PRESCHOOL

Thank you for your interest in First Baptist Church School's Preschool Program.  Each of our school programs is designed to flow from year to year with your child as he or she grows and develops.  We offer an excellent half-day class for each of our preschool programs from 8:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. or p.m. classes for 3’s through Pre-Kindergarten from 12:30 p.m. until 3:15 p.m.  Each class has a teacher and an assistant.  Extended care is also available from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.  Preschool attends chapel two times a week on Monday and Tuesday, where they hear Bible stories or truths, memorize scripture verses, sing choruses, and have prayer time.   All preschool classes have at least one recess.

TWOS

Students must be 2 by September 1

Two classes are available, both focusing on potty training and developing independence.  The Two Year Old Program encourages good character habits such as polite manners and following directions.  In story time each day the children sit and listen to stories with moral or biblical themes, stories about animals, and fun stories.  During circle time we work to reinforce expressions of feelings and needs, positive self-image, and accepting differences.  The concepts of sharing and belonging in a group, helping others, taking turns, developing visual memory, and expansion of attention span are also reinforced.  The children enjoy exploring fantasy and reality through our dramatic play centers.

During numbers time the children learn to rote count from 1 - 30 and learn numbers concepts 1 - 10.  They are also introduced to shapes.

In phonics time the children learn to recognize the name, sound, and picture for each letter of the alphabet.

In art, the children sometimes create art work regarding the Bible story or have fun art time with finger-painting, sponge painting, coloring, and free art time with supervision.  They also learn about primary and secondary colors.

Our children enjoy this time with the teacher and friends.  It is an excellent beginning to a first out-of-home experience and to the academic world in a nurturing environment.

Our Two Year Old Classes are limited to 10 students. top

THREES

Students must be 3 and potty trained by September 1

Our three year old programs encourage good character habits such as learning manners and following directions. During story time each day the children hear stories with moral or biblical themes, animal stories, and fun stories.  The teacher also uses this time to reinforce expressions of feelings and needs, independence, positive self-image, and accepting differences.  The concepts of sharing and belonging in a group, helping others, taking turns, developing visual memory, and expansion of attention span are also reinforced.  The concepts of fantasy and reality are explored.

During numbers time the children learn to rote count from 1 - 30 and learn number concepts 1 - 15.  The children also learn about and work with shapes.  In phonics time the children learn to recognize the name, sound, and picture for each letter of the alphabet.  Writing skills are introduced to the three year olds through the use of pencils and crayons to write the letters as they learn them.

In art the children sometimes create art work regarding the Bible story or have fun art time with finger-painting, sponge painting, coloring, and free art time with supervision.  They learn the primary and secondary colors.  The motor skill of cutting with scissors is introduced early in the year by learning to cut large objects with the teacher's help and later cutting independently.  We also glue, glitter, and marble paint.

Your child will enjoy frequent music time, finger-play, and poetry time.  The children will have daily recess time outside as frequently as the weather allows.

Our children enjoy this time with the teacher and friends.  It is an excellent beginning to a first out-of-home experience and to the academic world and into social and spiritual development.  We provide a safe, nurturing environment for your child.

Our Three Year Old Classes are limited to 16 students. top

PRE-KINDERGARTEN

Students must be 4 by September 1

Our pre-kindergarten program encourages good character habits such as using polite manners and following directions. Story time with the teacher is a fun part of the day.  Children are encouraged to express feelings and learn about the concepts of sharing and belonging.  Concepts of fantasy and reality are explored.

During numbers time the children will learn to rote count to 100 on the numbers chart. Number concepts 1 through 20 will be learned.  Simple number facts such as 1+1, 2+1, 3+1…through 9+1 are introduced as the year progresses.

In phonics time the children learn the name, sound, and picture of each letter of the alphabet.  Consonant and vowel blends are introduced such as ma, me, mi, mo, mu.  Later an ending consonant is added to the blend such as mat, met, mit, etc.  This process leads into reading one vowel (short vowel sound) words.  Some children progress to reading two vowel words (long vowel sound).  Simple reading then occurs.

In writing, the children learn to write each letter formation correctly in both upper and lower case as each letter is learned in phonics time.  They also write blends, simple words, and sentences as the year progresses.  The children learn to correctly write their names.

In art the children explore color as they study the seasons, special events of the year, and as special units are taught.  The units include: I am special, The Five Senses, seasons of the year, Washington's and Lincoln's Birthdays, Texas Independence and State Facts, Easter, Baby Farm Animals, Community Helpers and Transportation.

Special field trips are planned to enhance the study of these units such as a visit to a farm to see the new baby animals first hand, a trip to the Fire Department and visits with firemen and police officers.

Your child will also enjoy music time, finger-play, and poetry time.  Your child will also have P.E. time each week to develop motor skills. 

Our pre-kindergarten students also learn a Bible verse for each letter of the alphabet and present a memory verse program in late spring.

Our pre-kindergarten children enjoy this five-day-a-week class with their teacher and friends.  We provide a safe, nurturing environment for your child.

Our Pre-kindergarten Class is limited to 18 students. top

KINDERGARTEN

Students must be 5 by September 1

Kindergarten students transferring into our school will be required to take an entrance exam to determine placement in our program.  Our successful phonetic based curriculum continues in Kindergarten.    In addition to building the necessary background for confident reading, phonics teaching trains students to listen carefully, obey willingly and to develop good habits of thinking, analyzing, organizing, memorizing and applying important facts and rules.

Your child will continue to learn the names and sounds  of both long and short vowels and consonants.  He/she will also work with consonant/vowel blends (ma, me, mi, mo, mu, etc.), one and two-vowel words, special sounds and sight words.  Our students do exceptionally well with phonetic reading, and this success helps them develop into excellent readers.

In arithmetic, students learn number recognition, counting, and writing 1 through 100 along with number concepts (what the number actually means) 1 through 100.  He/she will learn about numbers before and after 1 through 100 and largest and smallest 1 through 100.  They also learn to count to 100 by tens, by fives, and by twos, and begin to use number words (reading them) 1 through 10 (one through ten).  Students learn the value of money - pennies, nickels, dimes, etc.  Children will begin to learn about telling time and will study the addition facts through 10.

In science, the class studies God's plan for weather, God's Plan for Animals, God's Plan for Seeds, and God's Plan for the Seashore.

Your child will also enjoy music time, finger-play, and poetry time.  Your child will also have P.E. time each week to develop motor skills.

Kindergarten students begin learning basic computer skills by using various age-appropriate software for reading and math.

The Kindergarten classes go on many interesting field trips during the year, including a Christmas Tree Farm in December and the Houston Zoo in the spring, as well as many other places.  The teachers keep a scrap book for each child, taking pictures on field trips and at other occasions during the year.  At year's end, the children enjoy looking back and reliving the experiences they have had.

There is a Kindergarten cap and gown graduation ceremony and program with a reception at the end of the school year.

Our Kindergarten Class is limited to 20 students. top