Research

Our Mission and Vision Statement: 

To empower adults to be intentional and enable children to learn through play.

Our Motto:

Intentional learning through play.

Our Foundational Verse:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.  Deuteronomy 6:4-9

We Believe:

We believe children are blessings from God.  He has created each child unique and special.  Learning should be incorporated into the child's day instead of controlling his/her day.  We believe preschoolers should be able to explore, play, and learn new things through trial and error; not through "drill and kill."  Our simple and basic curricula allow success for the most energetic child but allow for supplemental material to be added for the child who prefers more sit-down activities.  

Learning and Objectives:

Using the five ABCJLM Preschool Curricula the child will be exposed to the following subject matters through sit-down activities, crafts, play, and structured activities:

• Bible
• Music and rhyme through song, finger plays, and nursery rhymes
• Basic math
• Write, name, and understand phonetic sound of letters
• Write, name, and group numbers
• Name colors
• Name and draw shapes
• Demonstrate spatial concepts, sorting, sequencing, and patterns
• Weather and seasons
• Write name, address, and phone number
• Introduction to coins, the clock, and addition
• Classification of animals, plants, modes of transportation, living and non-living, items by weight and size
• Handle emergency situations in an age-appropriate manner and call 911
• Identify community helpers and the roles they play in the child's life
• Introduction to geography and maps
• Basic hygiene
• Help with basic chores around the home
• Understand basic holidays
• Social skills, emotions, and manners
• Understand senses
• Book care and makeup
• Fine Motor Skills
• Gross Motor Skills
• Visual Perception Skills
• Craft and cooking activities
• Sight words
• Literacy development through introduction of over 200 classic, picture books
• Writing basic sentences
• Language development through an extensive vocabulary

Each curriculum and lesson plan includes a set of objectives along with a list of supplemental materials and suggested activities to help teach the week's objectives.  Several ideas are provided in the lesson plans, as well as in the Supportive Ideas section, to accommodate the various learning styles of each child.  Use the Objective Checklists to choose the appropriate curriculum for the child and check for academic progress.  Preschool Notebooks are available to combine all the activities that the child has done throughout the curriculum, share with others, and track progress along the way.

Research Based

"Research shows clearly that children are more likely to succeed in learning when their families actively support them. Families who involve their children in activities that allow the children to talk, explore, experiment and wonder show that learning is both enjoyable and important." 

Helping Your Preschool Child. (2005). U.S. Department of Education. Source

"High-quality programs empower young children by encouraging them to initiate their own learning activities. The idea that young children initiate their own learning activities rather than act as mere passive recipients of information from others is central to developmentally appropriate practice for young children. Such active learning encourages children to solve their everyday intellectual, social, and physical problems and to assume a measure of control over their environment." 

Schweinhart, Lawrence J. (1994, January). Lasting Benefits of Preschool Programs.   

"Fine motor skills activities for children are the best way to ensure proper development and practice of fine motor skills to promote the most functional use of a child's hands. ... Childhood is the critical time to properly develop these muscles... ." 

The Secret To Making Fine Motor Skills Activities For Children Fun. Source

"Play is your child's work. Through play children practice the basic skills needed in the classroom -- and in life. Guided play in the right environment will help your child gain the tools she needs to sharpen her thinking, and heighten her sensitivity."

Auerbach, Stevanne.  Dr. Toy's Smart Play: How to Raise a Child with a High P.Q. (Play Quotient), The Importance of Play and Toys.  Source 

"When play, love, and work are all involved, learning and development are the most effective.  Play is not a luxury but rather a crucial dynamic of healthy physical, intellectual, and social-emotional development at all age levels."

Elkind, David.  (2007).  The Power of Play:  How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children.  Da Capo Press.

"Reading books aloud to children stimulates their imagination and expands their understanding of the world. It helps them develop language and listening skills and prepares them to understand the written word."

Cullinan, B. & Bagert, B.  

"Getting preschoolers to take over the brushing, scrubbing and rinsing themselves is an important step in the development of a preschooler's independence. Not only does it give parents a welcome break and help ditch the dirt in the short term, but teaching basic hygiene concepts to children at a young age will form the groundwork of a healthy lifestyle in the future." 

Wingerden, P.  (2013, December 6).  Wash, Brush, Comb! Hygiene Habits for Kids. Source 

"Without doubt, reading with children spells success for early literacy."

Simple Strategies for Creating Strong Readers -- Helping Your Child Become a Reader.  US Dept of Education. Source 

"Movement is at the very center of young children’s lives. It is an important facet of all aspects of their development, whether in the motor, cognitive, or affective domains of human behavior. To deny children the opportunity to reap the many benefits of regular, vigorous physical activity is to deny them the opportunity to experience the joy of efficient movement, the health effects of movement, and a lifetime as confident, competent movers."

Gallahue, D. (1993).  Developmental physical education for today’s children. 
Dubuque, IA: Brown & Benchmark.

"Early childhood education is rooted in the belief that learning through doing is fundamental for young children."

Henninger, M.L. (2009) Teaching Young Children: An Introduction. Pearson.

"Music encourages the ability to listen and  concentrate. Songs encourage speech and auditory discrimination."

Silberg, J.  (2011, July 26). Enriching a Young Child's Life.  Source

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

Deuteronomy 6:5-7

*With exception to the Bible, listing a quote does not equate to an endorsement by JLM Media, LLC for other ideas promoted in the books and articles mentioned above.