Children are a gift from the Lord. Our task as parent is to assist our children in reaching their unique, God-given potential. This growth begins with early learning experiences in the home and continues within the school setting. Through work and play, children learn about relationships, community and God’s world.
We recognize that in these early years of learning a child’s character is effectively shaped for life. Parents take great confidence in knowing that the same standards and values embraced at home are reinforced by the Christian teachers in the classroom.
PACA’s Preschool offers a wide range of play experiences, including open-ended art, dramatic play, science adventures, music, manipulative play, read-aloud stories, physical education and many others. A balance of child-initiated and teacher-directed activities helps to prepare children for future academic growth and development. All students are taught a rich curriculum through the English Language in a full day program.
We understand that to educate means to provide an environment where there is personal care, where play is part of learning, and where there is a supervised learning process. When integrated these should contribute to the development of motor, cognitive, emotional, social and spiritual skills of the child.
In 1 Corinthians 13:11, we read: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.” Children do not learn the way adults do, or even the way other children do. They differ from one another in their learning styles, but most learn best by doing.
The primary learning of young children takes place in play and in interactive learning experiences. Children thrive when they have the opportunity to explore and experience the world around them. Play experiences enable them to organize and understand themselves and their world. The children’s experiences form the basis for their knowledge and enable them to find meaning and order in their world. Reading to the children and letting them create their own stories enhances language development. Introducing the alphabet and number concepts prepares them for later formal academics.
Through these experiences and activities, PACA's Preschool offers an environment in which the children are able to experience the world and gain a unique internal understanding about people, feelings and the various areas of knowledge. The child learns in oriented activities, in which the teacher observes the interaction between the children, their previous knowledge, their uniqueness and diversity. The activities offer different challenge levels according to their age and are significant, allowing problem resolution to occur.