We are Marin Formative Christian Preschool. Allow us to introduce ourselves...

We are Marin Formative Christian Preschool. We love our community and work hard to serve families by providing a safe, secure, and creatively prepared learning environment for children. Our desire is to prepare children for a lifelong journey of social, emotional, spiritual, physical, and cognitive growth through simple instruction, example and with loving care.

Marin Formative Christian Preschool, licensed on November 5, 1969, was started as an outreach to the Lucas Valley community by the members of the Lucas Valley Community Church (now Hillside Church). More than 50 years later, it continues to serve the children and families of the local neighborhoods as well as commuters. Marin Formative Christian Preschool now offers an enriching, developmentally appropriate, play-based morning preschool program, as well as full-day child care in a fun, safe, rich environment for children ages 2 - 5. Our school provides children with avenues for discovery and learning through a play-based environment.

MFCP also caters to the spiritual development of young children. Throughout the week, children learn about a loving God and His Son, Jesus, who welcomes, loves, and cherishes all people. Children participate in interactive Bible stories and they learn fun songs to help them remember the stories, give thanks during meals, participate in short daily devotions, and learn that God listens to them and loves them.. Children are taught to respect their likenesses and differences and the spiritual beliefs and cultural practices of others.

In all of this, we seek to provide helpful guidance and tools that will give children a solid foundation to enjoy Kindergarten, have future school success, and make good life choices.

Our Educational Philosophy

Marin Formative Christian Preschool offers a high quality play-based preschool program that educates young children by incorporating the best ideas from a variety of early childhood educational practices and philosophies. It is from this knowledge and understanding of what is best for engaging children in learning through play that we create an environment and curriculum that actively involves the whole child.

Our Mission is to provide a nurturing, loving, intentional, play-based environment that fosters the spiritual development, growth, and well-being of young children, preparing them to be lifelong learners.

Our Goals:

• We aim to guide children in holistic development that addresses all areas: cognitive, social, emotional, spiritual, and physical.

• We encourage children to learn to socialize, learn the vocabulary of feelings, handle conflicts with peers, and learn to take turns. We provide a safe space for them to explore different scenarios and outcomes, building resilience and emotional intelligence.

• We seek to help children boost their creativity and imagination.

• We support the children’s learning in a way that makes it enjoyable and leads them toward a lifelong love of learning.

• We assist children in the development of physical coordination, including both gross and fine motor skills.

• We help children develop executive functioning skills such as problem-solving, self-regulation, following instructions, and enhancing memory through games and sequencing.

• We allow children to learn at their own pace according to their interests, accommodating their various learning styles. We “follow the child.”

Marin Formative Christian Preschool blends different educational philosophies and practices throughout our program. We group the children by age to specifically approach their developmental needs. Care is given to each age group to promote awareness and responsibility for self, family, friends, community, the environment, different cultures, and the development of character. In all this we seek to help families meet the challenges of raising their children.

For more information on the benefits of a play based approach see the following articles:

Curriculum

Our curriculum strives to foster the growth of each individual child’s developmental milestones through inter-connected activities.  A theme or project is used as a framework to thoroughly prepare the learning environment and organize a diverse curriculum that facilitates learning in the following areas:

• Large Motor skills – Balancing, throwing and catching balls, riding bikes, climbing, skipping, movement for body awareness

• Small Motor Skills – Use of manipulative items, puzzles, cutting, gluing, drawing, sewing, play dough

• Language Arts – Children’s literature, puppet shows, storytelling, children’s own stories, creative dramatics, vocabulary enhancement, listening and speaking

• Art – Exploring as many creative mediums as possible, paint, collage, clay, textures, 3-dimensional projects and cooperative mural making

• Music – Songs, finger play, instruments, introducing a wide variety of music forms

• Cognitive Development – Concepts of learning:  sequencing, classification, comprehension, use of prediction and thinking skills

• Science – Opportunities with natural and physical sciences, hands on experimentation, care of the environment, gardening

• Life Skills – Sharing, cooperation, manners, following directions, self help and resolving social conflicts

Our curriculum projects may be based on seasonal life, a chosen subject, a holiday or celebration, a story or piece of children’s literature or an emerging interest of the children themselves.  Each teacher plans and implements the curriculum for the particular class and individual children that are in their care. 

Social-Emotional Curriculum:

We use the SECOND STEP Social-Emotional curriculum, adapted to be appropriate for each classroom, and designed to help children learn executive function and self-regulation skills. Using puppets, games, and stories children are taught to recognize and name their own emotions and those of others, how to ask for a turn, request help, and join groups of friends.

Daily Routine

Our days at school allow for generous periods that give children ample time inside and out of doors to choose, plan, and play using their own powers of discovery. Each day the time is balanced between child-initiated activities and those that the teacher has planned. The teacher guides and introduces activities that may be new, opening doors of opportunity that have not been explored before.

Each classroom has daily routines that incorporate both indoor and outdoor activities. These include circle time, meal time, and rest time. Our outdoor play area serves as an extension of our learning environment, featuring nature study, gardening, building, running, jumping, climbing, and various teacher-facilitated activities.

Some children go home after lunch, while others stay for our afternoon extension time. For those who stay, there is a time for nap or quiet time. Some children fall asleep and can sleep until 2:30 or as needed. Others are up after a half hour of rest and have time for afternoon enrichment activities prepared by the teachers. Each afternoon there is a curriculum area emphasized; cooking, literacy, art, science, or music and movement.

A time of clean up, washing hands, and having a small snack comes near the close of our school day. Lastly, an ending story time is held, families arrive and all children depart for the day.

It is a full, busy day here at Marin Formative Christian Preschool yet we are not rushed. We follow the pace of the children and allow them long periods of play, meaningful gatherings, and simple transitions. We find the children thrive with a consistent, predictable routine to their day.

Marin Formative Christian Preschool is located at Hillside Church of Marin in Lucas Valley. 2000 Las Gallinas Avenue in San Rafael, at the intersection of Las Gallinas and Lucas Valley Road. Parking is accessed off of Ellen Drive.