Category Archives: Early Childhood

Connecting Children and Families to God’s Word Through ECM

Posted on by
Reply

Written by Annalies Brander

Ideally, all families connected with our early childhood program or Lutheran elementary school (LES) would be actively involved not only in the school, but in the church and community as well. Often, church attendance and retention in the LES beyond early childhood tends to fall short. These are areas that we can seek to change. Maria Ginés (2017) researched outreach to families connected to early childhood ministry and noted that, “in the 2010/2011 school year, 320 children were baptized . . . after involvement with a Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod (WELS) early childhood program” (p. 8). While these numbers may sound exciting, Ginés explained that, “the child baptisms represent about 3% of enrolled young children” (p. 8), meaning there’s still plenty of work to do in connecting children and families with Jesus. Continue reading →

Tips for Finding and Retaining High-Quality Early Childhood Staff

Posted on by
Reply

Written by Tarah Beduze

Staffing an early childhood ministry (ECM) can be a challenge and is one of the most difficult aspects of any director’s job. The staffing goal is to hire the best candidates in the field and retain the talented dedicated staff that already exists. What a lofty goal!

Early childhood ministry is a straining, tiring, exhausting, and sometimes frustrating field that doesn’t pay extremely well. As a result, candidates think carefully about pursuing the field or remaining in it. If you are someone looking into ECM employment or have been in the field for some time, you know that aside from the challenges in the field, there are wonderful blessings too. Continue reading →

Bridging the Gap Between Preschool and Elementary School

Posted on by
Reply

Written by Shawna Tech

Just because parents choose to send their children to a Lutheran preschool doesn’t mean that they will have them continue at the Lutheran grade school. What can Lutheran elementary schools (LES) do to bridge the gap between them and their preschools?

As ministers of the gospel, Lutheran school teachers want to share the good news about the Savior with as many children as possible. Unfortunately, many LES have seen a decline in enrollment over the years. Possible factors include families having fewer children, charter schools offering a “free” education, and homeschooling. Opening a preschool to feed the LES may seem like a viable solution to declining enrollment, but it seldom works as hoped. Continue reading →

Building Bridges Between Preschool and Lutheran Elementary School

Posted on by
2

Written by Brad Gurgel

The connections between a congregation’s preschool and K-8 program can sometimes be weak. There are many reasons this can happen. The two programs vary in families served, regulations, and policies. They often have separate histories and leaders. And the families from the two programs don’t have many opportunities to interact.

Because of this, it’s not unusual for the preschool and elementary school at a congregation to drift apart over time. And when the transition between preschool and kindergarten arrives, families see this as an ideal time to return to the local public school or look around at other local schools instead of seeing the Lutheran kindergarten as a natural progression. Continue reading →

STE(A)M in Early Childhood Education

Posted on by
1

Written by Anne Marquardt

STEM. STEAM. STREAM. Which of these recent educational buzzwords can you decode? At first glance these acronyms—which stand for Science, Technology, Reading (or Religion), Engineering, the Arts, and Math—look like mnemonic devices for remembering the facets of classroom curriculum. Digging deeper, however, we find that STEM education is designed to make natural connections between curricular content and students’ preconceived notions about how the world works. Students who are engaged in real-world problem solving investigate science and engineering concepts, apply mathematical knowledge, and use the arts and technology to meet their goals. They creatively introduce solutions, refine their thinking when ideas fail, and construct new understandings of the world (Ansberry & Morgan, 2017). Continue reading →

Supporting Play in the Preschool Classroom – FAQ’s

Posted on by
Reply

Written by Jennifer Mehlberg

Providing play for preschoolers is essential. In the article “The Importance of Play in the Preschool Classroom,” I mentioned examples of the important learning that occurs as children play in the early childhood classroom.

We may be left with a few lingering questions. How do I best support children’s play? What do I do?

There are a few things to consider as we set up a learning environment to best promote play. Continue reading →

The Importance of Play in the Preschool Classroom

Posted on by
3

Written by Jennifer Mehlberg

A visitor walks into a preschool classroom one morning and sees several children playing in the block area. They’re working together on a large structure resembling a zoo. They’ve used a variety of blocks and other building materials to construct individual pens for different animals and several buildings, some of which have roofs on top. A path of milk bottle caps weaves between the pens. The children’s hands and bodies are busy, and they converse with each other as they organize, direct, modify, and extend their play plan. Continue reading →

Early Childhood Outreach Requires Planning and Teamwork

Posted on by
1

Written by Michelle Dobberstein

Early Childhood Ministries (ECM) provide a natural way for churches to share the gospel with children and families. Families seeking early childhood education come for a quality education and end up receiving so much more. They learn about Jesus and his love. Continue reading →

Early Childhood Ministry: Addressing Staffing Challenges

Posted on by
2

Written by Julianna Kiecker

Early Childhood Ministries (ECMs) are consistently growing in Wisconsin Ev. Lutheran Synod (WELS) churches! Did you know that 10,754 children attended a WELS ECM in 2017? (Commission on Lutheran Schools, 2017). For some congregations, the results are easy to see: adult confirmations and families joining their congregation. Others struggle to see these blessings from their ECM efforts. “We’ve had the preschool open for years without so much as one worship visitor!” Continue reading →