Parent HandbookOur Purpose:

To provide both teacher-directed and child-initiated learning, with an emphasis on responding to children’s learning styles and building on their strengths and interests through outdoor/indoor free play and instructional hands-on learning for ages 3-5. Instilling valuable Christian morals in a loving Christian environment.

Church Mission Statement:

We exist to see men and women come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord, to serve Him through the church, and to make Him known at home and around the world.

Church Statement of Faith:

The Bible is our sole authority in matters of faith and practice. We have adopted as our Statement of Faith the Baptist Faith and Message 1963 and as amended in 1998. Our full doctrinal statement can be found on our website, www.fbchilli.com.

Hours of Operation:

Early Playgroup- 7:15 a.m.-8:15 a.m. (For those that would need/want to come early)

3 year olds- Monday and Tuesday 8:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m.

4 year olds- Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 8:15 a.m.-11:15 a.m.

*We diligently follow the school cut-off date. Must be 3 years old by July 31 to enter the 3 year old class and 4 years old by July 31 to enter the 4 year old class. Students of both classes will need to be fully potty trained. This will provide consistency to the kids and the program.

Enrollment:

Enrollment opens for First Baptist Church members January 18, 2015. An open enrollment day will take place on January 26, 2015 that will last from 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and will be open to the public. You may pick up an enrollment packet at the First Baptist Church office, Monday through Friday during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please feel free to call the church office during those hours with any questions you may have at 660-646-2834, or contact the preschool’s email: Littlekingdom@fbchilli.com. You may also visit our website, www.fbchilli.com, where you will find all information needed and have the opportunity to print all enrollment forms. To secure your preschooler a spot you must have the enrollment form completed and the non-refundable enrollment fee completed. All other forms are to be completed by Preschool start date.

*To begin school all children MUST have all the paperwork required to attend: Enrollment form

Dr. health checkup form signed and completed by child’s physician Up to date immunization record Non-refundable enrollment fee

Fees:

There will be a one-time non-refundable enrollment fee of $55 for the 3 year old class and $75 for the 4 year old class. This fee goes towards all supplies your child will need throughout the year, therefore you will not be asked to purchase any of your child’s own supplies.

Early Playgroup- If you choose to involve your child in extra play, before class begins, between the hours of 7:15 a.m.-8:00 a.m. it is a $3 per day fee. Attendance will be taken by the playgroup instructor and you will receive a bill at the first of each month according to the attendance taken from the prior month.

Monthly Tuition:

Tuition is due at the first of each month and will not be adjusted for absences or refunded. September 1- May 1

3 year old class- $60/month

4 year old class- $90/month

Calendar:

Little Kingdom Preschool will start on the first weekday following Labor Day in September and will follow Chillicothe public school’s yearly school calendar.

Staff:

Pastor: Rob HurtgenRob Hurtgen has been the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church, Chillicothe since February 2012. He and his wife, Shawn, have been married since 1995 and have five children. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Religious Education from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri, a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky and is presently working on a Doctor of Ministry degree from MidWestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to preaching weekly and shepherding First Baptist, Rob regularly writes a column for the Southeast Missourian Newspaper in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and is a regular contributor to LifeWay Christian Resources Pastors Today blog site. His greatest desire is to see God at work in your life to work through your life.

Director/Enrichment Instructor: Melanie Beetsma

Melanie has a BS in Early Childhood Education Degree from Hannibal-LaGrange College. She taught Title I Pre-K and was a Parent Educator in the Hannibal Public School District for 2 years before moving back to her home town of Chillicothe where she has taught Pre-k off and on for 8 years. Melanie and her husband, Mike Beetsma, have 3 children, Madelyn, Mackenzie, and Blake. Melanie is an active member of First Baptist Church, Chillicothe, where she serves as Women’s Ministry Director, Missions Committee member, Nominating Committee Chairman, Church Historian, and Jr. and Sr. Sunday School Teacher. She is a huge advocate for missions and children’s education to further the kingdom of God.

Co-Director/Bible Instructor: Mary Ellen KincaidMary Ellen has a BS in Elementary Education from Central Missouri State. She taught Title 1 Math for K-3rd Grade as well as other elementary grades totaling 30 years of Public School Education and 1 year experience in a Christian School. Mary Ellen and her husband Dowell of 36 years have two adult children, Scott and Staci. Scott and Laura have given them 3 grandchildren; Leah, Austin, and Cole that inspired Mary Ellen to begin teaching Preschool upon retirement in 2010. She has taught Preschool in Chillicothe for 3 years. She is an active member of First Baptist Church where she has been Vacation Bible School Director, Sunday School teacher and Mission Friends Teacher for 3 and 4 year olds. Mary Ellen presently is on the Women’s Ministry Leadership Team and has a heart to see young women as well as young children grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

3 year old Teacher: Kristy LauhoffKristy Lauhoff majored in Elementary Education at Graceland University and continued her education through William Woods to receive her Masters in Administration and Specialists in Educational Administration. Kristy taught Kindergarten for seven years at Hale R-1 School before her husband, Clint, and she decided it was time that she stay home to raise their two children whom they are blessed to have. Farrah is five years old, just starting Kindergarten and Lucas is three. She enjoys spending time with her family, horse riding, sewing, and cooking. She has been blessed to be able to stay home and raise their children, but is excited to get back into teaching to provide children a fun, learning environment that will give them a solid foundation in their education!

4 year old Teacher: Erica Baker Erica has her Bachelors in Education with an endorsement in reading. She has taught 3 rd and 4th grade at Bishop Hogan School in Chillicothe for two years following her student teaching. Erica did a reading practicum at Chillicothe Dewey School and is certified in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. Erica and her husband, Brad, are the proud parents of four children, Landon 9, Lex 7, Layton 4, and Lannie 4 months, and are very active in their church community. She serves in children’s church, nursery, youth and helps/supports her husband as youth/associate pastor of Souls Harbor Church. Erica has a heart to follow the path God has for her and is very excited that His path for her includes preparing young children academically and molding their educational future.

Curriculum:

Our program is set up to give each child a hands-on education. Using their senses: touch, feel, smell, hearing, and tasting, is the best way a child learns and will be given creative opportunities to explore. A good mixture of teacher-directed and child-directed activities will be promoted. During this time in your child’s development it is very important for the teacher to be aware of what your child is wanting and combine it with what they need to learn, in order to catch their “window of opportunity.” This will be taught through science, literacy, math, and dramatic play. Social skills will be enhanced through working together in large group, small group, and one-on one teacher/student learning. The teacher will instruct and demonstrate positive and appropriate ways to work together in society. At this age, children’s gross motor skills (running, kicking, throwing, catching, etc.) are at a very crucial developmental stage. This makes running and playing very important. This too will be a mixture of child-directed free play and teacher-directed play. Little Kingdom Preschool will follow and encourage children to meet all of the DESE standards and will be assessed periodically in order to observe the child’s readiness for the following school year. DESE standards can be found at www.dese.mo.gov .

Classroom Set-up:

Each day consists of so many opportunities to learn and will be designed to promote all types of learners. Throughout each day you will see:

Centers - There will be centers for math, dramatic play, teacher/student one-on-one, art, technology, and literacy small group learning.

Circle Time - Learning as a group through music, word play. At this time each child will learn about weather and calendar.

Table Time – The teacher will enhance the daily lesson by directing all of the students in an age appropriate activity.

Active Play - Each day students will be encouraged to run, exercise, and play.

Science Time – Once per week the children will be engaging in learning through science. Learning about observation, exploration, hypothesis, and ending with a good conclusion.

Bible Lesson – Once per week the children will be prepared and equipped with the knowledge that God gives us and helps us through life. Students will be taught that Jesus Christ is our Lord. Showing students God’s love for all of His children through fun Bible activities.

Music – Once per month our church’s music minister will come in and provide a music lesson for the children.

Discipline Policy: All adults involved with Little Kingdom Preschool will be expected to be good role-models in every way. Constructive, positive criticism is encouraged. When a discipline issue arrives the teacher or director will use appropriate steps in correcting and teaching the student what behavior is required at school.

1. Redirecting- Using our environment and positive words to pull the child back to the present activity. Showing the student they have other choices than the current one they are choosing. Example: Susie is not wanting to participate in the group activity by running around the room instead of cooperating with peers, therefore the teacher uses her environment by giving her a specific job in the activity, showing the student how important they are in the classroom and in learning.

2. Thinking- If child continues to display disruptive behavior, they will be asked to be removed from the situation to think about what needs to be done to correct the issue. Teacher/director will talk with the child and encourage them to decide what would be a better choice.

3. If the child still continues to choose disruptive behavior, the child may be asked to sit in the office with the director while working out the situation through thinking and talking about more appropriate behaviors. Director will converse with child about what behavior is accepted in our classroom community.

4. A parent/guardian will be contacted immediately if a student insists on harmful behavior.

5. Teacher may visit with parent/guardian if small issues are consistent, by notes, phone calls, or casual talk. The teacher/director is to NEVER humiliate a child or parent/guardian by talking with or in front of other adults. Teacher/Director is to use confidentiality with all families.

Inclement Weather:

We will follow the public school when dismissing school due to weather. You may watch for local listings or register your number with www.chilicothecity.org/textcaster.html in order to get updates on local school dismissals. When the public school has a late-start day due to weather, Little Kingdom Preschool will be dismissed for the day.

Please remember to dress your child appropriately for the current weather. Outdoor play is very important for children and may be allowed to play outside as long as weather permits. If the temperature is below freezing or raining your child will not go outside, but will be provided with indoor play for exercise and encouraging gross motor growth and development.

Fire and tornado drills will be done with the children 2x/year. The staff will insure this is ONLY to keep us safe and that practice makes perfect in hopes to avoid any fears children might have of these situations.

Pick-up:

Students may only be picked up by those that parents have approved. Parents will need to contact school/teacher by phone or written request to make additions to this list. If someone outside this approved list shows up to pick up a student, the child’s parent will be contacted before the child will be able to leave the preschool premises.

Dismissal will be promptly at 11:15 a.m. each day. If your child has not been picked up by 11:30 a.m. the director will start by contacting the first person on the child’s contact sheet and continue contacting those on this sheet, until someone is reached.

All transportation to and from the preschool will need to be arranged by the parent/guardian. There will be no transportation provided by the staff of Little Kingdom Preschool.

Incident Reports:

In case of any minor injuries, parent/guardian will be notified by the teacher or director sending home an incident report form home in their backpack. In any situation where two children are involved in an injury, each parent/guardian will be notified, but the other child’s name will not be mentioned in the explanation of the situation. If after assessing the situation and the teacher or director finds the injury more than a minor incident, the parent/guardian will be contacted immediately. All staff WILL be certified in first aid and CPR. Workers will utilize this protocol and follow appropriate procedures in response to any emergency situations.

Illness Policy:

If a child vomits or has a fever the child’s parent/guardian will be contacted and the child WILL be sent home. While waiting for transportation the sick child will be separated from the group and made comfortable in the office until an approved adult comes to pick them up.

For the health of your child and others in the classroom, sick children must be fever, diarrhea and vomiting free for 24 hours. This will help from spreading illness and allow the sick child to build proper immunities back up in order to reenter the school environment.

Classroom Cleanliness:

All toys, surfaces of classroom and bathroom will be cleaned daily by following appropriate state health guidelines. For a clean, germ-free environment as much as possible.

Accidents:

In case of accidents of any kind where the child’s clothes are no longer able to be worn, the child will be changed into clean clothes provided by the school and the parents of the child will be notified. You may also bring a spare set of clothes for your child to the preschool, where it will be put in a Ziploc bag and stored for such occasions.

Toys:

We understand that your children may want to share their special toys with their friends and to accommodate, the classroom teacher will designate specials days to do so. Please do not allow your child to bring toys to school on other days. This will insure the safety of your child’s toys. Also, please remind your child that when they bring in toys on those designated days, they will be allowed to play with their toys at certain times of the day. Other children may want to play with this neat new toy and we will be encouraging sharing. At this age promoting sharing will teach wonderful social skills! So, remember this when bringing a special item to school.

Parent Involvement:

Parents and teachers are a team when making a child’s education a success! You are your child’s first and forever teacher and we get to enhance and help facilitate in furthering their education.

Daily snack: At the beginning of the year there will be a snack sign-up provided by the teacher where you will be asked to sign up for at least two snack days/month. Snacks must be store bought and pre-packaged. Drinks will be provided by Little Kingdom Preschool.

Parent Classroom Volunteer: If you are available and wanting to volunteer your time in the classroom, there will be a sign up for this as well. To accommodate you, you may volunteer weekly, monthly, or a special time you may want to share a trade or craft with the students. If you choose to be a weekly or monthly volunteer, you will be asked to complete a background check provided by the state and you will be notified when you may start. We will wait to start parent classroom volunteers until October, in order to help make classroom adjustment the easiest as possible when dealing with separation anxieties.

Parties: Signing up for different party responsibilities. Fall Fest, Thanksgiving Feast, Christmas, Valentines, and Easter

Parent/Teacher conference: 4 year old class will have two parent/teacher conferences each year in preparation for Kindergarten. 3 year old class will have one mandatory parent/teacher conference and will be offered a second towards the end of each year. First parent teacher conference will be in January and last one in April.

Field Trips: To gain different environmental learning experience, Little Kingdom Preschool will take approximately three field trips per year. These field trips will be available for parents to sign up to be a chauffeur. When chauffeuring you may be asked to have additional children in your vehicle. All parents not attending the field trip will be asked to leave their child’s car seat.

Teacher Contacts: Don’t be alarmed when your preschool calls.... we encourage all staff to give positive reinforcement and you will be contacted when your child does something good. Parents will also be contacted when the teacher/preschool feels a child’s behavior may need extra ideas in order to improve.

Meet The Teacher Night: Before school starts each year there will be a designated night to come meet your teacher and gather more information about what to expect for the up-coming year, sign up for volunteer opportunities, and sign needed permission slips. This night is important for you as a parent, but also for your child in preparation for making a comfortable transition into the school environment.

Programs: There will be a Christmas program and a Graduation program. These programs will be an event in the evening and parents will be notified of the dates well in advance.

Thank you for your support in Little Kingdom Preschool!!!!