Winfree Preschool's Mission
In the Winfree Baptist Church Covenant we acknowledge our membership in God's church and in this fellowship, we state our intention to live lives committed to Christ. Through the particular ministry of the Weekday Preschool, we extend the nurturing ministry of Christ and this Church to children and their families in the community.
We believe that each child is a child of God and should have every opportunity to develop spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally and socially in a Christian environment which exhibits love and concern.
The purpose of Winfree's weekday ministry is to:
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support children through the best in early childhood education so that they may develop to their highest potential in physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual growth
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support the family and help parents in the crucial years of child rearing
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provide an outreach and witness to the community of the highest qualities of Christian faith, love and social justice
Our perception of spiritual growth for the preschool child includes:
- a growing knowledge of God and His love and
care
- an appreciation of self within God's
world
- knowledge that Jesus is God's son, to feel that Jesus is his best friend, to know ways that Jesus helped people
- understanding the Bible as the best book
which tells about God and Jesus and about how to be happy
- thinking of the church as a special place to learn about God and Jesus
Recognizing the developmental characteristics of the preschool child, spiritual growth in our weekday ministry is developed in some of the following ways:
- predictable, loving and qualified teachers
in each classroom help a child develop a basic sense of trust and
knowledge that they are welcome and important
- teacher affirmation of a child's self-worth
through verbal praise, comforting touches, and acceptance of basic
feelings of sadness, anger, joy, etc.
- children understanding that all living
things are important in God's creation by caring for pets,
developing class guidelines for working and playing together,
respecting the rights of others, and talking about the
interrelationship of all God's creatures
- celebrating the Christian holidays of
Christmas and Easter by telling the Biblical story, displaying
nativity pictures, making gifts to share, and talking about and
experiencing the concept of new life and rebirth
- children giving thanks to God through
blessings at meals, snack times and Thanksgiving activities
- exemplifying God's love and the teachings of
Jesus through children sharing with others, learning to be
responsible for actions and helping others in need
- experiencing worship through visits with the Church pastor in the Church sanctuary