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Early Childhood Development ProgramOur program
Welcome!
The Marquette Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) was established in 1978 as a part-time program to serve the families of Christ the King. Today, ECDC holds five classrooms for children ranging in age from three to five years old. It employs 15 staff members and has an enrollment of nearly 90 students.In order to learn, your child must feel safe, physically and emotionally. We teach safety rules and healthy habits and put them into practice every day. We emphasize sharing, caring, listening, following directions, taking turns, expressing emotions, and communicating needs while treating each child with love and respect.
The preschool curriculum is developed on the principle that young children learn most easily when the curriculum is developmentally appropriate, the children are actively involved in hands-on experiences, and while they are engaged in play activities. “Developmentally appropriate” means that the learning activities planned for the children are matched to the stages of development for their age group. The children are allowed to develop at their own rate without pressure.
Your child will be provided with activities in the areas of social skills, creative skills, language arts, mathematics, motor skills, science, social studies, thinking skills, and problem-solving. The early childhood curriculum incorporates many different learning experiences, materials, equipment, and teaching strategies to accommodate all the children in the classroom. In order for the program to be effective, a balance between the needs and interests of the children and the skills to be learned must be achieved. Teachers strive to teach to the whole child using research-based strategies and staying focused on the school’s mission of teaching Catholic values in an atmosphere that promotes the growth of each child’s mind, body, and spirit.
Our teachers bring Christ into their classrooms daily with prayers and Bible stories. We see it in the children’s actions and words at school, as well as when they share their knowledge of faith with their families.Christ is truly present and working at our preschool! Come visit us and see for yourself.
Ronda Dee
ECDC Director
rdee@marquetteschool.org
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School Hours
- Preschool: 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
- After School Care: 2:45 to 5:30 p.m.
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Tours
To schedule a tour or for more information, contact the Marquette ECDC office at 918-583-3334 x300. Private tours are done in the mornings between 9 a.m. and noon, and last approximately 30 minutes.
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Enrollment
The application period begins in September the year prior to enrollment. Entrance screenings are scheduled for prospective students once an application is on file.
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Specialty Programs
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The Catholic religion is a part of the school’s philosophy and is integrated throughout the curriculum. Preschool children learn the Sign of the Cross, the Lord’s Prayer, Grace before meals, Hail Mary, Our Father, and other prayers appropriate for their age. There is a regularly scheduled time each day when a
religion lesson is taught. These lessons are generally a value lesson such as sharing, caring for others, forgiveness, and loving one another and are based on a lesson taken directly from the Bible.
The preschoolers also learn Mass songs in music class and begin learning about the Mass parts. ECDC also participates in several community service projects in association with organizations including Catholic Charities and Meals on Wheels.
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Students will discover different varieties, forms, and interpretations of music. They will begin to grasp that music is a language all of its own. God created a world full of music and the students will be opened to the awareness of music in everything. Some of the skills taught are musical terms such as piano and
forte, using wind, percussion, string and brass instruments, and repeating simple patterns. Children will also rehearse and participate in the annual Christmas program and May crowning.
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Children develop gross motor skills rapidly in the early years. ECDC children have daily opportunities to build strength, body awareness, and coordination while playing in our gym or on the playground. In addition, children participate once a week in a gymnastics class intended to improve large motor skills,
flexibility, balance, and coordination.
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Each week children attend an art class.The class is led in process art experiences and techniques intended to increase their knowledge and appreciation of art. They use a wide variety of media to explore color, texture, design, and expression. We highlight the students' work in the spring Spanish and Art Show.
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Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is a program designed to help children know and love Jesus. The children gather each week in the atrium, which is a sacred space made especially for them. The classes are structured to offer a time of prayer and song, a time for the “presentation,” and a time for individual work by the child. Presentations are brief lessons given by the catechist and enable the child to draw nearer to God. Following the presentation, the children do works, using hands on materials. The work of the children is their prayer and is the most important part of their time in the atrium.
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