It’s important to nourish that first spark of discovery in order to cultivate a lifelong love of learning. We love when our students ask the ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘what’ questions of our world. At Kelowna Christian Preschool, we seek to teach each child at their level, to meet them where they are at and to encourage them to step out of their comfort zone. We work together with families to help each child grow academically, socially and spiritually. It truly takes a village to raise a child and we feel privileged to join you on the journey.
Purposeful Play
Our Preschool program features a variety of play-based intentional activities for children who are 3 to 5 years of age. Activities include: arts and crafts, dramatic movement, music, play to enhance gross and fine motor movement and control, weekly themes, school library visits, and field trips. We enjoy playing with language and exploring letter sounds, not only in the large group but in smaller groups with teacher-led activities. Pattern, rhyming, and early math concepts are all introduced with a fun play-to-learn approach by caring teachers always encouraging children to join the fun.
A fun element we began in 2016 is our outdoor Nature Play Space. This offers students an opportunity to explore nature and have the wonderful experience of 'hands-on play' with natural materials while developing self-awareness and social, problem-solving, gross and fine motor skills. The Nature Play Space also allows children to enhance their imaginations and greatly benefits their self-regulation and emotional development. We love connecting our students to the wonder of God and building a lifelong appreciate for His creation through our Nature Play activities.
Holistic Approach
Our Preschool program is designed to provide your child with a loving and nurturing Christian environment that fosters exploration, risk-taking in learning, socialization skills, and beginning literacy and numeracy skills. The children are introduced to life with God through prayer, stories, and songs.
Home visits take place at the start of the year. This allows our staff to better understand the families we are serving and their unique circumstances, as well as build a strong connection between the teacher and child before school begins - putting the child at ease on their first day of school.
Community
These Preschool years are the time where friendships blossom for the first time. We work on emotional and social regulation through cooperative play, empathy and turn-taking. We seek to build community, not only with our peer group but also with "Big Buddies" at the KCS Elementary School. When you enter into our KCS program, you become part of our greater community. Preschool children are visited throughout the year by our Grade 4 & 5 elementary students, helping them to build a connection to the rest of our school community.
Attending library and gym times and visiting areas in our city also work to expand our worldview. The Preschool classes go to the KCS Elementary School library on a weekly basis and receive instruction from our librarian. They also receive instruction from our Elementary Music & Arts Director, who works with the rest of the KCS elementary students. Besides elevating the level of instruction our Preschoolers receive, it also helps them understand that they are part of our greater school community and foster excitement of "joining the big kids".
A Typical Day in Preschool
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Morning Entry and Sign-In
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Indoor/Outdoor Exercise - large muscle activities in the gym or in the playground
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Group Activity - greeting/story/songs/prayer
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Play Planning - introduction of centres/choice time
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Learning Centres* - play experiences that facilitate all areas of development, as well as directed teaching in literacy, numeracy and fine motors
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Clean-up - taking care of our room
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Group Activity - songs, art, dance, games, drama, science experiments
Lori Pratt
Lori Hansum
Lori has called Kelowna home for the past 24 years, raising her three children here with her husband Mike. Lori homeschooled their three children for 11 years, aligning her passion for learning and creativity before they transitioned to KCS and all graduated from our school. Lori then went back to school and completed an Interior Design Certificate and subsequently worked at a local furniture store, Treehouse Interiors. After 10 wonderful years there Lori decided to pursue her passion for teaching and working with students. Lori went back to school again to qualify as a Certified Education Assistant and Early Childhood Educator Assistant.