Preschool & Kindergarten | Hickory Flat UMC

Our mission

To provide the children of our community with a Christian school home focused on academics, the value of friendships, respect of others, and the importance of everyone’s role in God’s world.

Ages Served

Our preschool and kindergarten program is designed for children from 18 months to five years old. Children are placed in classes by their age as of September 1 of each school year.

An Overview of Our Program

We have approximately 185 students and a staff of 37. There are 12 classes varying in days offered for different age groups. We have 2, 3, 4, and 5-day-per-week classes. We also make every effort to co-operate with the schedules and needs required of children with special needs.

Class Sizes

Our class ratios are among the lowest to be found in our area. Each class has one teacher and one assistant. Class sizes range from 8-15, with oldest children in the larger classes.

Our Calendar

Our program, with some exceptions, operates on the Cherokee County school system calendar. We begin classes later and end classes earlier than the county schedule. We are also closed on Good Friday, and our Christmas break starts earlier. Our preschool class day is from 9am-12pm, with an option for “Lunch Bunch,” and after school classes allowing your child to be with us until 1pm.

Our Curriculum

Hickory Flat Church Preschool is a theme-based, child centered program where all children are able to explore and learn through hands on activities. Our lessons focus on cognitive skills, language development, motor skills, social interaction, and emotional and spiritual growth. The thematic units combine all components of education: phonics, literature, math, science, art, music, and movement. Hickory Flat UMC Kindergarten is specially designed for families seeking personal and private Christian education for their children. Our Kindergarten allows children to develop all necessary skills to be successful in elementary school. Our class size is 15 with a fully mastered certified teacher and assistant teacher. We use hands on materials and centers within our classroom with all subjects (spelling, math, reading, science, social studies, etc.) Our program is heavily focused on reading. The love of learning and reading are the key to a child’s success in the school.

Community Outreach

Our school feels very strongly about teaching children the importance of giving. We have three to four community outreach programs each year that call upon our families to use these opportunities to teach their children about why we give to others. We vary our outreaches so that many different groups in our “local area” may feel the benefits of this important lesson. All outreaches are geared toward children and seek items that children can relate to. This part of our program strongly supports and is an introduction to missions. Children are never too young to begin to understand the importance of thinking outside their own worlds.

What are Our Goals for Your Child?

Our goals are that when a child leaves our school they will have developed a love for Christ, have a foundation of Christian character, and have all the fundamentals of academics. We strive for excellence in teaching, a solid Biblical foundation, and strong academics.

Registration INfo

Registration for the 2024 – 2025 school year is almost here. We will be conducting our registration process online again this year. A link will be posted here on February 12th at 10am. You will use this link to register your child, choose your class, and pay the registration fee. Registration fees for the 2024-2025 school year will be $205. This is a one-time fee that goes for classroom supplies needed throughout the school year. A list of the classes we offer and monthly tuition rates are available on our website.

A few notes on the online registration process:

The registration fee must be paid at the time of registration in order to hold your child’s spot.
All credit and debit cards are accepted, and there are no additional processing fees for paying this registration fee.
Please have a first and second choice of classes when registering, just in case your first choice is unavailable.
If you registered for a second choice, but would like to be put on the waiting list for your first choice, email us at preschooloffice@hickoryflat.org and let us know your preference.
If all classes are full, you can sign up for our waitlist on the portal at no charge. These classes are fairly fluid during the first few weeks of registration and there is a possibility something will open up. We will contact waitlist applicants in the order we receive them.