Andrew Chapel United Methodist Church, Vienna

About our Programs The purpose of Andrew Chapel UMC Preschool (Preschool) and Mother’s Day Out (MDO) is to provide a Christian atmosphere in which the whole child can grow. The goals of the program are to strengthen self-esteem, help children develop listening skills and ways of interacting with peers, and to teach children how to follow directions while functioning in a group. Above all, children are taught to treat others with kindness and respect. The classroom provides an environment where children find it acceptable to express themselves. The classroom and schedule are designed to recognize individuality, helping children build a positive attitude toward school and themselves. A comfortable routine is established to promote cooperation between teachers and children. Independence is encouraged by giving children age-appropriate responsibility for their personal needs. Cleaning up, caring for toys and materials, and completing classroom tasks further fosters independence, responsibility, respect, and cooperation. The program integrates activities that cultivate skills in all developmental areas – gross motor, fine motor, language, social-emotional, and cognitive – while also encouraging imagination. Music, P.E., and Art are a regular part of the Preschool curriculum. Preschool The Preschool program provides a varied curriculum, including music, art, physical education, math, and science experiences for children 3 to 5 years of age. Children can attend from three to five days a week. Classes for the three year-olds focus on promoting growth in the developmental areas – social, emotional, fine motor, gross motor, cognitive, and language – through hands-on learning experiences in a structured classroom setting. Classes for four and five year-olds have an alphabet-based curriculum and focus on pre-reading, pre-writing, and kindergarten-readiness skills. Hours 9:00 am to 1:00 pm Nursery (Infant through 2 yrs.) Room 104 A loving, caring environment for infants and toddlers while the parents participate in worship services, and adult Sunday School classes. Children's Church (Ages 3 - 2nd grade) Children meet at the altar & follow the teacher to Room 146 During 11:00 church service and prior to the sermon, all the children are called up to the altar area for a short Christian lesson. The lessons are story form, question/answer, puppets or props to make the story or lessons understandable for younger children. The children follow the teacher out of the sanctuary to their classroom for further Bible stories, lessons, and crafts. The parents pick up their children from this room after services. Room 146 is the second door from the left as you exit the sanctuary. Preschool (Ages 3 - 4) Room 102 Rock Solid: This class uses Bible Storybooks which are designed for non-readers to help them explore the Bible stories through movement, crafts, games and sensory activities. Younger Elementary - (Kindergarten - Grade 3) Room 107 Rock Solid: This class encourages children to exercise their growing skills with an interactive storybook, which is developed for early readers to learn through play acting, crafts and games. Also covered is how to relate the Bible lessons to life on the school playground, and with friends and family. Older Elementary - (Grades 4-6) Room 148 Rock Solid: This class captures the attention of tweens and appeals to older children who are anxious to become youth. Tween resources build excitement with meaningful lessons. An emphasis is made on understanding and accepting that God loves us exactly as we are. From that, we build on becoming all that God created us to be. Students learn to use Bible dictionaries and concordances to expand their knowledge and strengthen their advanced Bible skills. They also explore life issues from a Christian perspective.