Early Childhood Center

Growing in God’s grace in a neighborhood of learning

The philosophy of ECC is to be a caring, learning community with many and varied opportunities to grow in God’s grace through what we do, what we say, and who we are. Providing care for children ages 10 weeks through 5 years old, it is the perfect start for any family seeking a foundation of faith and developmentally appropriate teaching.

Each day’s experiences reflect our ministry of “growing in God’s grace…”

We believe “Children are a gift from the LORD.” (Psalm 127:3 NLV)
God our Creator has made these children (parents and staff too) “fearfully and wonderfully.” (Psalm 139:14) Each is unique in passions and skills and developmental timeline.
Jesus loved us and saved us from our sins (John 3:16). We all live in His grace and the forgiveness He gives.
The Holy Spirit helps us grow in faith leading lives that serve others and give God glory.
In a community of families with various faith backgrounds, our mission is to share Jesus with all.
God has placed us in a partnership with parents to help the children grow.

Our Christ-centered environment is designed as a “…neighborhood of learning.”

All our ECC “neighbors” work together all over our neighborhood to learn the four values to be faithful, confident, joyful, and connected in Christ.
We grow in our faith in Jesus with formal and informal teaching of Bible stories, prayer, sharing and modeling Christ-centered behavior all day long.
Play is our neighborhood’s avenue for learning with exploration, discovery, problem-solving, and hands-on experiences. Our unique natural spaces provide child-directed opportunities for wonder.
We nurture children in a loving and interdependent social community.
Physical care for the children is paramount. We are vigilant to provide a healthy and safe environment.
Our play-based curriculum guides learning in all areas: spiritual, social/emotional, intellectual, creative, and physical. Using developmentally appropriate practices (DAP), we meet guidelines of the Missouri Early Learning Standards and National Lutheran School Accreditation standards.

If your child will be 3 or 4, we offer two strong academic options for Preschool/Pre-Kindergarten classes:

YEAR ROUND classes (12 months)- 7AM-6PM, year round, lunch and snacks included
Or SCHOOL YEAR classes- choose half or school day, more days off, August-May

St. Paul’s Lutheran church had a unique opportunity to improve and expand the ECC! Watch the video below to see the results of the 2020 Expansion that allowed St. Paul’s to expand into two buildings, add or improve fencing on seven different outdoor spaces and minister to more precious children. Enjoy viewing happy boys and girls growing in our neighborhood of learning!