Welcome to Christ U.M. Preschool!

Registration for 2023/2024 School Year  - Registration for currently enrolled families and members of Christ United Methodist begins Monday, Feb. 6th, 2023.  Open Registration begins Tuesday, February 21nd.  Registration forms can be downloaded from this page. 

Who Are We?    Christ United Methodist Preschool is a preschool center licensed by Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services.  We offer full-day Pre-K classes and half-day Preschool (3’s turning 4) and Pre-K classes.   Our school is located at 700 S. Main Street in Baltimore, Ohio.

Why Should I Enroll My Child in a Preschool?  Good question!  Enrolling your child in a preschool gives your child many opportunities and advantages they wouldn’t receive otherwise.  Preschool isn’t solely about academics (and neither is elementary school); it’s about learning how to get along with others, sharing, self-regulation, taking turns and being polite.  It’s about making friends, learning new songs and games and playing with others.  It’s about acceptance.  Patience.  Laughing and having fun. 

Class Options - Children who are 4 by August 1st can register for our Pre-K classes which are four days a week (M/T/W/TR).  We offer both a full-day (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) class OR a morning half-day class (9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.).  

Preschool classes are available for 3 days a week on T/W/TR from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m and 12:30 - 3:00 p.m.  A child must be 3 years of age by August 1st and potty-trained.

All classes give children multiple opportunities to explore, work with others and learn new things.  We follow and form lesson plans using Ohio’s Early Learning and Development Standards which are categorized into 5 “domains”:

• Social and Emotional Development These standards include a focus on children’s developing abilities to regulate attention, emotions, and behavior, and to establish positive relationships with familiar adults and with peers. Research indicates that early skills of social competence and self-regulation are foundational to children’s long-term academic and social success (National Research Council, 2008)
• Physical Well-being and Motor Development addresses motor skills and health practices that are essential for children’s overall development.
• Approaches Toward Learning includes children’s initiative and curiosity, and their motivation to participate in new and varied experiences and challenges. These behaviors are fundamental to children’s ability to take advantage of learning opportunities, and to set, plan, and achieve goals for themselves.  
• Language and Literacy Development covers knowledge and skills fundamental to children’s learning of language, reading and writing.  Early literacy skills include children’s developing concepts of print, comprehension of age-appropriate text, phonological awareness, and letter recognition.  
• Cognition and General Knowledge This domain includes those cognitive processes that enable all other learning to take place, as well as children’s knowledge of the social and physical world.  It includes reasoning and problem-solving and has 3 sub-domains: mathematics, social studies, science.

We Make Learning FUN!  Schooling is more than sitting at a desk completing papers and memorizing. The teachers partake in a minimum of 6 hours of professional training each year in order to be up-to-date on the most current, efficient and effective ways to educate your child.   You’ll find that we give a lot of opportunities for children to learn through their curiosity and hands-on activities. Instead of just showing or telling students how a shadow is made, teachers are more likely to bring flashlights into class and put them on a table.  Children will then be drawn by curiosity to experiment with them at which point the teacher may say, “I see you’re casting a shadow on the wall. How did that happen?” or “You’ve made a shadow of your hand.  Are there other things you can make a shadow of?”  Learning is a process, and if the child is part of that process they are much more likely to learn from it.  If a class has a favorite book, they may decide to make props so they can retell the story on their own or in groups.  We also change the materials in our room often so that there are new things to explore, build, play, learn and experiment with.

Our Facility  We have a wonderful facility!  All classrooms and the preschool office exist off the same hallway.  Most classrooms also have a sink and shared (Jack and Jill) bathroom.  We also have use and access to the Fellowship Hall where full-day students have their lunch and all classes can use for special events or activities when they need more space than the classroom allows.  The Family Life Center is an adjacent building the size of a gym where children can run,  jump and play indoors when the weather is not adequate to play outside.  The sanctuary we often use for programs, Bible story time and parent meetings.  The outdoor play area is fenced in and contains an open grassy area and an awesome playground with climbing and sliding equipment and swings.

Our Staff  One way to compare preschools is to find out what the teacher turnover rate is.  If the average teacher stays 2-3 years, then that’s a clear indication that teachers aren’t happy there.  Here at Christ U.M. Preschool we value our staff and understand that, like any business, happy and valued employees can generate a higher quality product and output.   All total there are over 45 years of experience our teachers have in Early Childhood Education at a licensed center.  Their dedication to their job flows into the classroom and is seen by their smiles, love and compassion toward their students, their constant motivation to learn, share and apply new approaches and techniques, their ability to maintain an inviting and safe environment conducive to learning, and their unending desire to effectively educate each and every child that comes through their door.  Each teacher is fully certified to teach; they hold a college degree, CDA or have taken all ODJFS required classes.  They also take a MINIMUM of 6 hours professional training each year. 

Tuition  Tuition and registration fees are listed on the current Registration Form.

Questions?  If you have any questions please email us at preschool@christum-baltimore.com .  In the meantime, join us over on our Facebook site to see some of the fun activities we’ve been doing.