STMA HS Child Development Class Looking for Preschool Participants

Teacher Kia Prell: "The Child Development class at St. Michael Albertville High School is conducting a mini-preschool on May 7th, 8th and 9th."

Step By Step Montessori School of Corcoran Gives Back

Three preschool classrooms at Step By Step Montessori School of Corcoran worked hard and made 382 sandwiches recently.

Each year various organizations put together programs for Thanksgiving and Christmas to help feed, clothe and take care of those less fortunate. An honest question, pondered by those who participate is; what happens the other 363 days of the year. Current estimates show that there are 6500 homeless people in the Twin Cities with 2200 of them being children. 363 Days was established with those people and the other days in mind. Their starting goal was to help feed 150 homeless people in Minneapolis as many times a year as possible, with the ultimate goal of doing it every day of the year. Today, 363 Days, inspired and founded by Allen Law, feeds 2000 people a day. On Thursday, April 18, Step By Step Montessori School of Corcoran preschool …

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St. Michael-Albertville Preschool Fair Set for Wednesday

The fair takes place at 6 p.m. at Albertville City Hall.

St. Michael-Albertville School Board Unanimously Agrees to Continue Just4Kids Program

Nancy Pelletier, owner of ABC Childcare, asked the board to consider closing the program as it competes with her business.

  The St. Michael-Albertville School Board on Monday night showed unanimous support for the district's Just4Kids program, when local childcare business owners asked them to shut it down because it competes with their business. Asking the board to consider the change was Nancy Pelletier, owner of ABC Chilcare, her husband Randy Pelletier, and president of Wright County Family Childcare Association Hollee Saville, who also owns Happee Hollee's Childcare. All told the school board that it's not the place of government to compete with the private sector, and that ABC Childcare has seen a decrease in enrollment since the district started its Just4Kids program five years ago. The Just4Kids program is a preschool and pre-kindergarten program for …

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Back to Preschool Tips from Kindercare

Getting your preschooler ready for the first day soon? Kindercare Learning Centers has some tips for a smooth transition.

Editor's note: The following back to preschool tips were provided by Center Director Cori Warnke at Kindercare Learning Centers. Back to Preschool Tips: As a Center Director at KinderCare Learning Centers, I know how exciting the beginning of a new school year can be, but I also see how tough the separation process can be when mom or dad says goodbye to their little one. The anxieties a child may feel at drop-off time are completely normal….and so are the parents! It’s encouraging for parents to know that there are many positive ways to say goodbye at school that will help build a child’s confidence. Be an Early Bird. One way to ease the transition is to arrive at school 15 minutes early to give preschoolers enough time to adjust to the …

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Parent Talk: It's Preschool Registration Time in St. Michael-Albertville

It's preschool registration time around the community, and there is a wide array of options for St. Michael-Albertville families.

September may seem a long way down the road, but for preschool parents the time is now to make the decision: if and where their little one is going to preschool next year. Opinions differ across the board on the preschool question. Some feel their kids would be at a disadvantage for not attending preschool, and that it fully prepares them for kindergarten. Others say that it would have been an unnecessary expense and possibly traumatic seperation. Not only is preschool expensive, but even the registration fees can add up when you're dealing with a lottery system at registration time. Most of the local preschools do registration either via first come–first serve, or a lottery drawing. That means you're not guaranteed your spot OR the times …

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St. Michael Catholic School Set for another Service Expansion

After adding seventh grade this year (with eighth grade to follow), the school will add preschool to its list of services in 2012.

St. Michael Catholic School will make it official this week, announcing it will expand to offer a preschool and pre-K curriculum to children ages 3 to 5 in the fall of 2012. The school will have representatives at today’s Preschool Fair, hosted by the St. Michael-Albertville MOMS Club at Albertville City Hall. It’s a plan that has been in the works, with committees and parish leaders meeting over the past few years. However, the push for a middle level at the Catholic school recently–adding seventh and eighth grade, moved to the forefront for a launch this school year. “It’s been a very full process,” said Kari Dwinnell, a St. Michael Catholic School mother who was a member of the committee on preschool development. Dwinnell is also a St. …

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St. Michael-Albertville Preschool Fair Set for Wednesday

More than a half-dozen area preschools will be on hand for an informational evening at Albertville City Hall, courtesy of the area MOMS Club.

It may seem too early to think about next school year when the current one isn’t yet half over, but planning and registration season has commenced, and many parents need to be in decision-making mode if they are choosing a new school for their child. If you are a parent of a soon-to-be preschooler, you’re in luck: on Wednesday night at least seven area preschools will be on-hand from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Albertville City Hall for parents to meet, ask questions and get information in time to send those registration forms in on time. The event will be held in the large common room on the second floor of city hall.  “The first couple weeks in January is really when you have to sign up,” said organizer Heather Hansen, “so this is a great time for…

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Caps, Gowns, Smiles and Sundaes at Preschool Graduation

The school district's Bright Beginnings program celebrated the end of another year.

Another sure sign that summer is coming are those final, end-of-the-year happenings throughout the school district. Bright Beginnings, St. Michael-Albertville Community Education's preschool program, had 168 students graduate in nine different preschool classrooms this year. Each classroom put together a music program followed by graduation, where each child received their preschool diploma. Classes then celebrated with ice cream. Preschool graduates will start kindergarten at both Albertville Primary and St. Michael Catholic School next fall. “I always love this time of year, and watching the kids sing their favorite songs and receive their diplomas,” Bright Beginnings and ECFE Coordinator Deb Spencer said.

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