About the Preschool

At the PEBBLE at MIPC, our mission is to offer families a Christian environment where children will build a strong foundation of early learning experiences. Our preschool offers three-hour classes, Monday through Friday, mornings and afternoons, for children two and a half and older. A multi-age enrichment class for fours, fives, and half-day kindergartners is also offered. Please contact Molly van der Burch (MollyVDB@MIPC.org), preschool director, for more information.

Curriculum

Our curriculum recognizes that children learn best by doing. To encourage active learning, we use the latest educational and brain research on how children learn and the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) standards of content area. A wide variety of learning experiences help children achieve balanced growth in five specific areas: spiritual, social-emotional, cognitive, physical, and creative.

In our curriculum, children develop creativity in art, music, and movement as well as readiness skills in literacy, math, motor skills, and science. Making choices, solving problems, and building social relationships are also important elements.

Underlying our entire curriculum is the Christian component. Through Bible stories, prayers, songs, monthly worship times, and age appropriate spiritual values, each child has a chance to deepen his/her understanding of God's love and awe for the wonders of God’s world

Preschool Director Search Update

Our Preschool Director, Molly van der Burch, will be retiring at the end of this school year.  The Board has given a lot of thought to the most thorough and efficient way to conduct our Director search.  After solicitating feedback from Sheri Edwards Dalton, MIPC Director of Operations Joan Ernest, Molly and the Board, we felt the best way to begin was to designate a search committee who would be responsible for facilitating the search process.  This committee will provide regular updates to both the Board, Pebble Parents, the Church and to you, the teachers.  The entire Board will vote on our final Director candidate.  The Search Committee, which was approved by the Board at our regular monthly meeting this past Wednesday, is as follows:

• Mary Anderson, current Board Member and MIPC member
• Susie Stenberg, Board Treasurer and MIPC Deacon
• Stephanie Hinson, current Board Member, incoming Board President and Pebble parent
• Tanya Stribling, former Pebble Teacher, taught for 8 years at the Pebble
• Susan Tiscornia, Current Board President

We are excited that each of these people has agreed to serve on the search committee.  In addition, Molly and Joan Ernest will act as consultants to the search committee.  Our next steps are to post the position, collect resumes from interested candidates, narrow that list, and interview the most qualified candidates.