Learning Tree preschool turns 40

Walking the halls that she once walked as a toddler, a mother now drops off her own toddler at the Learning Tree preschool at First Baptist Church of Winter Park. The preschool was started 40 years ago as an outreach ministry of the church to help support the church family and community’s needs of affordable and reliable child care.

The school is located inside the First Baptist Church of Winter Park and has its own separate wing with a hallway of classrooms, a cafeteria and a gym. The school started off with about six classrooms and had doubled by 2008, but with the slowing economy, the school lost children and funding, shrinking to seven rooms. Throughout that long tenure, Learning Tree Director Sandy Varnell said it has remained first and foremost a Christian school that introduces children to God though Bible verses, stories, songs, and small group discussions.

The 62 children who attend the school learn and participate in physical education, music, science, Spanish and chapel.

Varnell was a teacher for four years at the school. She then moved to assistant director and after seven years, became director of the Learning Tree in 1996.

Q: What makes the Learning Tree different from other local pre-schools?

A: I think because it is a faith-based school. We’ve always tried to be a loving environment and a safe environment. The school has always been here for the working parent and not only ministers to the children but their families. It’s the availability of the church to help with other needs beyond child care.

Q: What programs do you offer and for what age groups?

A: We start with infants, 6 weeks old and up through Pre-K4. In the summer we also offer a summer camp, which is elementary Pre-K5 through third grade.

Q: Why do you think the Learning Tree has remained successful for 40 years?

A: Because I feel like we try to put God first. I think without that we might not have existed this long. There’s an integrity here too, the teachers do love and care for these kids. A lot of them have been here for many years. If this wasn’t their passion, they wouldn’t be here. I think the stability also contributes to our success.

Q: Are you having any special events to celebrate the anniversary?

A: I hope to — I was waiting to see what the church was going to do and then try to plan around that. Last year we did “Love the Learning Tree” where during church service we had a lunch for the parents. We had a program with the children; it was all done in the gym. Hopefully, we can plan something like that.

Q: Do you have any new additions to your program?

A: We still use “Wee Learn” as the main one. We have added “handwriting without tears” in the past few years, and that’s used in the Pre-K4 classes. It’s a phonics-based, hands-on curriculum. They work with shaping clay or things like that to learn the letter shape and then the letter sounds. I also want to add an additional toddler classroom; I hope to do that in the early spring.

Q: Have there been any obstacles or challenges for the Learning Tree in the past 40 years?

A: The biggest one is parents losing their jobs. When that happens, we lose children. Because of the economy people are turning to grandmas and grandpas and extended family versus bringing them to child care. We have tried to do more part-time care, lately, in the past couple of years. Trying to be more flexible and meet the needs of the families.