Preschool & Jr. Kindergarten - Kelowna Christian School
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Preschool & Jr KINDERGARTEN

3 & 4 YEAR-OLD PROGRAMS

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 who always encouraging children to join the fun.

A fun element we offer is our outdoor Nature Play Space. This allows students 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 appreciation 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 understand better 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".

Have a look at our Preschool Learning Space

Welcome to the KCS Preschool room!

Students get to play, learn and explore in this bright, well-equipped classroom. Our students also run and play in an outdoor space for fun activities outside, rain or shine. 

 

PRESCHOOL PROGRAMS & TIMES

3-year-old Preschool   
Tuesday & Thursday
Mornings: 8:30 am-11:00 am

4-year-old Preschool 
Monday, Wednesday & Friday
Mornings: 8:30 am - 11:00 am

4-year-old Junior Kindergarten 
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday
Afternoons: 12:10 pm - 2:40 pm

A Typical Day in Preschool

The daily routine is consistent to give children a sense of security about the happenings of the day. Recognizing that children’s individual needs vary from day to day, adjustments are made to facilitate a nurturing environment. Our daily schedule is structured to include each of the following components:
  • Morning Entry and Sign-In - with slow start and gradual entry

  • Outdoor Exercise - large muscle activities on the playground and in nature space. Rain or Shine!

  • Group Activity - greeting/story/songs/prayer
  • Play Planning - introduction of centres/choice time
  • Learning Centres* - play experiences that facilitate all areas of development, as well as directed teaching in literacy, numeracy and fine motors
  • Clean-up - taking care of our room
  • Group Activity - songs, art, dance, games, drama, science experiments
* Some of the learning centres that will be used to explore the various themes and learning goals may include blocks, puppetry, home living, art, cooking, crafts, water, sand, manipulative toys, listening centre, science discovery, pre-math and pre-reading activities, puzzles, woodworking, dramatic play, painting, iPad apps, and creative movement.

PRESCHOOL STAFF

Kelowna Christian Preschool operates under the KCS Elementary School led by Brad Martens, Elementary Principal, and two full-time Preschool teachers.

Lori Pratt

Lori joined our team in 2010. She has been teaching Preschool at various schools and churches since 1994, after receiving her ECE diploma from Columbia Bible College. Lori has been married to Steve for over 20 years and they have three children, Talon, Neve, and Leeds. Together they love to travel and experience new adventures together.

Faith Budd

Faith has been teaching Early Childhood Education for about 10 years. She enjoys the outdoors, whether it is going for a walk, bike ride or white water rafting. She loves to drink tea during her downtime. Faith is also very techy and almost went into a career in Graphic Design.