Great News on our Accreditation! We were commended for our efforts in all 10 standard areas, meeting 100% or more of the criteria in 9 areas!!

At St. Mark’s we understand that children learn through play. St. Mark’s is a place where children are tended, cultivated and encouraged to bloom. Current research suggests that there is an overemphasis on academic achieve­ment in preschool and kindergarten. Play and experiential learning produce long-term gains for young children. In our community children develop a lifelong love of learning and know that they are respected as individuals. St. Mark’s children learn to trust and are trusted. Children grow socially, emotionally, cognitively and physically.

Children develop relationships, explore areas of interest, discover the world around them, and take creative risks in a safe environment created just for them.

What you’ll find in our nationally accredited, developmentally-appropriate programs:

• Two loving, nurturing teachers who consider the best interests of each child
• One supportive adult volunteer who lends a helping hand
• Art supplies and activities that allow exploration, experimentation and creation
• Books and a couch – a soft place for reading alone or with others
• Tactile materials for learning through touch: sand, water, cornstarch, rice, playdough, gak…
• Dramatic play props and furniture with which children may pretend to be in the kitchen, on a plane, at a hospital, outdoors, or wherever their imaginations take them
• Blocks of all kinds, shapes and colors
• Pens, pencils, crayons, and markers for writing everything from letters of the alphabet to letters to friends
• Adjoining bathrooms and a classroom sink
• Items found in nature that stimulate moments of wonder and curiosity
• An environment in which children learn by doing what they do best and most naturally – playing

St. Mark’s Nursery School and Kindergarten is a not-for-profit community service offered by St. Mark’s United Methodist Church of Bloomington, Indiana. An advisory committee of parents with currently enrolled children recommends policies for the school.  We welcome children of every race, religion, nationality and ability. Since 1990 our nursery school program has earned and maintained accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.