What We Offer

Our goal at Shepherd of the Desert is to nurture children in a loving environment and to provide each child with a positive introduction to formal education in a Christian setting.  We believe a positive first school experience is crucial for laying the foundation for all future educational success.  Therefore, we provide an encouraging atmosphere which supports individual growth and development.

We believe that each child is a unique gift of God.  Our approach to learning involves the whole child and recognizes that each one develops at his or her own pace.  We take pride in providing an environment that is safe, loving and rich in opportunities for learning and growth through age-appropriate, hands-on activities.

Our student/teacher ratios are kept well below state licensing regulations in order to provide the best opportunity for academic and social success.  Our teachers and other staff members model God’s love as they teach, support and encourage the little ones who enter our classrooms each day.

 ACADEMICS

We believe that play and learning go hand-in-hand and that they are not separate activities.  Therefore, our classrooms are center-based with a curriculum that supports a balance of student-directed and teacher-directed activities.  Our goal is to help students become life long learners who are competent socially, academically and emotionally.

In all of our classrooms we use research-based curriculum and have monthly curriculum themes as well.  Daily lessons and concepts are augmented with children’s literature, non-fiction books and online learning sites.

In addition, every day in our classrooms we have the privilege to read the Bible and share stories with the children during “Jesus Time.”  Each week a new story from the Bible is presented to the children along with crafts, songs and finger plays which make the story come alive.  We are so blessed to be able to share Jesus with the little ones in our classrooms.