Little Lambs Preschool at St. John Lutheran Church, Luverne, will start the new school year next week with a new class of lambs and two new shepherds.
Rebecca DeBoer is on staff as the new Little Lambs teacher, and Christine Thorson was hired as her assistant.
Both women bring an arsenal of experience to the classroom, offering leadership that will ensure a smooth start to the 2015-16 school year.
DeBoer has an elementary education degree from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, and has classroom experience as a first-grade teacher and as St. John’s family ministry leader.
She is the daughter of Charles and Carol Goehle, Luverne, (Carol is a former Luverne Elementary School teacher) and a 2002 LHS graduate.
Her husband, Darin DeBoer, teaches physical education and developmental adaptive physical education in the Hills-Beaver Creek School District. They have a son, Grady, 2.
She is a lifelong member of St. John Lutheran Church and said she has fond memories of attending Little Lambs as a preschooler herself.
“I loved Mrs. Sonntag,” DeBoer said about the longtime teacher who retired three years ago.
DeBoer, who replaces former Little Lambs teacher Brianna Leuthold, said she never imagined she’d find herself back in the classroom teaching preschoolers.
“I’m going to have to remember that they are little and they can’t do all the stuff that I’m used to teaching,” DeBoer said.
“Our job is to get them ready for kindergarten … how to stand in line and sit quietly on the carpet and not interrupt … and to play with others, for those who haven’t been in a daycare setting.”
She said teaching these basics will be a priority as well as introducing educational concepts such as the alphabet and counting.
DeBoer said she’s looking forward to introducing students to Christian living.
“Teaching the kids the life of Jesus, that he’s here for us; he teaches us how to live,” she said.
“I have to admit it was hard (in the public school setting) because the kids would mention Jesus and God, and it was hard not to expand on it.”
Thorson replaces Little Lambs assistant Sheila Schneekloth, a 20-year veteran with the program.
She hails from the East Coast but found herself in Minnesota for graduate school in Mankato in 1999. She and her husband, Kip, moved to Luverne in 2013 when he took a job at Minnesota West in Worthington.
She has experience as a paraprofessional in Mankato where she worked with special needs students, primarily in the area of autism.
She worked as an adjunct voice and choral instructor at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Worthington for the 2013-14 year.
She now works as an assistant in the Rock County Library in Luverne, and she’ll maintain those part-time hours in addition to her work with Little Lambs.
The Thorsons live in Luverne, and their son, Ian, attended Little Lambs during the last school year.
“He loved it,” Thorson said. “We chose it because we wanted to incorporate the Christian component in his education.”
She said she could tell he was learning to pray and would talk about God.
“I felt that he was learning academic concepts in a way that he thought he was playing.”
There are still some openings for the 2015-16 Little Lambs school year. Call 283-2316 to inquire.