Our School

Little Lambs Preschool has been a part of our community for over 40 years! Over the years, we’ve honed our curriculum to achieve our current balance of play-centered academics.

Our History

Little Lambs Parent Cooperative Preschool, Inc. began in 1977 as Caledonia Parent Cooperative Preschool, Inc. During the summer of 1992, the executive board recognized the need to make a positive change. We agreed to take on a Christian emphasis and to reflect that change in our name.

Character Counts

As a Christian co-op preschool, we strive to honor God in all we do and desire to teach our children to do the same. We utilize the Character Counts program, where the students learn about manners and how to treat others and our world with respect. We teach our curriculum from a Christian worldview that shows students how much God loves and cares for them. They also learn how He created the world and everything in it for us to enjoy and to steward well.

Our Curriculum

Learning and fun go hand in hand at Little Lambs. Here’s a sample of what our little scholars might learn in a day:

  • Introduction to Caledonia School’s academic program “Zoophonics”
  • Concepts such as colors, shapes, numbers, letters, etc. through games, songs, stories, crafts, and more
  • Learning independence, self-confidence, self-control, and responsibility
  • Learning important tasks such as recognizing their own name, following directions, learning to sit for a length of time, raising their hand to ask a question or to have a turn, etc.
  • Making social contacts—learning to make friends
  • Exploring and learning through play with opportunities to discover
  • Exploring and using materials to strengthen fine motor skills such as scissors, holding a pencil, etc.
  • Encouraging Christian interaction through songs, stories, and prayer

Zoo Phonics

  • Uses 26 animals to teach letter shapes and sounds
  • Teaches the lowercase letters before introducing capitals
  • Teaches letter sounds before letter names
  • Teaches a body movement or “signal” in association with each animal/letter of the alphabet—these signals aid memory and bring fun into the classroom
  • Treats the alphabet as a whole and goes from A to Z
  • Teaches short vowels before long vowels
  • Uses “word family” patterns to teach reading and spelling—because children are naturals at finding and remembering patterns

Handwriting Without Tears

The goal of Handwriting Without Tears® is to make legible and fluent handwriting an easy and automatic skill for all students. The unique and compelling curriculum design and teaching strategies facilitate this goal.

Our Rainbow Lambs (Tuesday/Thursday)

We’ve designed our Tuesday/Thursday class for three- and four-year-olds who are ready to start their educational journey. Throughout the year, students get used to the classroom setting; they learn to listen, take turns, and share. They begin the ZooPhonics program and work to develop their fine motor skills. We introduce shapes, colors, and numbers as well as sorting and patterns. These young ones also begin name recognition and the beginnings of reading and writing.

Our Sunshine Lambs (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

Four- and five-year-olds attend our class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This young-fives-geared program prepares students for kindergarten. Our Little Lambs continue with the ZooPhonics program they started the previous year and begin the Handwriting Without Tears program. Students begin writing letters and progress to putting them together to form words. They also begin early math skills, setting the foundation for future learning.