Bethany Busy Bee Early Learning Center

~ Established in 1982 ~ 

Colorado Shines Rated and ACSI Accredited

 “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
Proverbs 22:6

Bethany Busy Bee is a small, charming half day program from 8:45am – 11:45 am and offers Lunch Bunch ~extended activities options~ from 11:45am – 1:45pm.

Now enrolling for 2024-2025 school year! Please go to “Pay or Enroll” tab for rates, enrollment forms, and more information.

Forms: Registration Form, Enrollment forms, and Withdrawal forms are found in the Pay or Enroll  Tab of our Website.

Fees : Registration Fees, Tuition Fees, Lunch Bunch Fees are found in the Fees Tab of our Website.

Summer Programs: Summer Program Fees, Description, and Summer Program Registration Form are found in the Summer Programs Tab of our Website.

Mission and Purpose

Bethany Busy Bee Preschool seeks to partner with parents and the church to offer families a quality, preschool education in a loving, Christian environment.

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Philosophy

We believe that God has uniquely created each person with special abilities and needs. Our aim is to help each child mature spiritually, socially, emotionally, academically, and physically recognizing and developing their distinct, God-given abilities and addressing their individual needs. We believe that the parents are the primary teachers of their children. Our intent therefore is to assist parents by reinforcing the truths of God and His love for all people; and teaching the skills and knowledge which will equip them for success in the years ahead.

 A Balanced Early Childhood Education in a Christian Environment

We start the love of learning in a safe nurturing environment where kids feel comfortable being themselves!

We believe that God has specially created each person with unique abilities and needs. Our aim is to help each child mature spiritually, socially, emotionally, academically, and physically; recognizing and developing their distinct, God-given abilities and addressing their individual needs.

Busy Bee has the best interest of your child in mind as we work to provide a great classroom situation for every child. We work on balancing our classrooms in a variety of ways - including boys and girls, good friendships and an appropriate age range. We also make every effort to accommodate any preferences you have expressed. In our desire to provide a balanced education for the children at Busy Bee by incorporating the following goals in each area of our program.

Emotional Development

It is our deep desire that each child feel loved, respected and honored. Their independence and self confidence will be strengthened as we help each one realize that she/he is valued and competent.

Intellectual Development

Busy Bee provides children with a solid foundation for success in life-long learning. Our goal is to provide a positive, engaging and challenging environment with opportunities for the children to learn as much as they can. They will be regularly engaged in solving problems, sorting, classifying, comparing, counting and making patterns for printing.

Physical Development

We strive to offer appropriate opportunities that will aid the children in developing both gross motor and fine motor skills – from balance, throwing and kicking to cutting and writing.

Social Development

Our overall goal is to help each child develop good interpersonal relationships, learning to work out conflicts and interact with others in a positive way. We emphasize cooperative play situations because we believe that communication and socialization skills are high priorities for the young child. Preschoolers are beginning to learn self-control and how to follow rules and routines.

Spiritual Development

God loves us and cares for us, and so we seek to show and reinforce HIS love towards each student and family we meet. Psalm 119:105, Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path, is an integral part of Busy Bee’s program. Our desire is to partner with the parents in providing spiritual training, teaching the children to love God; and to know and follow the truth found in His Word, the Bible.

Wellness Policy

We request children be kept at home for 24 hours after experiencing  or receiving  treatment for the following symptoms:

• Fever above 100.4 degrees
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• Discharge from the nose that is yellow or green in color
• Questionable rashes
• Pink eye
• Any sign of a contagious illness
• Please note, COVID 19 symptoms will require isolation for 10 days from the start of symptoms; and, COVID 19 exposure requires quarantine for 14 days.

Bethany Busy Bee Preschool Offers:

Daily Schedule and Activities Video

• Personal attention by teachers.  Home visits are scheduled either at Busy Bee or at the child’s home a few weeks prior to the beginning of school, so the child can meet the teacher in a comfortable setting. This visit allows the teacher to learn a bit about the child’s interests and abilities; what might be hard for them; how they are best comforted, etc. The teacher will collect the ASQ and answer many of your questions about the beginning of school.     In the classroom, each child receives personal attention as the other children are at the various centers. Emotional & Social Development 

• Each class has a “Meet and Greet” opportunity the week before school starts. This provides an opportunity for the parents and children to meet each other, visit the playground and classroom before school starts. They are also able to tour the preschool if they haven’t before. Emotional, Social, and Physical Development.

• Soft start on Orientation Day. Parents and students get introduced to the staff and then follow their teacher to the classroom. The teacher provides parents a classroom tour and an opportunity for the parent and child to do a craft. The parents then reunite at the sanctuary for a review of school regulations while the students have a snack and play in the playground or the gym. The day ends early at about 11 am. This soft start helps the child feel comfortable and safe at school. Emotional and Social Development.

• Individual and Small Group Learning Activities. During this part of the day the teachers are able to work individually with the children, teaching cognitive skills including numbers, letters, colors and shapes. This center  often includes some fine motor art activities focused on the theme or unit they are studying.

• Circle Time. Circle time is when new centers, units, letters, colors, numbers, and shapes are introduced and others are reviewed. It’s an opportunity for building new vocabulary and improving language skills. Sometimes “Show and Tell” is a part of Circle Time. Often at Circle Time the student helpers are assigned to assist with the calendar, weather, be a line leader, snack server, table wiper, or handy helper.

(Not all classes do all of these jobs.) Attendance is also noted. a headcount is taken every 45 minutes or whenever classes are moving from area to area. All children are under the direct supervision and within sight of staff while attending preschool. The staff are careful to maintain the appropriate ratios in each classroom.

• Math and Science. These subjects are integrated throughout the unit activities. Children can count out their own crackers at snack or make a class graph showing which vehicle pictured goes on the land, in the air, or in the water. Specific science units, like the butterflies and metamorphosis, and magnets are completed monthly throughout the year.

• Daily Creative Art. Children get to express themselves by painting, using markers, cutting, or pasting, whatever the activity, the end product is the student’s work. These activities strengthen their hands and minds for pre-writing skills.

• Weekly Bible Stories. Children will hear a story from the Bible and receive another page for their Busy Bee Bible Storybook. The children will be encouraged to memorize Bible verses and understand biblical values such as love, gentleness, kindness, joy and peace.

• Daily Music and Movement. Your child will be engaged in music and movement activities for about 20 minutes each day. These activities utilize instruments, bean bags, the parachute, bells and drums. Units are often reinforced during this active time period. Christian songs, finger plays and simple Bible verses, secular music and preschool exercises or music videos may be used.

• Special Days & Celebrations. Special activities at Busy Bee include vision screening; the Fall Festival; Rodeo Days; Pepperoni Pizza Pajama Day; Valentines Card Exchange; Leprechaun and St. Patrick’s Day Gold Coin Hunt; Easter Egg Hunt; Donuts with Dad; Muffins with Mom; Goodies and Grandparents creating opportunities for families to meet.
•                

• Children’s Performances. We have special all school performances by the children at

Thanksgiving, Christmas and at the end of the year. 

• Special Speakers. We have Merry Andrew Afoot performing skits. Firefighters come speak about fire safety and children get to visit with their fire trucks. A Police Officer  talks about safety.  Veterans speaker visits and shares information about their service     to our country.   

• Outdoor Playground and Gym Space for enrichment in motor skills. Gross motor activities are generally held outside for 30 minutes each day. On excessively cold or wet days, the children may go to the gym. Gross motor and social skills will be a focus during this free play period. The physical health and development of all children is important to us. In keeping with current research and nationally developed obesity prevention programs, (Head Start Body Smart-HSBS & I Am Moving I Am Learning-IMIL) Busy Bee provides opportunities for children to engage in Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA) daily via our structured music and movement time, unstructured recess experiences, and specific lunch bunch activities. The science linking gross motor functions in front and in back of the brain, making movement one source of stimulation that impacts all areas of the brain” (169). Building the brain network, via incoming sensory, perceptual and movement information is the strongest during early childhood.

These brain network connections are strengthened by consistent, repeated and     multi-sensory   learning experiences, which in turn lead to increased cognitive understanding and the ability to retrieve information in new situations. Not only does movement increase brain development and the capacity to learn, but it lifts our spirits as well. 

• Show and Tell. Show and tell items are usually things that coincide with the present unit. This is a good time for language development as each child will be able to answer questions and talk about what he or she brought while the rest of the children are encouraged to listen. The teacher will notify the parents about how “show and tell” is structured in their classroom. 

• Picture Memory Book. Each Child receives a memory book which is similar to a preschool yearbook, scrapbook style for you to have something to remember your child’s preschool years.

• Summer Programs (Art Camp and Science Exploration Camp) including Vacation Bible School. These programs both serve as a great introduction to the preschool and as a great transition to their next year class.

• Small Classes and Qualified Staff. Our classrooms vary from 12 to 16 kids with a Teacher and Assistant Teacher(s) in each class. 

• Field Trips. Busy Bee schedules a field trip to Littleton Museum and to the Highline Canal on our Walk-a-thon and have snack when we reach the Milliken Park. We encourage parents to join us.
  

  Walk-a-thon

  

  Snack at Milliken Park

  

  Littleton Museum

    

• Parent Volunteer Opportunities. Volunteer Opportunities are available throughout the school year. You may choose from School Wide
  

  Fall Festival Face Painting

  Special Events such as: Fall Festival, Rodeo Days, Vision Screening, Picture Day, Walk a thon, Trike a thon, Pepperoni Pizza Pajama Day or Art Gala.  Reoccurring Needs such as : cleaning toys, helping set up the playground

  

  Trike-a-thon

  on Monday mornings or putting playground things away on Friday afterschool. Classroom Specific Needs such as: making copies, cutting, helping with the memory books. Participating in school fundraisers such as Silent Auction, Butterbraid, Walk-a-thon, Trike-a-thon by attending, buying, selling and/or providing food, beverage for the Art Gala or cash donations.
  

• Community Service Opportunities. Bethany Busy Bee is partnering with other agencies to provide various opportunities for
  

  Packing Boxes for Operation Christmas Child

  families to serve, invest, or volunteer with them. Research suggests that involvement in these activities builds awareness and compassion for others, decreasing depression and increasing a sense of fulfillment through meaning and purpose. We provide meals to the Fireman and Police Station when they come visit with the kids. We collect items and pack boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We collect items and create emergency kits for the homeless as we go over “Feeding the 5000”. We collect diapers and wipes for single moms for the Denver Rescue Mission. We join Sweet Dreams in a Bag to put together  bedding and stuffed animals for children in crisis, transition or shelter.

• Healthy Snacks.  Each family signs up to brings a healthy snack for the entire class on rotating basis throughout the school year, about once a month.

• Healthy Practices. With your child’s health in mind, best practices recommend that each child use the restroom and wash their hands for 20 seconds before arriving in the classroom. This practice keeps both students and staff healthy.

• Safety Practices. A headcount is taken every 45 minutes or whenever classes are moving from area to area. All children are under the direct supervision and within sight of staff while attending preschool. The staff are careful to maintain the appropriate ratios in each classroom. We follow CDC Regulations and adjust as needed.

• Transitions. The Home Visit is the first parent teacher conference and it helps establish a positive relationship between your family, the student (your child), and the teacher in the familiar, safe setting of your home. Before school starts each class hosts a “Meet and Greet” event on the playground and in the classroom with the teacher, parents and children.  This gives them an opportunity to set up play dates to transition well into the new school year.  In addition before COVID, we regularly open the playground to children who need to visit to get comfortable over the summer; and, our first day of school is only a partial day – full of fun while the parents are having their orientation. As children arrive in the morning, there is an activity in the hallway created to ease the child into the classroom each day.  This is an activity that can be done during drop off or pick up.  Prior to COVID, the children have opportunities to interact with other classes during music and movement, recess (gross motor), special events, Lunch Bunch, Vacation Bible School and summer programs.  During these occasions the children get to meet the other teachers, other children and to visit the other classrooms.  This provides an opportunity for a great transition into the next year’s classroom within Busy Bee. During COVID we separate two classes by more than 12 feet while doing music and movement or during recess in the playground or gym. We have speakers that talk about kindergarten readiness and what to expect in Kindergarten.  Please look for those dates on the school calendar and/or on the website.  For those children moving on to kindergarten at the end of the school year, a Kindergarten Board is posted in the hallway for families to write down which elementary school their child will be attending.  This helps families know what other friends will be attending the same school; and provides opportunities to stay in touch over the summer.

 Bethany Busy Bee Proudly Offers Parents:

• Lunch Bunch Options. Lunch Bunch (LB) is a drop in optional extended day available from      11:45 am to 1:45 pm daily. Lunch Bunch is offered to children enrolled any day from Monday through Friday who would like to bring a lunch and stay until 1:45 P.M. The children eat lunch with the teacher and their friends. This time is an ideal opportunity for social conversation as well as learning to use good table manners. Art projects, science, cooking, or games are planned as well as time for free play.
  • The cost of Lunch Bunch can be paid on that day, with your monthly tuition, or you can add it to your monthly schedule for a discounted price.  See “Pay and Enroll” tab at the top of this website and click on “Fees” for additional pricing breakouts.

• Parent & Family Enrichment Events 

These themed events are available for families. You may sign up from our Calendar page.

Parents Morning Out where parents drop the children prior to Christmas during the Christmas break so parents can use it to do last minute shopping or just have some adult time while the kids have fun at Bethany Busy Bee. One of our Themes is “Feeding the 5,000” where the children are read the story and get to create their own survival packet.

Parents Night Out where parents drop the children while parents may have a date or some adult time while the children enjoy their time at Bethany Busy Bee. Some of our Themes are Pajama Parents Night Out, Super Hero Parents Night Out, Signs of Christmas.

Art Gala is a family evening where various student’s artwork is displayed. There are crafts, playground play, appetizers, music and family mingling available during this event.

• Monthly Guest Speakers with Spiritual and Parenting Topics

Lunch & Learn brings topics to parents about life, parenting, spiritual growth, taking care of yourself, the relationship with your spouse, cleaning tips and many other uplifting topics. Speakers vary in their areas of expertise.

 Children Enrolled

Welcome Video

Bethany Busy Bee Early Learning Center is licensed to serve children ages 18 months to 6 years old by October of the current school year per State Law. We offer our services to any child in the community regardless of religious, racial, economic or social status.

We serve a very diverse population in this community and we will make every effort to support children and families encountering language barriers.

Special Needs: Bethany Busy Bee Early Learning Center is ADA compliant. Children with special needs are welcomed. The Bethany Busy Bee staff will work with the parents to ensure that reasonable accommodations are made so the needs of the child can be met.

Virtual Tour:

Entrance and Check In

Playground Tour

Mrs. McGowan’s Class Tour