Category Archives: Early Childhood

Early Childhood Ministry: Addressing Staffing Challenges

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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 →

Teaching Bible Lessons to Our Preschoolers

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Written by Bonnie Homan

This article was written in May 1995. Does it still apply today?

Last summer, Professor Beverlee Haar came to Jordan Lutheran School for a course in early childhood education. This was an intensive workshop in two-and-a-half days. I felt like my head was spinning from all the invaluable information we received. The greatest and newest piece of information for me was about telling Bible stories. It was completely different than the way I had been teaching Bible stories for the last 20 years. Continue reading →

Newsletters That Really Deliver, Part 2

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Written by Laurie Gauger-Hested

In “Newsletters That Really Deliver, Part 1,” we discussed the importance of producing high-quality newsletters. As your public face, your newsletter should send two fundamental messages to parents: that you’re professionals who are giving their children an excellent education, and that you’re strong Christians who love Jesus and their children.

Part 1 listed three important directives for achieving this goal: (1) write with a smile on your face; (2) write humbly, which translates to “be brief”; and (3) write for the eye as well as the ear, which means using an easy-to-read format.

Part 2 has three equally important directives. Please read on. Continue reading →

Newsletters That Really Deliver, Part 1

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Written by Laurie Gauger-Hested

Your newsletter is your public face. In fact, for prospective families and for families who don’t have much contact with teachers—because of work schedules or a strained relationship or simple shyness—it may be your only face.

That’s why the quality matters. In both content and format, your newsletter should send two fundamental messages to parents: that you’re professionals who are giving their children an excellent education, and that you’re strong Christians who love Jesus and their children.

How do you send those two messages? Here are a few tips. Continue reading →

Balancing Act in Kindergarten

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Written by Brandi Bivens

Kindergarten has been in existence for almost 200 years, but what children learn and how they have been taught has changed quite drastically. Kindergarten teachers have been put in the difficult position of balancing play and academics as a push for more academics has made its way into kindergarten. First we will look at several reasons why kindergarten has changed. Continue reading →

Unlocking the Potential of STEM in the Kindergarten Classroom

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Written by Amanda M. Lewig

As I walk around the classroom, four separate groups of six 6-year-olds are working at various, rather complex tasks. I overhear a group that has been assigned an engineering task communicating and problem solving as they realize their original design is not holding up. They work together, solve the problem, and at the end of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) class, come to me with a two-and-a-half foot tall self-supporting, paper snowman. This is a typical Friday STEM class in my kindergarten. Continue reading →

The Importance of Early Childhood Learning Centers

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Written by David Gartner

“All 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds need to stay at home with their moms!” This is a statement that was made by a stay-at-home mom in the first meeting we had at St. John-Redwood Falls MN when in 2009 we began the preliminary discussions of starting an all-day/every-day preschool program.

“I can’t believe how our school has grown through the preschool. I still believe it’s good for children to stay at home with their moms, but that doesn’t work for every family.” This statement was made by the same stay-at-home mom as above. Why the change? Continue reading →

The Impact of Early Childhood on LES Enrollment

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Written by Philip M. Gustafson

Enrollment in Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) schools is declining. Since enrollment peaked in 1990 with almost 32,000 students, enrollment has declined to 24,170 students in 2013-2014 (WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools, 2014). Since our WELS school system is so vital to us as a synod, that is cause for alarm, right? After all, with lower enrollment comes fewer students hearing God’s Word and fewer future synod leaders. Continue reading →

A School Ministry Model

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A small, rural Minnesota town where half the students are on free or reduced-price lunch hardly seems a likely place to support a vibrant, growing Lutheran school. Yet St. John enrollment has grown by 54% in the last five years under a ministry-focused, low-tuition approach. Principal David Gartner shares the story of God’s blessings and provides a model for other Lutheran schools.

By David Gartner

It’s Call Day in 1992. I wait with eager anticipation. Where will I be assigned? Then comes the announcement. “Dave Gartner, St. John Lutheran School, Redwood Falls MN, grades 2-3, athletic director, Minnesota District.” Redwood Falls has a population of 5,200 and relies a great deal on its farming community, but I grew up in Milwaukee. Enough said. Continue reading →