Our Philosophy and Standards

It is the philosophy of St. John's Daycare Center that childhood be a time of fun, warmth, security, exploring, and discovery. Since this is your child's home away from home for a portion of his/her day, we want him/her to feel like a part of our family here at St. John's. Preschool children are creative and receptive; the staff strives to nurture and encourage the qualities in the children who attend. Planned within the framework of philosophy and purpose, St. John's preschool curriculum includes sharing and conversation time; stories, songs, and fingerplays; creative art activities and crafts; games and large muscle activities; field trips, food preparation, science and nature activities, exposure to shapes, colors, numbers, letters and celebration of birthdays and holidays. The Daycare's purpose for all of our children is to provide an atmosphere that encourages social, emotional, physical, and intellectual growth and development of the child as a whole.

The needs of school-age children are somewhat different from those of preschoolers. Our program is designed to accommodate the physical and emotional needs of every child. Our school-age philosophy is based on a good mix of two differing views:

1. We believe in free choice and the necessity of providing time for children to structure their own activities. 

2. We see the need for organized activities so that children's lives can be enriched. It is our hope that through our before and after school programs and summer program, our older children's needs will be met.

St. John's Daycare Center, established in 1988, is licensed by Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare, and complies with all the standards put forth by the Department. Its operation is advised by St. John's Preschool/Daycare Directing Committee, a unit of the Learning Team. All final policy decisions are approved or established by the Congregation Council of St. John's Lutheran Church.