preschool daze

New Creation Preschool was founded and created by a group of people from New Creation Fellowship Church in 1994. Kristin Neufeld Epp began then as director and lead teacher. In the first year, New Creation Preschool operated as an all day childcare program. We grew as a program and moved to Asbury Park in 2002 after fire destroyed our classroom at New Creation Fellowship Church. We were blessed to have added intergenerational experiences with Asbury Park elders before moving back to New Creation Fellowship Church in time for the 2009-2010 school year.

New Creation’s philosophy is that early childhood should be a time for exploration and discovery. Education in these early years should foster competence in young children in all areas of their lives. Our purpose is to provide a Christian atmosphere for your children where they can grow physically, emotionally, socially, creatively, and intellectually while best preparing them for Kindergarten. The following are beliefs central to our program:
• God exists and loves us.
• The Bible is a guide for faith and life.
• All people are part of God’ family.
• Community and cooperation are important.
• Caring for the Earth is our responsibility.

As a ministry of New Creation Fellowship Church and licensed by the State of Kansas, New Creation Preschool has sessions for prekindergarten children during the school year. Our classroom is in the beautifully lit lower level of the church building. Children attend morning sessions one, two or three times per week. As a non-profit preschool, we offer tuition assistance in the form of reduced tuition rates based on income.

A Meaningful Place

New Creation Preschool is licensed by the State of Kansas for children 3 years of age and up (not yet enrolled in kindergarten). This program operates under regulations required by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Each class is guided by Ms. Kristin (lead teacher and director) and a Classroom Assistant. Our qualified staff is overseen by the New Creation Preschool Board which meets monthly to care for the needs of the preschool.

A Safe Place

Perhaps the most significant aspect of New Creation Preschool is that learning experiences are offered in an environment that has been carefully prepared for each child to move as slowly or as quickly as needed. Gentle voices are used and each child is given the space and time required to feel confident and secure. Experiences are open-ended and encourage each child’s imagination to grow.

A Learning Place

New Creation Preschool’s curriculum is one that works to enhance a child’s feelings of being competent and cared for. This curriculum favors the development of a child’s five selves: physical, emotional, social, creative and intellectual. Each teacher works to introduce the children to developmentally appropriate skills and concepts. We value a fine balance between independent and group times, preparing them for Kindergarten.

A Family Place

There are many opportunities for family participation at New Creation Preschool. We invite families to participate on many different occasions: celebration sign ups, driving for a field trip, being a substitute, joining the snack calendar, choosing a month to bring homemade play-doh for the class, helping in a classroom and more.

We also hold PreK Parent-Teacher Conferences during the spring. We gather at the end of the year for an All School Graduation Celebration. We have an “open door” policy and encourage you to feel welcome to pop in as you like; no appointment or calls ahead are necessary.

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Daily Routine

During our mornings together, we keep ourselves busy! There is always a Letter of the Week and theme. Families know this from our monthly newsletter. Here is what we will get done every time we come to preschool:

Work Time: this is the time of day when preschoolers are in charge of finding work to do. Teachers are available to guide activities and offer suggestions as needed. Some activites are always available, others change with the themes.

Circle Time: this is the time of day when we are sitting together (in a circle!) and listening to each other. Here we practice many of the school skills that will be found in a traditional Kindergarten classroom: calendar work, alphabet sounds and recognition, name reading, color recognition, patterning, and more.

Project Time: this is the time of day when we create something. We ask for children to come in clothes that they can get messy in believing it is important there to be freedom to participate fully. We use lots of paint and lots of glue during the year!

Story Time: this is the time of day when the teacher is reading to the children. Through our stories we are able to introduce new concepts while having children experience the security of being read to. Our books are chosen based on the Letter of the Week and are connected to the other activities of the day.

Music Time: this is the time of day when we sing songs, play instruments, recite poems and act out fingerplays and rhymes. We enjoy making up new songs for the week’s theme as well as finding old nursery rhymes that many of our parents and grandparents know.

Snack Time: this is the time of day we get our trays and eat together…there is always a fresh fruit or vegetable for us to try. Families are invited to sign up to bring snack for their preschooler’s class each month.

Clean Up Time: this is the time of day we help put things away in the classroom. There are several songs we sing to keep this time fun and remind preschoolers that we aren’t cleaning up just what we played with, but whatever our classroom needs!

Group Time: this is the time of day when a teacher guides an activity for the whole class or small groups…science experiments, alphabet work, math readiness, and more!

Show and Tell Time: this is the time of day we look at what preschoolers brought to show and tell us about. Our Show and Tell time is based on our Letter of the Week…families will know what to bring from our newsletter.

Outside Time: this is the time of day we explore on the playground and the wide open green space around the church. We have our own play strucutres within a large fenced yard with sidewalks perfect for trikes and chalk!

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for more information or to enroll:
contact Kristin Neufeld Epp, director/teacher
to e-mail: click here