Greenwood Forest Baptist Church began a mission to the Cary community 40 years ago with the opening of one Kindergarten class. Over the past 40 years, GFCC has grown to 16 classes of children from ages 2 years to 5 years old.

Location
Greenwood Forest Children's Center (GFCC) is located at 110 SE Maynard Road in Cary, NC on the corner of Maynard Road and Kildaire Farm Road.

Purpose
GFCC has been serving children and parents for 30+ years. We admit students of any race, color, national, and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. Our staff is committed to providing a place where your child can develop socially, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Most importantly, we want your child to know that "learning is fun" and that school is a happy place to be.

Staff
Our staff works here because they love teaching children. We have staff members who have been here as long as 30 years and some that are completing their first year. There are about 19 teachers who have been here over eight years. Some have education degrees and were/are certified. Most staff members have a college degree – it may be in nursing, business, computer science, etc. Many are parents of children who now attend, or have attended, GFCC. All are excellent and very qualified. All teachers are required to take early childhood education courses annually. We work in a co-teacher arrangement with equal responsibility and authority. Teachers of each age-level meet together monthly to plan the month’s activities. Planning is a continuing effort to enrich curriculum.

Academic Curriculum
Each age level provides structure and flexibility. Programs are geared to meet the needs of each individual child and classroom. Each morning allows time for free play, creative activities, music and movement, language development, exploration of their world (math, science, and social studies), outdoor activities, and a light snack.

Classrooms are equipped with multiple centers and each day’s activities are thematic. Classrooms centers include: blocks, play dough, sand & water, easel, free art, books & listening, home living, table top manipulative for fine motor, creative play-for social interaction, and a teacher directed activity where children learn listening, cutting, spatial, and gluing skills.

Each class has 25 minutes of playground time every day. Each class has music every day. We have 2 music teachers with their own rooms where children can sing, hop, and move to the music.

Field trips (for the older children) and resource persons enrich the program.

Social and Emotional Development
Social, emotional, and physical development are equally as important as cognitive development in building self-confidence. Children need to be able to function well socially with their peers, they need to be able to coordinate their body movements with ease and they need to be able to feel that they can handle themselves in a group situation away from Mom or Dad. Along with intellectual stimulation, theses are the developmental components that we strive to achieve with your child. We do this in a warm and loving environment where we do not allow the stress and pressures of society to control our atmosphere. Four and five year olds use the Second Step program which is also used in Wake Co. schools. This is an empathy training and conflict resolving series that was developed after the Columbine Shootings.

We do not teach chapel as a part of our curriculum, but we do have a blessing before snack and do talk about and sing songs about the birth of Christ at Christmas time. It is our desire that parents be in control of their child's religious training and hope that they will actively do this.