of wonder for God’s creation is fostered.
Preschool Admissions and Tuition
Enrollment in the Preschool program is open first to members of Christ Lutheran Church. Church members may enroll anytime starting in January; enrollment is open to the public beginning in February. A Preschool Open House is held the first Tuesday in February. Please feel free to call the school office anytime at 269-429-7111 for additional information. We look forward to getting to know you and your children!
Children must be 4 years old by December 1st of the semester for which they are registering.
- Schedule a private tour of our preschool, or attend the Open House in early February. We invite you to see our school and meet our faculty, staff and students.
- Schedule a personal appointment with the School Administrator.
- Complete the Preschool Student Application.
- Submit the Health and Immunization form (this form must be on file in our office for all preschoolers prior to the beginning of school).
- Pay the enrollment fee, as well as September and May tuition fees; see current year tuition and fees.
Preschool Calendar and Newsletter Schedule
Our Preschool Teacher/Director, Mrs. Sue Veurink-Meyer, maintains a closed Facebook group for the families of our students.Here you can find monthly newsletters, calendars, parental tips, and more!
There is preschool link for our monthly calendar and daily schedule.
Transitional Kindergarten / Young Five’s at Christ Lutheran
Our Transitional Kindergarten program meets Monday through Friday with all day and half day options available. Children need to be five years old on or before December 1 to qualify. This program can act as a bridge between Preschool and Kindergarten and is designed to give students who are age eligible for Kindergarten the gift of a year to grow socially and emotionally before progressing into a traditional kindergarten program. This program is an appropriate introduction to school for those children who have not previously experienced school.
There are distinct differences between our preschool and the Transitional Kindergarten program. The Transitional Kindergarten is part of the K-12 education system and the curriculum is based on kindergarten standards that are modified to meet the academic and social emotional needs of younger children. Our Young 5’s Kindergarten is designed to reinforce and build on the skills children may have learned in preschool to ensure they will be able to begin kindergarten with confidence. There is more of an emphasis on early literacy work, as well as more challenging activities during center time. Finally individual, small group, and large group work are incorporated daily through hands-on activities to best meet the diverse needs our students.
Transitional Kindergarten students will participate in Art, Music, PE, Library, and Technology classes.
Multi-Sensory, Hands-On Curricula used in the Transitional Kindergarten Program are standard and evidence based and include the following:
- Everyday Mathematics
- Discover Intensified Phonics
- Handwriting Without Tears
- One In Christ Bible Curriculum
Complete the Transitional Kindergarten Student Application
See current year tuition and fees
Our teacher to child ratio is 1-10.
Transitional Kindergarten / Young Five’s Calendar, Newsletter, & Daily Schedule
Our Transitional Kindergarten Teacher/Director, Mrs. Sue Veurink-Meyer, maintains a closed Facebook Group for the families of our students. Here you can find monthly newsletters, calendars, parental tips, and more!
There is a link for parents to access the daily schedule, monthly newsletter and Calendar.