About Us

Two young boys riding a blue tricycle outdoors on a concrete pathway with a wooden fence and greenery nearby.
Two young girls playing with soil and small objects in a red sensory bin at a school or library.
A baby sitting on the floor playing with colorful alphabet and number blocks.
A young girl with blonde hair wearing a colorful tie-dye shirt looking at a drawing on a light table, holding a white marker in her right hand.
A young girl with blonde hair drawing colorful scribbles on a large sheet of paper with a yellow marker, sitting at a table in a classroom setting.
Children walking up and down a steep concrete staircase outside a large brick house with a brown shingled roof and tall chimneys, on a sunny day with green grass and trees.
Three young children stacking colorful foam blocks on the floor in a playroom.
Four young boys playing outdoors with tricycles and scooters on a concrete surface near a brick building and wooden fence.
Two young children, a girl and a boy, are sitting at a round wooden table, focused on a tray of craft supplies including colorful cotton balls, feathers, and small decorations. The girl is wearing a pink dress and the boy a blue shirt. A piece of paper with the word 'Touch' written on it is on the table.
Cute little boy with curly hair smiling and hanging from a stone structure in a playground tunnel.

First Church Preschool provides a safe, loving, and play-based learning environment that fosters the development of the whole child. By celebrating each student’s unique sense of wonder and encouraging independence, we guide and support social-emotional, cognitive, physical, and spiritual growth, from both a school-readiness perspective and the formation of positive relationships with adults and peers.

Our Mission

We offer young students a play-based learning environment in which we recognize and celebrate the uniqueness of each child.

Our Values

  • Excellence in teaching

  • Curiosity

  • Independence

  • Respect (for ourselves, adults, friends, teachers, and school)

  • Inclusivity

  • Community (partnership with our church, our families, and Knoxville)

Our Pillars

  • We educate through play-based learning

  • We inspire creativity and wonder

  • We nurture acceptance and respect

FAQs

  • We offer care to children 2 months to 5 years old.

  • FCP is a year-round program. We generally follow the Knox County Schools schedule; therefore, our regular school year typically begins the first week of August and ends the week before Memorial Day. To view our 2026/2027 calendar, see below.

  • Trick question, we are neither! We are a preschool that teaches through play-based learning, child-initiated experiences, and independent center-based exploration. Teachers provide scaffolding and experiences that promote growth in the following developmental domains: social-emotional, cognitive, language, and physical development. Additionally, teachers will plan and encourage activities that promote learning in science and technology, literacy, math, social studies, the arts, and music

  • We currently have limited spots in our Sassafras (Ones/Twos), Redbud (Twos/Threes), Hickory (Threes), Willow (Pre-K1), and Mulberry (Pre-K2) classes which begin on 8/3/26. Please note we offer enrollment throughout the year based on availability.

  • Thank you for your interest in FCP. We are accepting waitlist applications for all classrooms for the 2026/2027 and 2027/2028 school years. We offer enrollment throughout the year based on availability.

    If you are interested in more information about our waitlist, please go to Connect With Us and complete the inquiry form. Thank you!

  • Priority is given to siblings of current students and church members. We then fill spots based on the waitlist.

  • Yes. Please contact us for more info on the discount for current church members.

  • No. Parents are responsible for providing lunch and snacks daily. As a threestar DHS-licensed program, parents are required to send well-balanced and healthy lunches that include the following components: 1 milk or milk alternative, 1 protein, 1 whole grain, 1 fruit and 1 vegetable (or two fruits and vegetables). Part-day students need 1 snack daily; full-day students need 2 snacks daily.

  • We are a ministry of the First Church Knox: A United Methodist Community. The United Methodist Church believes in Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors, and that is what we practice at First Church Preschool. Our families represent a wide range of beliefs and backgrounds, and we are extremely grateful for that diversity and all it brings to our program. Pre-K students are invited to attend a monthly chapel focusing on universal ideals like kindness, treating others as we would like to be treated, and social responsibility.




  • The Creative Curriculum for Preschool empowers children to be confident, creative, and caring learners through play-based, hands-on investigations--a research-based approach that incorporates language, literacy, and mathematics throughout the day.

    • nurture the whole child from birth to age 5

    • connect families to what their children are learning

    • provide support for teachers when and where they need it

    We also follow Conscious Discipline for behavior management and believe that "behavior moments" are simply a child's attempt to communicate a need or desire.

Additional Information