As a child approaches the time he/she is a year away from Kindergarten, we advance the child to our PreKindergarten room. The timing is not absolute; we pay attention to the developmental readiness of each child, as God has created each one uniquely. One child may be ready to move to the "big kid" room in June; another might wait until September of that last school year before Kindergarten. In general, the year a child turns four on or before September 1 is the time to enter our PreKindergarten classroom. PreKindergarten shares some similarities to our Preschool program, as we continue to provide a variety of centers and activities in the classroom to engage children just where they are at developmentally, academically, and spiritually. As we move through the school year we do "age up" our activities with an eye on the specific skills and behaviors that will support Kindergarten readiness. Children have plenty of time for free play and choice activities, but they are also being deliberately prepared for the next level. Our goal is that children leave Grace with an eagerness for learning, a readiness for the structure of a Kindergarten classroom, and with the confidence that their value and identify comes from being a loved child of God, not from what anyone else may say about them. Our PreKindergarten students leave ready for the challenges of Kindergarten - they will sometimes struggle as they tackle learning and life challenges, but they will never feel like failures because they know God loves them just the way they are!
