Children at St. Paul’s Preschool play in the yard at the preschool, 1013 Indiana Ave., LaPorte. (Photo provided)
St. Paul’s Preschool, 1013 Indiana Ave., LaPorte, will hold an open house Tuesday, Aug. 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. for prospective students and parents. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will provide a picnic meal for all guests.
St. Paul’s Preschool will provide your child the opportunity to explore a variety of materials, engage in physical activities, and interact with peers and adults. It offers a balance of child-initiated and teacher-selected activities, developing preschoolers’ verbal, artistic, and spatial skills through a variety of games, building materials, music, dramatic play, and art. Special activities include Bookmobile visits, piano time, field trips and story times. There is also a fenced outdoor play area for the children to enjoy.
St. Paul’s Preschool offers classes for children who are aged 3, 4, and 5 by Aug. 1. Preschoolers must be potty trained. Classes are Tuesday and Thursday for 3- and 4-year-olds, either from 9 to 11:30 a.m. or 12:30 to 3 p.m. The Pre-K class for 4- and 5-year-olds is Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 to 11:30 a.m. or 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The extra hour is offered for more kindergarten readiness skills.
The maximum number of students for the Tuesday-Thursday class is 15. The Monday-Wednesday-Friday class maximum is 20. There are always two teachers and sometimes volunteers.
The curriculum used is Handwriting Without Tears (HWT.com). It is initiated in the younger class and built upon the following year. Lots of fun tools are manipulated to learn the alphabet/shapes/numbers and other skills through music, art, building and more.
The school’s director, Sue Osborn, a graduate of Blackburn College, has been at the preschool since 2004. Teacher Michelle Sager, a graduate of William Raney Harper College, taught at Building Blocks Preschool in LaPorte from 2002 to 2009, joining St. Paul’s Preschool in 2011.
Parking is available behind the building and in front on Indiana Avenue. The main entrance is off St. Paul Court, entering from Michigan Avenue. Volunteers in the classroom are welcome after the first month, either on a regular basis or for special projects and parties.
The calendar schedule complements the LaPorte Community Schools schedule. The preschool begins the first Wednesday and Thursday after Labor Day and ends the Thursday and Friday before Memorial Day. It follows cancellations called by the LaPorte school system, but LaPorte schools’ two-hour delays do not affect the preschool.
For more information, visit www.stpaulslaporte.org and contact staff members at 219-362-1013 or stpaulpreschool@frontier.com.