ABOUT ELP
Creating a Christian environment for Kids
Emmanuel Lutheran Preschool has been serving the community for 65 years offering a developmentally appropriate preschool program that is child-centered and hands-on, allowing every child to experience many rich learning experiences. We want each child to develop a love of learning!
Our half-day preschool program is offered for students aged 2 years (24 months) through 6 years old (Pre-K) from 9:00 am – Noon.
We offer an extended day program for our 3-6 year old students on Tuesdays and Thursdays till 1:30pm. Additionally, we offer an extended day option for just our PreK students on Wednesdays till 1:30pm.
Our goal is to instill a love of God, love of learning, and love of self and others in each and every child.
We partner with parents in a Christian environment to do our best to meet the emotional, social, physical, intellectual, and spiritual needs of each child. We want to meet your child where they are in their development and nourish them in the ways that allow your child to develop a strong early educational foundation.
Emmanuel Lutheran Preschool is licensed and inspected by the Virginia Department of Education and is a member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
About Developmental Learning & Our Curriculum
Emmanuel Lutheran Preschool uses the Professional Standards and Competencies created by the National Association of Young Children (NAEYC) as guidelines within our curriculum. NAEYC states that there is a core body of knowledge, skills, values, and dispositions early childhood educators must demonstrate to effectively promote the development, learning, and well-being of all young children. Play is a vital component of that learning.
Therefore, we offer a curriculum which includes both teacher-moderated activity and learning centers to encourage your child to experiment and explore. Through play, children learn to take turns, delay gratification, negotiate conflicts, solve problems, and acquire flexibility.
Classrooms are set-up with a variety of hands-on activities and learning centers including art, dramatic play, letter and word recognition, numbers and counting, science, music and movement (both large and small motor), which allows children to learn and grow as they engage, explore, and expand their wonderful imaginations.
We have included the link to NAEYC’s article: The Ten things Every Parent Should Know About Play and hope you will take a moment to read through it.
What Our Program Offers:
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Small classes (see below)
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Experienced teachers and staff, certified in CPR and First Aid
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A developmentally appropriate curriculum
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A stimulating classroom environment
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Kindergarten Readiness
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Christian education and Chapel time
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Art, Music, Movement, and Science
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After School Lunch Programs
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Off-site Field trips for 4’s PreK students
Our Team
The majority of our staff have been with Emmanuel between 10-15 years, with some close to 20. Teachers provide a loving and nurturing learning environment for your child. We are licensed and inspected regularly by the Virginia Department of Education and accordingly, our staff employment files include background checks, fingerprinting, tb screening, and all required paperwork. We are fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
Our staff completes a minimum of 16 hours of continuing education each school year, including, but not limited to, CPR/First Aid/AMAT, Health Observations, developmentally appropriate practice, positive discipline and redirection, as well as monthly staff meetings where we share valuable insights with fellow teachers. Our warm and creative educators stay current professionally with over 160 hours of training and workshop activities every year.
Our class sizes are purposedly small to allow for optimal teacher/student interactions and student peer social/emotional growth.
2’s classes - up to 10 students with a Lead and Assistant teacher. (5:1)
- Must be 24 months to enroll.
3’s classes - up to 12 students with a Lead and Assistant teacher. (6:1)
- Must be 3 years old by November of the current school year.
PreK classes - up to 12 students with a Lead and Assistant teacher. (6:1)
- Must be 4 years old by November of the current school year.
Our larger PreK classroom with up to 16 students (much larger room) - a Lead teacher and two assistant teachers.
*This classroom is meant to mimic the feel of a Kindergarten classroom in size and number of students to prepare students for the next step of Kindergarten.
Our staff floater is available to all classrooms throughout the day as needed.
9:00am
Arrival and Centers (Table & Floor Activities/ Manipulatives/Kitchen/Sensory Table) and Free Choice Play; Small Group Art
9:35am
Clean Up Time/Bathroom Time
9:45am
Circle Time- Morning Meeting -Literacy and Math Development
10:00am
Creative Movement & Music (once per week)
*Special Enrichment Presentations for Students: These are held monthly for the whole school and include the fire department, dentist, Fairfax County Public Library Reading & Puppets, Planetarium Space Day, My Pet Alpaca, etc.
10:30am
Snack
10:50am
Puzzles, Books, Group Games
11:00am
Playground
11:30am
Science/Art/STEM/Children's Garden
11:35am
Chapel (Wednesdays only)
11:55am
Closing Circle
12:00pm
Dismissal