CHILD CARE MINISTRY

St. Matthew's Child Care Ministry first opened its doors in September 2005. We offer preschool/prekindergarten instruction in a multi-aged setting for children three to five years of age. To attend, your child must be three years of age by August 1 and potty-trained. We offer a two, three, or five day option in order to best meet your child's needs.

The Child Care Ministry follows the St. Matthew School calendar.  Our hours are 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Class begins at 8:00 a.m. and ends at 11:00 a.m. The children eat a hot lunch in St. Matthew's cafeteria. We offer extended care in the afternoon and provide a full day of learning opportunities until 5:30 p.m.

The Child Care Ministry participates in a voluntary accreditation program called Paths to Quality which ensures that your child receives the highest quality care.  Of the four levels of accreditation, we are one of the few centers in Posey County to have achieved Level 3.

Each Child Care Ministry staff member has a degree or certification in early childhood or elementary education.  Staff members also receive an additional 20 hours of professional training each year.

CURRICULUM

The Child Care Ministry uses a curriculum called "Big Day for Pre-K." This program is organized around "Big Experiences" which encourage children while also integrating social-emotional, academic, and physical development. The curriculum embraces the natural curiosity of children and encourages them to play, explore, and learn all about the world around them. It also contains a great selection of literature. We use the "Letter People" to help encourage children's interest in the letters of the alphabet. Our religion program is called "Seeds" and correlates with the Sunday Gospel reading each week. The children have Spanish class each week, and they visit the library twice each month.

CHILD CARE MINISTRY STAFF

Mrs. Heidi Blackburn Martin, Director hblackburn@evdio.org Mrs. Bailey Stewart, Lead Teacher bstewart@evdio.org
Mrs. Diania Bridgeman
Miss Mary Girten
Mrs. Sarah Pullum
Mrs. Scarlette Rodenberg