How & What We Teach
Our Commitment to
Early Learning
Get to Know Us
Oak Park Early Learning Academy is committed to combining an exceptional early childhood education program with quality child care services and trained early childhood educators. Our registered child care ministry offers a formal research-based curriculum for every age group, from infants through 5 year olds. Highly trained early childhood educators will prepare weekly lesson plans based on the Foundations to the Indiana Academic Standards for Young Children from Birth to Age 5.
Our role as quality early childhood educators is to promote the cognitive, physical, social and emotional development of each child. Our developmentally appropriate practices and curriculum always begin with every child's current skill level, then introduce new, exciting challenges in a fun, relaxed "Yes" environment. A "Yes" environment in one in which children are free to explore, to touch, to manipulate and to move high-quality educational toys, books and equipment.
Oak Park Early Learning Academy's mission is to instill within every child a love to learn . . . for a lifetime!
Early Childcare Matters
Early childhood education prepares children to start kindergarten, and all children need to enter school ready to succeed. Unprepared children begin school behind their peers, and frequently lag further behind academically.
The Perry Preschool Study found that early childhood education improves school performance, raises language and math abilities, enhances critical thinking and attention skills, reduces special education placement and lowers school drop-out rates. Plus, it improves and strengthens peer interactions, decreases problem behaviors, encourages exploratory behavior and prepares children for formal school schedules.
The long-term positive results and cost savings of early childhood education include:
-
Increases lifelong earning potential;
-
Achieves stronger academic outcomes;
-
Lowers rates of teen pregnancy and incarceration;
-
Improves recruitment and retention of parents who work.
Learn Exploratorily
Developing World Changers
Play Adventurously
Fun That Builds Character
Create Imaginatively
Discover Natural Talent
Our Curriculum
Oak Park Early Learning Academy offers a formal curriculum for our infant through preschool classrooms. A high-quality curriculum gives greater focus to daily activities, helping teachers decide how activities best fit together to benefit children's social-emotional, physical, language and cognitive development. It integrates our teachers' planned activities, unexpected teachable moments and children's interests with the research-based developmental standards outlined by the Indiana Department of Education's Foundations. Indiana's Foundations is a framework of core skills that children birth to age five should achieve in order to be ready for future success.
Plus, Oak Park Kids enjoy a fun, exciting learning atmosphere where each day is unique. Our teachers foster exploration and self-expression; lesson plans promote individuality, creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking. Oak Park Kids are encouraged to adopt a "Let's try something new!" view.
We Are
Faith-Based
Oak Park Church, Inc.'s mission statement to strengthen the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of the Richmond community will be extended by providing exceptional childcare for Richmond's families. Through our registered childcare ministry, we will positively impact the social, emotional and moral development of children.
Oak Park Early Learning Academy will guide children to make strong moral decisions based on Biblical teachings. Our program will not seek to teach a religious doctrine, merely teach, demonstrate and practice Christian beliefs. These spiritual teachings will create a warm, nurturing environment that supports our early childhood education program.
What will this look like in our program? Our day and meals will begin with prayers of blessing and thanksgiving. Each day will include a spiritual lesson, such as the importance of sharing, being thankful, love, friendship, honor and obedience. We will incorporate Bible verses that promote these concepts through singing, recitation, stories and role playing. These important life skills will become woven into our discipline policy, as examples of how we should treat our friends, how we should express our feelings and showing empathy towards one another.
Our administration and teachers were carefully chosen based on their experience with early childhood education and their personal commitment to demonstrate and to teach these vital beliefs to Oak Park Kids.
Oak Park Early Learning Academy firmly believes that these lessons will help guide children as they mature and begin to make personal decisions.