Gentle Shepherd's Preschool And Childcare: A Ministry Of Ford Street United Methodist Church

Gentle Shepherd's Preschool and Childcare began in 1971 with the Preschool Program. In 1996 we began to offer full day childcare. In 2002, we added infant care.
We are a registered childcare ministry with the state of Indiana, Family and Social Services Administration, a Voluntary Certified Provider, a Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) Provider, and currently a Level 1 Paths to Quality Provider. We are not a licensed childcare center; however we voluntarily meet higher standards of care than required for a registered ministry. We choose to remain a not-for-profit preschool and childcare ministry.

Our philosophy is that physical, emotional, and social development begins at birth. Our ministry is committed to providing a welcoming, nurturing, and safe environment for children ages six weeks through twelve years to grow and learn to their fullest potential. Our goal is to provide multiple developmentally and age appropriate learning experiences that reflect the individual interests and abilities of each child. We will continue to promote early childhood education opportunities for staff and families to build positive partnerships.

In the preschool program, we focus on preparing children for entry into Kindergarten. We focus on acclimating them to a classroom schedule and setting, where they learn to follow directions and pre-reading skills. We also include free choice of activities in the ten learning centers as outlined in the Indiana Paths to Quality Childcare Rating System: reading, writing, art, math, science, music, manipulatives, blocks, dramatic play, and sensory.

Our mission here at Gentle Shepherd' is to provide quality, loving, Christian care while celebrating each child as an individual creation of God. In so doing, our hope is to minister to the childcare needs of families in our community.