Colfax Location
We Give Our Best When It Means The Most
Shepherd’s Way Day School is a Five Star rated 8,400 square foot, 10 classroom child care facility that opened on September 2, 2002. We strive to serve our children and families well by maintaining the Five Star rating we earned from the NC Department of Health and Human Services on March 3, 2003. Shepherd’s Way Day School offers quality programs for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, as well as a school readiness program.
In June 2017, we opened our brand new, custom-built, 1,600-square-foot School Age Building adjacent to our Main Building! This building contains 2 large classrooms and its’ own School Age Outdoor Learning Environment! We are now able to provide School Age care throughout the summer, after school, on teacher workdays, etc. Our school-age department serves children ages 5-10, and maintains small ratios to provide the best care and supervision possible!
Great Programs
Great programs that are developmentally appropriate, sensitive to children’s social, emotional, intellectual, and physical needs.
Five Star Rating
Five Star Rating from the NC Department of Health and Human Services, meaning that we meet and exceed the state requirements in Program Standards, Staff Education, Staff/Child Ratio, and Compliance with all Child Care Regulations.
Christian Values
Christian values are integrated into our curriculum and affords children hands-on, interactive ways of learning biblical lessons.
Educated Staff
Educated Staff members that are dedicated to our children and to professional development through training and higher education.
Security
Outfitted with security cameras not only help ensure the safety of our children but allow parents to view the events of the day from the workplace, via the Internet.
Respectful Partnership
Respectful Partnership between parents and teachers, providing opportunities for daily communication, and encouraging parents to regularly visit their child’s classroom and spend time in that environment.
Fun Environments
Environments, indoor and outdoor, were designed from the ground up with the needs of every age level in mind.
Intergenerational Visits
Our partnership with Eden Alternative provides children with daily intergenerational interactions with residents. Resulting in an increase in the quality of life for every child and retired adult involved in the program.
Small Student-Teacher Ratios
| Age | Teacher To Student Ratio |
|---|---|
| Infants (6 wks-12 months) | 1:4 |
| Toddlers (12-23 months) | 1:5 |
| Two Year Olds | 1:8 |
| Three Year Olds | 1:10 |
| Four Year Olds | 1:13 |
| Five Year Olds | 1:15 |
| Six To Twelve Year Olds | 1:19 |
Our small student-teacher ratios guarantee that all children receive the love and personal attention that they deserve.
Age-Specific Care
In our Infant Care Rooms you will find an environment made specifically with the needs of your infant in mind, a safe comfortable space for them in which to grow and learn. We want you to know how we achieve an exception infant care program:
- A shoeless environment to keep the floors clean for our little ones!
- Active and sleeping areas are separated.
- Children are free to explore their own space.
- Windows that provide a warm atmosphere, filled with natural lighting.
- Ratio of 1 teacher to every 4 children.
- A special infant outdoor courtyard environment designed especially for little ones with herbs and plants to touch and smell; wind chimes; a swing for rocking children; natural materials to explore and promote pulling up and cruising; planned sensory experiences and water play.
- Video cameras that allow you to visit your child by Internet any time of the day.
- Teachers are nurturing and responsive, and build loving relationships with each child.
- Materials and activities are individualized for each child and provided to stimulate development.
- Tummy time is encouraged and lots of play time on the floor- working on developing gross motor skills, interacting with teachers and other infants, and exploring!
We support breastfeeding mothers by providing a private space for nursing/pumping for parents as well as employees. Many mothers stop by on breaks to feed or love on their little one!
Toddler Care offers a safe environment in which toddlers can explore, a space that provides them the challenge they thrive on while giving them the protection they need. Check out what we offer for making a great toddlers’ and twos’ environment:
- A challenging, safe space for children to freely explore.
- One teacher to every five toddlers, and one teacher to every eight children for two year olds.
- Windows which allow children to see out and natural light to come in.
- Loving caregivers who nurture your child’s growing sense of autonomy, while giving them the support and affection they need.
- A variety of toys, materials and hands-on experiences to stimulate all areas of your child’s development.
- Experienced teachers trained and educated in early childhood practices, that continue to attend classes and trainings to keep up with the best practices for the classroom.
- Kindermusik is offered as a free musical program which is a part of our intergenerational approach to early childhood education.
- A special, exciting outdoor environment designed especially for your little one. We begin gardening with this age group, allowing them to help plant and watch herbs and vegetables grow, and eventually try things from our gardens!
- Teachers that are intentional in the teaching of social-emotional skills, using every opportunity to work on positive interactions and appropriate language skills with friends- as well as helping children to recognize their emotions and respond to them in healthy and appropriate ways.
- Reggio-Emilia inspired materials and provocations to promote creativity and critical thinking skills.
- Video cameras, which allow you to visit your child by Internet any time of the day.
Preschoolers/Pre-Kindergarteners need an environment that is filled with rich opportunities and new experiences, with teachers who love them and nurture their growing independence. Here’s what makes our preschool environment perfect for you:
- An integrated Christian curriculum that teaches daily of God’s love for us, and how He calls us to love others.
- Low ratios and small groups sizes.
- On-site nature trails and children’s flower, vegetable, and herb gardens that the children plant, care for, and observe as they grow and change. Our little ones love trying the foods that they grow in the gardens!
- Windows which allow children to see out and natural light to come in.
- Lots of independent play and exploration and a dynamic, exciting, natural outdoor learning environment.
- Creative Curriculum implemented in the classrooms, a developmentally appropriate curriculum using project studies that follow the interests of the children, while weaving comprehensive skill development into activities and explorations.
- High Scope curriculum used in our Pre-Kindergarten classes to dive further in to investigating topics of interest, intentionally planning what they will work on, and recalling their plans
- Handwriting Without Tears curriculum used daily to promote early literacy skills and handwriting using a variety of techniques tailored to the different learners found in each classroom
- Conscious Discipline curriculum focuses on positive social/emotional development-using language to express feelings, learning appropriate ways to handle frustrations and anger, and promoting positive interactions with others, among many other skills.
- Reggio-Emilia inspired materials and provocations to promote creativity and critical thinking skills.
- Teachers assess children on a regular basis, using this information to guide individual and classroom instruction and goals- teachers and parents meet for parent conferences to discuss these assessments once during the year, and more as needed or requested by parents.
- Kindermusik is offered as a free musical program which is a part of our intergenerational approach to early childhood education.
- Teachers who are trained and educated in early childhood practices.
- Video cameras, which allow you to visit your child by Internet any time of the day.
- Teachers who find teachable moments all throughout the day, and keep children excited about learning by following their interests.
- Teachers that understand the necessity of play, and how to incorporate learning naturally throughout play activities.
After School Care:
We pick up children from several local elementary schools and bring them back to our spacious school-age facility. Our focus for after-school care is on providing a “wind down” time from the day.
Our teachers will work with each child at their pace, and to meet their individual needs. Teachers will provide one-on-one assistance with homework, or encourage the children as needed to complete tasks. Children will then be provided with free play indoors and outdoors as appropriate daily.
Teachers will facilitate activities that the children would like to work on- ie: art projects, science experiments, etc- but will also provide the freedom for children to decide what they need at this time of day. For some children that may mean sitting in a quiet area to read, while others will want to work on activities to engage their engineering skills.
Our after school friends will also have the unique opportunity to engage with the seniors at Cross Road Retirement Community in the afternoons during visits and activities!
Summer Camp:
Our Summer Camp is like nothing you have ever seen! Our desire is to keep our summer campers having fun and engaging their minds through exhilarating and hands-on activities! This includes rising 1st graders through 5th graders. Our goal is to give these children an exciting summer full of memories, and to daily use our interactions to teach them about God’s love for them- not just in the words that we say, but in real, tangible ways! We aim to extend that knowledge in order to help them show love to others in tangible ways- including through our interactions with our senior friends at Cross Road Retirement Community!
A typical week in summer camp will have 3 field trips, and 2 days of on-site activities. We use trips and visitors to supplement the activities we are doing in the classrooms, and the topics that we are learning about. We also choose field trips that are interesting and fun for our kids, and they help us decide on things that they really like. We feel that service projects are a very important part of our summer as well, so that our children learn about giving to others. They love animals, and made things for animals at a local animal shelter- their favorite part was visiting and holding the animals!
About Our Curricula
We have carefully selected several curricula which we blend together to help your child reach his or her full potential. You will find our Christian education woven into activities in each of the classrooms to begin instilling these beliefs and morals at an early age. Creative Curriculum helps to guide the developmentally appropriate activities in our Birth – Preschool classrooms. In each of our classrooms the teachers utilize Conscious Discipline and CSEFEL strategies to support social and emotional development. In addition, our Pre-Kindergarten classrooms use High Scope curriculum which supports executive functioning skills, and Letterland curriculum for teaching phonics and foundational literacy skills.
We also consider our facility a Reggio-inspired child care center. This can be seen in the way that the teachers encourage exploration and investigation of natural materials and the things that the children notice around them every day. It can be seen in the way that our teachers encourage creativity and critical thinking skills, and ask questions to facilitate learning experiences. From NAEYC,
"Emergent curriculum is not a free-for-all. It requires that teachers actively seek out and chase the interests of the children.“
“Relationships are at the very heart of the Reggio Emilia philosophy. That philosophy is reflected in an environment that encircles the child with three “teachers,” or protagonists. The first teacher—the parent—takes on the role of active partner and guide in the education of the child. The second is the classroom teacher. Often working in pairs, the classroom teacher assumes the role of researcher and intentionally engages children in meaningful work and conversation. The third teacher is the environment—a setting designed to be not only functional but also beautiful and reflective of the child’s learning. It is the child’s relationship with parent, teacher, and environment that ignites learning.
Children construct their own knowledge through a carefully planned curriculum that engages and builds upon the child’s current knowledge, recognizing that knowledge cannot simply be provided for the child. The curriculum, often emergent in nature, is based on the interests of the children. When learning is the product of the child’s guided construction rather than simply the teacher’s transmission and the child’s absorption, learning becomes individualized. Most important, teaching becomes a two-way relationship in which the teacher’s understanding of the child is just as important as the child’s understanding of the teacher.
We know from the research of many others before us, as well as our own experiences, that this type of education is the most beneficial for young children. We love to see them so excited about learning because they are interested, engaged, and have teachers that support their investigations and creativity.
The strength of our program lies in our dedicated and qualified staff members. We support our teachers’ professional development with opportunities for training, resources, and supplements for higher education. We are committed to obtaining and retaining educated, qualified individuals to care for and teach your child so that the attachments they form with their caregivers are nurturing, loving and secure.
The parent is the most significant person in a child’s life. We strive to create a respectful partnership between parents and teachers. We provide opportunities for daily communication between parents and the staff of our center. Our doors are always open to parents. We recommend that parents come regularly into their child’s classroom and spend time in their environment.
Eden Alternative
Shepherd’s Way Day School is among the first child development centers in North Carolina to work in cooperation with an Eden Alternative retirement community. This integrated approach to care brings together elders, children, plants, and animals in close and continuing contact. At our Colfax location, we work with residents at The Presbyterian Homes at River Landing facility to create an environment where your child will have opportunities to interact and build relationships through regularly scheduled time and activities with the retirement residents. The residents and the children delight in the time they spend together.
Types Of Shared Scheduled Events
– Children create art for residents to hang on their doors.
– Residents and the children adventure on hayrides.
– Children and residents work on a quilt together.
– Children and residents enjoy an interactive magic show.
– Residents read to childern for a mutally relaxing activity.
– Children deliver handmade cards to residents on their birthday!
– Children of all ages and residents enjoy music and movement classes together!
If you are interested in enrolling at Shepherd’s Way Day School please fill in the form provided here. A staff member will contact you concerning availability soon!
Please note that we do recommend getting on our waiting list for the infant classroom as soon as possible, as these spots are usually planned for before a child’s birth.
Fun photos from Colfax!
Shepherd’s Way Day School Colfax is located at:
1575 John Knox Dr, Colfax, NC 27235
Our hours of operation are Monday-Friday from
6:45AM until 5:45 PM
New Year’s Day
Good Friday
Memorial Day
The Week of July 4th
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day and the Friday After
The Week of December 25th