For us at The Apple Tree School, being a Christian school is as important to us as the healthy school lunches we serve, or the quality reasoning based early childhood education we aim to provide. Although we are a Christian school, we are welcome to anyone, and we believe that Jesus’ message is universal. In the modern world, we are in dire need of the virtues of Christ. We pride ourselves in passing these virtues on to our students. Here is what Christian values mean in early childhood education.
The Golden Rule
The golden rule spoken by Christ at the Sermon of the Mount dictates the most foundational rule of morality. Do unto others as you would have done onto you. Armed with this, the ideals and maxims for right and wrong begin to be established, both in better introspection into what kindness means to a person, and in projecting that kindness and that basic human value unto anyone and everyone.
Diligence in The Face of Adversity
Just as the Book of James teaches in chapter 1, verse 12, perseverance in the pursuit of your goals and quality work are rewarded by God. We adults know this is true through and through. For students, this maxim helps establish the foundation that will help them squeeze out another 15 minutes of study to ace their next exam. When applied correctly, it also teaches that failure is simply an adversity and to strive to again pick yourself up and press on. With many of the challenges our children will face in the world for both their personal well being and that of others, this is an invaluable virtue.
Your Body is a Temple
This verse from Corinthians sets children up for a life of care for their body. Our lives and bodies are gifts from God, and we have a duty to our Creator to take care of what we have been given. This means establishing healthy habits early on and a good balance in life. Here at The Apple Tree School, we grow much of our food in a garden that is maintained by our staff and students. We believe that a healthy diet is key to growing up strong and thriving in your studies.
Multiply Your Talents
As the parable of Talents teaches, to truly live for God is to take your life and thrive. Life isn’t about living in fear, it’s about building what you know and always seeking more. Our students are given fundamental elements of reasoning and education, but also a myriad of self-expression activities and a hands-on environment to learn, play, and interact with. As they begin to shine, we help them grow in every talent, while building more skills as they attend our Christian school.
Stewards Of the Earth
In Genesis, God gave stewardship of the earth to mankind in order that we both have what we need and care for it. A child raised on the ideals of stewardship knows that the world is theirs to responsibly use and care for. We teach the foundations of natural sciences and excellent habits of cleanliness and a concern for our global gift from the Lord.
Good Samaritan
One of our favorite parables, the Good Samaritan is about a traveler who was robbed of his clothes and left half alive on the roads between places. The beaten man is passed by a priest and then a member of the Levi tribe of Israel. Both ignore the man and keep walking to protect themselves. Then a Samaritan walks by and helps the man, returning him to health. Samaritans and Jews at this time were adversaries. By examining the lessons of this parable a child is able to learn that any person in need is our neighbor, and that true Christians are those who live the parables and lessons of Christ, and not just preach them. When a child learns to be autonomous in their life with Christ, or expression of morality, you have created a force for good in a world that dearly needs it.
Living Through Christ
In Luke 10: 25-28, Christ was asked, “What must be done to receive eternal life?”, to which the answer was to love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. In this, a child learns that one must live through the virtues of Christ: loyalty, honesty, fairness, diligence, and personal integrity. We strive to live our own lives through Christ’s virtues as examples for the children, and provide a strong foundation for this and other academic lessons of reasoning and morality for our students.
We believe that Christian morals are invaluable in helping teach youth of any creed or faith strong morals and courage for a lifetime of success. If you are looking for a Christian school that excels in early childhood education in the Houston area, look no further than The Apple Tree School. Browse our site, or contact us to learn more or schedule a meeting.