Josiah's

Here at Josiah’s Christian Academy, we believe that each child’s first school experience should encourage positive feelings about self and others. We believe that each child is a unique gift from God with individual talents and abilities. We believe that each child should learn according to his/her own development level. We believe a preschool learning environment should place emphasis on a child’s self-esteem, creativity and independence. We believe that each person’s incivility and culture must be respected. We believe that parents and teachers working together can foster a love for learning in a faith-centered environment. The environment is carefully planned based on assessment of the children’s skills. Planning is most obvious by the presence of “interest centers” in every classroom. These centers include art, dramatic play, manipulative or small motor skills, gross motor play or blocks, science, reading and listening. Teachers make available a wide variety of activities called “play stations” in each “interest center.” Children are encouraged to explore all of them. Teachers provide an external structure for the day, offer teacher-directed activities, and provide the children time to work in the centers. Their explorations of the environment are usually self-initiated. Because of the variety of materials, children can learn several different skills in each center. Children’s creativity is enhanced by the open-endedness of the learning materials. A sense of responsibility and powerfulness is also promoted by allowing children opportunities to choose their own activities.