Gingerbread House Preschool Program

Gingerbread House Preschool has a warm, caring, and experienced professional staff. The teachers were chosen for their educational training, early childhood teaching experience, and their patience, sensitivity, and understanding of how young children learn. All classes use team teaching with two teachers in each classroom of 12 students. The curriculum is sent home to parents each month, informing them about academic activities and special events. The curriculum is developmentally and age appropriate and includes reading, math, science, art, music, physical education, and social development. We equip each child with the skills to perform to his fullest potential. Our program meets the standards of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. We have many specialized educational activities and events. Click here to learn more about: special events.

Teacher Qualifications:   

Nearly all of the teachers have bachelor’s degrees (most in education), and several have master’s degrees. All of our teachers are expert educators, providing individual attention and careful supervision of each child's development. The teachers participate in local and national teaching conferences and workshops. Our  teachers have many years of teaching experience in elementary and preschools.

Our Educational Program: 

 The faculty of the Gingerbread House Preschool blend teaching of the non-cognitive skills, traditionally called "soft" skills with the cognitive "hard" skills because researchers have discovered that the non-cognitive skills make the difference between success and failure in life.  The Seven C's (taking on challenges, self-control, changing perspective, connecting, communicating, thinking critically, and creative learning) are more important than the three R's (reading, writing, arithmetic).  Without the 7 C's the 3R's cannot be mastered or used to build a happy and productive life. We encourage the students to be curious, to ask questions, and to try new things without fearing failure; this will help them grow self-confidence and develop a love of learning. We ask them to do more and more things for themselves so that they become increasingly independent. They learn to make new friends and to consider the feelings and perspectives of others.  We encourage parents to follow the “Ten Rules for Raising Independent Kids” described by Kristen Howerton, Professor of Psychology at Vanguard University in California.  If parents are seeking supplemental information we have Parenting Book suggestions.  Our educational content also includes:  reading skills, writing skills, math skills, art, science, and music and movement.

Our Philosophy:   

Early experience molds behaviors, emotional patterns, unconscious beliefs, learning styles, relational dynamics, and the ability to handle stress and regulate ourselves. Early development sets the ground for all the learning, behavior, and health that follow. If emotion is the ground of cognition, then relationships are the tectonic plates that shape that ground. Of these, a child’s early emotional interactions with their nurturing caregivers exert the primary influence on how the brain is programmed. Children’s sense of security, trust in the world, interrelationships with others, and connection to their authentic emotions hinge on the consistent availability of attuned non-stressed and emotionally reliable caregivers.

Our teachers love teaching and have fun teaching. Our students have fun learning and love to learn. Our program is flexible and allows each child to learn at his own pace. We educate the whole child socially, emotionally, academically, and physically. Children acquire knowledge and understanding about the physical and social world in which they live through playful interaction with their teachers, their peers, and the environment. In a nurturing environment children are motivated to learn by their own curiosity and desire to make sense of their world. We stress cooperation and consideration for others. We learn together, play together, eat together, and clean up together. We are a team.

Religious Content:   Even though Gingerbread House Preschool is located in the Zionsville Christian Church, the school is independent and does not offer religious instruction. Our teachers teach by example the values that peoples of all faiths cherish including empathy, kindness, reliability, honesty, respect, fairness, forgiveness, love, and compassion.

“What a gem of a school! My daughter attended for two years - preschool and pre-kindergarten. I could not be more pleased that we chose Gingerbread. The teachers and staff are truly wonderful people, and it's clear that they genuinely care about each of their students. From guests coming in to speak to the kids (firefighters, doctors, dentists, etc. in the community) to the outstanding curriculum (cooking with the kids!), it's apparent the teachers have put so much heart and soul into providing an enriching and FUN school atmosphere where each kid can thrive. Gingerbread has more than adequately prepared her for kindergarten and laid an excellent foundation for a love of learning.”

Excerpt from parent review on Google search

Curriculum

The Gingerbread program has a strong, literature based curriculum.  Children enjoy listening to stories and then retelling the stories in their own words.  We also compare and contrast versions of the same story.  An example would be comparing different versions of “The Three Little Pigs.”  How are these stories the same, and how are they different? They love having books read to them, and they begin to develop an interest in and love for reading themselves.

We use numbers when making crafts, counting days of the week, and at independent stations in each classroom.  We use estimation and a counting jar as part of the regular classroom routine.  Numbers are also used in connection with music and gross motor activities.

Children participate in Music and Movement classes.  Skills include: following directions, using rhythm sticks, bean bags, scarves and hoops.  We also love to sing and dance and have fun!  At times, an obstacle course is set up, with specific directions for each station.

Fine motor skills include: puzzles, sorting, classifying, matching and writing names.  The 4 and 5 year old classes write words as part of projects that involve the letter of the week.  This helps children learn the correct way to form letters and review letters, upper and lower case, at the same time.

We use our science knowledge when we talk about the weather and the changing of seasons.  Some of our science experiments explore the concepts of density (float vs sink), evaporation, melting, and liquid density using liquid layers.

Art Down the Hall is for 3-4’s, 4’s, and 5’s students. Children are escorted to and from Art by our Art teacher.  Generally, 3 students participate at one time.  The Art activity can be seasonal, holiday, or whimsical in nature.  The 4 and 5 year old students learn about an artist each month.  Then the children create a version of an artist’s painting, such as  Van Gogh’s sunflowers.

Cooking is a weekly activity for our Jr. Kindergarten classes.  We “cook” the letter of the week: During Aa Week we taste different colored Apples to decide which we like best. For Bb week we make Bunch of Berries cobbler with oats, brown sugar, and butter, and bake it in the oven.