Joyful Heart

Joyful Heart’s facility may be deceiving on how really great this school is! Here were a couple of questions that a friend had for me and I answered.
* I do believe my son will be kindergarten ready after attending Joyful Heart, partly from hearing other parent testimonies and the fact that so many of the kids have siblings that have gone there and the parents have been so happy with the school. They place a strong emphasis on learning/​writing their letters, numbers and each month is dedicated to a specific theme which is comparable to other preschools. You can also ask for them to give your child more challenging work if you think that is necessary. The class sizes are small and in this way they are able to pay attention to the kids and their needs at the levels that are necessary. For us, we did like how they group 3 – 5 yr olds together, which may not be conventional, but for our son works great.
* For us, the decision came down to the criteria that met our needs: Christian School, Teacher (s), Location, Price, Academics, Extra Activities, Playtime and Lunch Time. Joyful Heart met these for us. The teachers are excellent and care for and nurture the kids. My first impression was a lasting impression with them and knew after meeting the teachers this was the school for my son. There are the other obvious great points about the school, Bible teaching, academics, extra activities and everyday outdoor playtime, but the practical side of things were also very important to us, location, lunch and price. For me, the location is perfect in the core of Issaquah for me to run my Monday day errands to Costco/TJ’s/Fred Meyers, etc. The timing is also great having a 4 hour stretch, where some of the other schools seem to be 3 hours or less and to me would feel like a burden to drop/​pick up so quickly. Another great thing is he has learned the great habit and discipline of school lunch time with other kids at the table. This also relieves me of rushing home to feed him with our busy schedules. Lastly, the price was comparable and less than some of the schools for a 4 hour class 2/​day & 4/​day week class.
* Side note to Joyful Heart: There are many ways to become involved. I’m on the monthly mom’s night out committee and it is such a great time to connect monthly with the moms and teachers. Also there are different activities throughout the year, daddy dates, mommy dates, monthly field trips and seasonal programs that meet in the Covenant Presbyterian Church, Thanksgiving feast, Christmas program, etc.
* Joyful Heart has been such a blessing to our family and we plan to send our other kids there!