Early Education in Santa Monica: First United Methodist Church Preschool

The first years of life are the best time to ensure a strong future for all Santa Monica children. Early education advances equity and is essential for thriving families and communities. Whether children begin care as infants, toddlers, or preschoolers, Santa Monica is home to a wide range of early learning programs, with varying curriculums, hours, and costs.

Enriching and safe care should be available to all children, regardless of their family’s income, needs, race or ethnicity, or the languages they speak. Connections for Children, our local Child Care Resource and Referral agency, can help you find a program that meets your needs and determine if you qualify for funding to help pay for it (connectionsforchildren.org or (310) 452-3325).

Our communities are stronger when every child is healthy, safe, and engaged in early learning. Read on to learn about the passionate and diverse professionals doing this important work in Santa Monica. This is Part 6 of a series.

Program Name: First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica Preschool

Program Director: Dee Menzies

Ages of children served: 2 through kindergarten

Operating Hours: 8:30 am - 3:30 pm, with extended care option 3:30 - 5:30 pm

Brief History: The First UMC of Santa Monica Preschool was established in 1948 by church member Verna “Ruth” Naylor Zimmerman who saw a need for child care in the community. Today the program is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), has grown to over 100 students, and still strives to serve working families.

You mentioned the goal of fostering a peaceful environment, free from judgment and intolerance. What does that look like?

All children are treated with unconditional love and respect. Children are encouraged to play cooperatively while observing the core values of kindness, respect, trust, honesty, and cooperation. Teachers embrace individual differences by welcoming a part of each student’s home culture into the classroom and sharing it with all.  Teachers incorporate diversity, be it culture, race, religion, age, ability, etc., through classroom displays, story selections, and lesson plans.  Each classroom has a library corner where many of the books reflect the cultural, religious, and racial diversity of our preschool and the larger world around us. 

As children prepare for kindergarten, they study different countries and customs of the world.  They take “make-believe” trips and have special days where they dress in clothing and partake of food from the countries they are studying.

You mentioned your core values above. How do you incorporate those into your curriculum?

Every day the teachers incorporate and talk to the children about being kind, respectful, and gentle towards each other. A fun example is every child receives a school T-shirt with the core values written on it, and the teachers talk about the core values as they give them out. Children wear them throughout the year cultivating positivity.  As administrators, we discuss and incorporate how we are instilling core values into everyday life. Another example is children attending chapel for 15 minutes each week, during which the pastor reads stories focused on the virtues of kindness, respect, and equality. Our chapel is focused on core values, rather than any specific religion, because we focus on ecumenicity.

Can you share about your gardening sustainability activities and shared meals? 

For years we have had a designated teacher or volunteer who develops gardening and compost programs with the children. This past year, we were fortunate to have a City representative come and educate us on green waste. Every class also has an outside garden area. The children, along with teacher recommendations, select what they would like to plant, such as flowers or vegetables. They care for their plants (with the help of teachers and parents) and watch them grow. When the vegetables are ripe, the children harvest, wash, and eat them, learning that plants come from the ground.

We also provide organic food - two snacks a day and lunch for the children family style. All food is prepared here, and most of it is organic. They say a gratitude grace before they have their meal together. This also encourages the children’s family units because the kids are used to having lunch together here and encourage their family to have meals together at home.

Please contact First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica Preschool directly at santamonicaumc.org/preschool or (310) 395-7292.