Programs

Contact: Trina Hancock - Noah's Ark Director - 309.467.9050

Noah's Ark Philosophy

We believe in the importance of family and the significance of our security and love needed in a child's life and therefore work to meet the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of the children. Each child is seen as an individual personality. We work and play with the children on a group leave and on an individual basis. Bible Story Time

We believe that early childhood should be a time of fun, warmth, security, exploring, and discovery. Preschool children are creative and receptive; the staff strives to nurture and encourage these qualities in the children who attend. The center's purpose is to provide an atmosphere that encourages social, emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual growth and development of the child as a whole. Planned with the framework of the philosophy and purpose, Noah's Ark's curriculum includes sharing and conversation time; stories, songs, and finger plays; creative art activities and crafts; games and large muscle activities; fieldtrips; food preparation; science and nature activities; exposure to shapes, colors, letters and numbers; interaction with the residents of Maple Lawn; basic Bible stories and activities; and the celebration of birthdays and holidays.

Two's Room

Miss Aymee on the playground

In this classroom you will find one teacher with a group of no more than eight children ranging from the age of 24 months to 36 months. Being potty trained is not a requirement upon entering this room. We ask that the parents supply diapers and wipes for their child and replenish them when asked. We will also work along side the parents in potty training and hope they will successfully accomplish this before moving up into the 3's room.

The teacher chooses a theme and focuses on that for two weeks. Many of the themes are centered on the events of the month such as leaves and pumpkins in the month of October. The theme is carried out in the stories, the songs, and art activities using all kinds of media. Play is a very important part of the child's day with choices ranging from dramatic play, block building, computer usage, music, literacy, science, and large and small motor experiences. Weekly visits to an adopted resident from Maple Lawn is also part of the child's experience along with a weekly planned activity at the health center.

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Three's Room

In this classroom you will find 1 teacher with a group of no more than 10 children. Usually these children enter this room as a three-year old and celebrate turning four. Occasionally an older two will enter this class. The teacher chooses a theme centered on a letter of the alphabet about once a week. The letter is introduced through books, music, and art projects using all kids of media. It is a goal that the child will learn to recognize letters of the alphabet and be able to say what it is. A color and numbers are also talked about throughout a month. Play activities are provided in areas including art, music, literature, dramatic play, computer usage, science, and large and small motor activities. Weekly visits to an adopted resident of Maple Lawn are part of the child's experience along with weekly plan activities at the health center.

Miss Amanda reading

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Four's Room

In this classroom you will find 1 teacher with a group of no more than 10 children. The children that enter this room are 4 and will celebrate turning 5 during the year. The goal of the teacher is prepare these children to enter kindergarten successfully.

The teacher chooses a theme centered on a letter of the alphabet about once a week. Occasionally that letter will be emphasized for two weeks if it also lines up with a holiday in that month. The letter is introduced through books, music, math, science, and art activities using different kinds of media. Practice in writing these letters will also happen. Colors and numbers will also be a part of the month's curriculum. Activities will be planned to challenge each child's development. They will include dramatic play, small and large motor experiences, science, math, literacy, music, block building, and computer usage. A weekly visit to an adopted resident from Maple Lawn is part of the child's experience along with weekly plan activities at the health center.

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Preschool

Noah's Ark provides a preschool for those children desiring a structured learning time before entering kindergarten. We provide a class for 4 year-olds which meets on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00-11:30. The class begins the Wednesday after Labor Day and ends a week for school is dismissed in May. We follow the Eureka school calendar. If there is enough interest, we also provide a 3's preschool class, which meets on Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 to 11:30. In both class settings there is one teacher with no more than ten children in the classroom.

Kindergarten readiness is the main focus in the classroom throughout the year. A letter of the alphabet is introduced each week with a many activities surrounding that letter. Books, music, science, math, and art activities using all kinds of media are used to emphasize what is being taught. Sharing is done in a structured time in a classroom meeting. Learning to play with one another is also a key learning experience and is learned as children experience dramatic play, block building, small and large motor experiences, and a variety of other activities. A weekly visit to a resident of Maple Lawn is part of the experience along with a weekly planned activity in the health center.

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School Age

Noah's Ark provides care for children who are ages 5 through 8 and attending school. During the school year, we provide transportation to Eureka grade school in the mornings and the school district buses the children back to Noah's Ark after school. When arriving from school, they are given a snack and than are given the freedom to play in a peaceful environment. Homework assistance is also available if requested. All day care is also provided when school is not is session.

Our summer program for the school children is filled with lots of adventure. This program is taught my two teachers with no more than12 children in the classroom. A theme is chosen for the week and all kinds of activities are planned to carry out that theme. Opportunities are given to practice the skills that were learned in school so that they won't be forgotten during the summer. Fieldtrips are planned on a daily basis for the afternoons. Trips include local parks, local swimming pools, the library, the zoo, Children's Discovery Museum, bowling, Wild Life Prairie Park and anything else that we think the children would enjoy. There is an added weekly fee asked of each participate to cover the expenses of these trips. Weekly visits and activities are made with residents of Maple Lawn to develop an ongoing relationship.