Munising Early Childhood Learning Center

Good Shepherd Early Childhood Center offers a program that will provide your child with a wide variety of learning experiences. In a guided Christian environment, your child will be free to explore his/her surroundings and to participate in planned and spontaneous activities.

Your child must turn 3 by December 1 in order to attend the 3-year-old class and 4 by December 1 to attend the 4- year- old class. Good Shepherd Early Childhood Center is a licensed preschool center which offers educational experiences and Kindergarten readiness for up to 30 students. We are licensed by the State of Michigan and our staff consists of a program Director, teachers and teacher’s aides. We have a wonderful group of substitute staff that we can rely on when teachers/aides need to be out. We have two classrooms, each with a max capacity of fifteen students. Each year we have a Christmas program and a spring concert which includes a lovely graduation ceremony for the four-year-old class as we send them off to kindergarten.

The curriculum we use is “One in Christ” by Concordia Publishing House. To preview the curriculum, you can go to:

https://www.cph.org/t-topic-OneInChrist.aspx

At Good Shepherd, a typical three-year-old will begin to make friends and learn vital social skills such as sharing and taking turns. They learn to care for and comfort those friends when they are sad and celebrate with them when they are happy. A four-year-old will begin forming strong lasting bonds with friends and learning about what they have in common. They learn to follow directions, how to sit quietly and listen when teachers are speaking and to be open to trying new ideas and adventures.

Both ages will begin learning structure, transitioning and age-appropriate activities and academics that will prepare them for kindergarten. They will learn ABC’s, 123’s, colors and shapes, writing their names, crafts and creations, free time play, songs, finger plays and rhymes and enjoy snack time and outdoor play. Most importantly they will learn about Jesus and His love for them. We learn Bible stories and we open and close with prayer, always modeling how to pray for others. We make time for students to offer their own concerns and prayer needs and learn daily snack time prayers and manners. Children learn the importance of both apologizing and forgiving, identifying and dealing with feelings, how to show kindness and that they are never too little to make a positive difference.

"The teachers are very attentive and compassionate and have treated our children as if they are their own. Ms. Marcia is very approachable and responsive, and always does her best to help our family in any way she can so that our children can succeed! My kids love school days and I love knowing that my children are being cared for and taught by a faith-centered, nurturing staff. I believe investing in our kids' educations early on will help them excel in later school years.
We are the parents of past, current, and future Good Shepherd students

Kristen Sontag

PROGRAM GOALS

Good Shepherd Early Childhood Center offers educational, social and physical opportunities with Christ at the center. Our program provides quality education in a loving Christian atmosphere. We are looking forward to teaching your child about the love that God has for them.

CURRICULUM

3 Year Olds Unit Themes

Unit 1: God’s Blessings

Unit 2: Family

Unit 3: Praise and Thanksgiving

Unit 4: Christmas

Unit 5: Good Health

Unit 6: Love

Unit 7: Easter

Unit 8: Transportation

Unit 9: Flowers / Mother’s and Father’s Day

Unit 10: Animals

Unit 11: Water

Unit 12: Rest and Recreation

4 Year Olds Unit Themes

Unit 1: God Blesses Me and My World

Unit 2: God Blesses Families

Unit 3: Thank God for Blessing Me

Unit 4: Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Unit 5: Jesus Helps and Heals Us

Unit 6: Jesus Is our Good Friend

Unit 7: Jesus Takes Away Our Sins

Unit 8: Jesus Is Always with Us

Unit 9: We Share the Love of Jesus

Unit 10: We Worship and Praise God

Unit 11: God Bless Our Leaders

Unit 12: I Am Jesus’ Disciple Too!

Marcia was born and raised in Baraga Michigan, so a Yooper from the beginning. Her husband, Curt, also a Yooper from L’Anse, accepted a position at the local Neenah Paper mill in 2005 which brought them and their two sons, Daniel and Ryan to Munising from Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Marcia has been the Preschool teacher at Good Shepherd since 2006 and also became the program director after obtaining her CDA. Marcia truly believes this was exactly where God wanted her to be as it was never on her own radar and she wondered what her purpose was when arriving in Munising. She absolutely loves the fun and innocence of little children and being able to teach them about the love that Jesus has for them.

Jodie was born in Saginaw MI. She lived in Manistique where she met her husband, Chris. Chris accepted a job at Timber Products in 1997 which brought Chris and Jodie to Munising. They have one daughter, Adele who attends Munising High School. Jodie has held multiple jobs here in Munising before joining the team at Good Shepherd Early Childhood Center. Jodie has been with Good Shepherd for nearly four years. Her husband, Chris now travels frequently for work.
Jodie loves working with the children at Good Shepherd. She also works at Mather Elementary school in the afternoons and holds a part time position at Medilodge. She also works at the tribal center in Wetmore for craft and movie nights and in the summer months assists with a six week program. She is involved with community events and her daughter’s interests, such as Girl Scouts of America, area youth groups and VBS.

Kimi was born in Waterford, Michigan. She moved with her family to Sands Township, Michigan, at the age of 11. She met her husband, Ray Schierschmidt Jr. in Marquette, Michigan, while she was working there. Ray was born and raised in Munising. Soon after getting married, Kimi and her husband accepted jobs in Munising.

Kimi fell in love with Munising. She and Ray have two daughters, Nora and Elsie.

Kimi started as a sub in 2021, while her daughter Nora was attending. When the permanent position for Teacher's Aide became available, there was no hesitation to join this amazing team. This Fall of 2023, Kimi has taken on the Enrichment Teacher position.

Kimi has a great love for children and for child development. Kimi loves music and enjoys sharing her gift of music with the Preschool.

A lifelong resident of Munising, Samantha "Sam" has invested interest in creating a positive future for our community. Sam married her husband, Michael, in 2008 and together they have 2 children, Grayson and Olivia. Sam's daughter, Olivia, completed the Preschool program at Good Shepherd in 2023 and her son, Grayson, has been homeschooled by his mom since 2016.

Sam was frequently seen substitue teaching while Olivia was enrolled at Good Shepherd. She is bringing a passion for creating a loving and positive environment for the kids to learn and grow and looks forward to nurturing more children through their Early Childhood learning experience here at Good Shepherd.