Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
– Psalms 127:3
Ordinary happenings at Grace Beginnings Academy are beautiful enough to bring Becky Mielke to tears.
“It happened the other day, outside the 1-year-olds’ classroom, just after the babies had finished ‘finger painting’ – but using their feet instead of their fingers,” recounted the senior director of communications for Grace Church. “I peeked into the room to spy a teacher washing the paint off a little boy’s feet. She tended to him with such love and care in that moment that I couldn’t help but feel His light.”
“Jesus is the foundation for everything we do,” said Rebekah Hall, head of school for Grace Beginnings Academy. “Our non-denominational church offers affordable childcare to everyone, regardless of their beliefs.”
“One of our greatest priorities is to reach and make disciples of children. Grace Beginnings Academy is central to that effort,” said Troy Dobbs, senior pastor at Grace Church. “We actively care for and engage the next generation while providing hundreds of families and students with a Christ-centered education.”
“Our 35 educators truly love every child as their own,” Rebekah continued. “Each is trained to help them progress socially and emotionally, as well as develop language and motor skills. Each is also furnished with everything they need to keep kids engaged and entertained. If you want to see what I’m talking about, come and check out our new outdoor playground!”
Are you going to model a playground after part of the Bible? Then here’s a tip: Don’t choose the Book of Revelation. Choose Genesis, like Grace Church did.
“Our ‘Creation of the World’ playground contains over 18,000 square feet of fun for small children," said Becky. “There are five age-specific areas dedicated to infants, toddlers, preschool, pre-K, and elementary. Infants master the arts of sitting and crawling on fluffy white clouds. Older children can play around the sun, the earth, the moon, and even a giant fish. They’re especially fond of the slides built into the hillside surrounding the playground.”
“Our 30 classrooms are all state of the art: newly renovated, and jam packed with interesting learning materials,” said Rebekah. “Of course, these are children ages 6 weeks to 5 years old we’re talking about. Kids that young predominantly learn by playing, which is why we recently added 4,000 square feet of indoor space dedicated to exactly that.”
Neat things to climb on. Tracks built for frenetic tricycling. A projector that casts interactive games on the floor. A wall-sized ‘Lite-Brite’ board, where big neon dowels bring technicolor fantasies to life. It’s all lined by floor-to-ceiling windows – a far cry from the mildewy church basements more than a few of us were molded in.
“There are so many exciting things in our indoor play area that we constantly have to rotate them in and out,” said Rebekah. “The kids would become overstimulated otherwise.”
Grace Beginnings values children’s safety above all else, and takes extensive care to secure it. “We all wish the most uneventful career possible to our school resource officer,” Becky added, “but we take heart knowing he’s here all the same.”
“I was walking the halls the other day when I happened across a teacher and preschooler,” Rebekah recalled. “The kid was taking a much-needed breather from the rough day he was apparently having. His teacher suggested they stop and pray. ‘But what should we pray for?’ the boy asked. ‘Well … what should we pray for?’ the teacher answered. ‘Hmm,’ the boy thought. ‘Let’s pray for you!’
“So they prayed together, for her. It was beautiful.”
Grace Beginnings Academy and Grace Church are located at 9301 Eden Prairie Road. Learn more about them at GraceBeginningsMN.com and Grace.Church.