Rainbow School

Introduction
Rainbow School Early Childhood Education Center is sponsored by the South-Broadland Presbyterian Church offering a quality early care and education program for children ages two months to five years. Rainbow School was founded in 1982 as a community service to families. We offer the convenience of longer hours, flexible enrollment options, and summer care. Our program also expands in the summer to provide full-time care for schoolagers in our "Over the Rainbow Adventure Program."

Program Operation
The infant and toddler classes are offered Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,and Friday. The preschool-age classes are open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Enrollment is flexible. Our teachers are trained in developmentally appropriate practices and national accreditation guidelines for quality early education. Our staff to child ratio ranges from 1:3 in the nursery to 1:10 in our older preschool rooms.

Philosophy
We believe each of God's children is special and unique and should be taught according to his own developmental level. In a Christian environment each child is guided toward becoming the most complete person he can be by offering him opportunities to make decisions, to try new things, to make mistakes, and to discover on his own under our guidance. We believe in the power of praise as the main tool to raise a child's self-esteem. We teach God's love by demonstrating an unselfish, caring attitude toward each other, by respecting and accepting differences, and by understanding that all of us are created equal in God's image.

Infants and Toddlers
Our objective is to provide babies and toddlers with activities that foster a positive identity, encourage social skills and exploration, enhance language and physical development, and promote creative expression. In addition, we want to work closely in partnership with parents to ensure their child's needs are met and the parents feel welcome and supported.

The nursery is an inviting room with cribs, crawling areas, library corner, swings, and carpeting. There is an array of appropriate and safe toys which are easily washable. The toddler room is a well-equipped classroom with low tables for activities and eating lunch. The center areas include art, dramatic play, blocks, and sensory exploration. A large multipurpose room offers toddlers a place to ride riding toys, play ball, and exercise. The children also explore the outdoor fenced playground adjacent to the building.

Preschool Ages
The preschool rooms provide the child with a happy first experience in a classroom environment. Class activities reinforce reasoning skills, fine and gross motor skills, accepting responsibility, socialization, language development, growth towards independence, creative expression, health and safety, emotional well-being and awareness of God's love.

The children are assigned by age to the fully- equipped rooms for preschool classes. Separate areas provide for specialized learning such as sensory play, dramatic play, blocks, manipulatives, reading, art, and science. The fenced-in playground offers a safe area for free play, a slide, and climbing equipment. In case of inclement weather, the multipurpose room is used for active play.

Extra features include:

• Specialized daily instruction in "Creative Movement" or "Music"
• Visits from firefighters & ambulance paramedics
• Parent Resource Room
• Parent conferences
• Puppet performances
• Storytellers
• Screenings for Speech and Hearing problems are available

Mission Statement
In accordance with its mission to strengthen families, South-Broadland Presbyterian Church offers guidance to Rainbow School. Rainbow School Early Childhood Education Center's mission is to follow Jesus' example by serving children and their families and showing them God's love.

In striving to care for and educate CHILDREN, Rainbow School seeks to provide developmentally appropriate experiences that will increase each child's knowledge and understanding:

• intellectually
• physically
• socially
• emotionally
• spiritually

In striving to care for and educate FAMILIES, Rainbow School seeks to:

• nurture a sense of community among families
• honor and respect differences in and among families while seeking to identify those things that unite us all
• provide opportunities for adults to gain knowledge of children's issues and improve parenting skills

For further information, call Deena Smith, Director, at 816-523-4336.

Member of the Christian Preschool Association, the Greater Kansas City Association for the Education of Young Children, and the Child Care Association of Johnson county