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First Church Academy for Young Children

First Church Academy
We welcome preschool children of all faiths and backgrounds into our learning community. We have been serving children and families since 1941.
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First Church Academy for Young Children (FCAYC) operates as an outreach ministry of the First Church of Christ Congregational. We are housed in the First Church building, in West Hartford Center. We are a state licensed, non-profit program open to all children regardless of their faith backgrounds.

Hours of Operation: 7:30 am- 5:30 pm, Monday – Friday (drop off and pick up times are flexible)

We offer programming for children ages 6 weeks – age 5.

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Infants

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Toddlers

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Twos

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Threes & Fours

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We are proud to have achieved NAEYC accreditation for the Academy. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) provides a framework for achieving excellence in early childhood educational programming through its accreditation process.

• We have had a terrific experience with First Church Academy through the years, with both of our boys. Our oldest still remembers the friends he made while in school there, and the level of teaching provided to both of our boys was and has been fantastic. They really go out of their way to accommodate our son’s schedule as well as assist him on and off the school bus daily. They really go beyond!

  Dayan and Bud B.

• The teachers and staff at FCAYC are all so kind, welcoming, and creative; we are in awe of the numerous activities, games, and crafts they prepare daily. Our younger one, who has been attending FCAYC since she was eight months, has never cried a drop-off and talks about school and friends constantly.

  Magda and Kurt R.

• We immediately fell in love with First Church the moment we walked in – the warm and welcoming atmosphere was exactly what we were looking for in a program for our son. He immediately loved his teachers and classmates at First Church. Throughout his time in the Pre-K program, he grew and became more confident academically, socially, and emotionally.

  Stef and Tim D.

• We send our children to FCA because Dawne and her team provide a safe and welcoming learning environment that our kids are always excited to attend. The fact that daycare for infants is offered at the same location as preschool for the older kids is also a huge plus for parents with multiple kids. We’re grateful for the experience FCA provided our kids and excited about continuing our family tradition at the program.

  Lindsay and Ben J.

Application for the 2022/2023 School Year

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Weekday Preschool | First Christian Church Johnson City

The First Christian Church Weekday Preschool, in Johnson City, TN, offers an integrated program of activities for children ages two through five years. Our preschool curriculum focuses on math, science, early reading, writing, and creative arts. We believe that learning comes through play and social interaction builds character and confidence in preparation for kindergarten.

PRESCHOOL PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Integrated Bible Stories each week
• Cooking or science experiments each month
• Special programs are performed by students each year
• Students explore specialized skills such as sign language and music.
• Guest speakers from other countries.
• Safe and secure learning environment.

QUALITY PRESCHOOL

We have the highest possible licensure rating in the state! The Weekday Preschool is licensed under the Tennessee Department of Human Services.  Each one of our staff meets or exceeds the annual requirements for continuing education hours in early childhood development and are certified in pediatric CPR and first aid. 

PRESCHOOL ENROLLMENT 2022-2023

• Capacity Status: Now accepting preschool students. Registration continues throughout the school year as spots are available.
• Child Age: 2-4 years on or before Aug. 15
• Enrollment Fees & Process:
  • Complete all paperwork at the Weekday Preschool office.
  • Registration requires a non-refundable payment of $150.00. 
  • To be considered for a need-based scholarship, complete the form on This Page

• Office Hours: Mon. – Fri., 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (Room G17 – to access preschool office, ring buzzer at Preschool Entrance D)
• More Info: Contact Susan Imboden at
  or 423-232-5710

PRESCHOOL FACILITY

[Personal experience] How I lived in France and why I still returned to Russia / Sudo Null IT News

We have already talked about life in almost all European countries, but we have ignored France. She generally keeps a little aloof – IT engineers are not too eager to go there, and there are not so many vacancies for foreign specialists. But to look in and see how they live there is quite interesting.

Therefore, we talked with Evgeny, who managed to work in two Parisian companies, but in the end he returned to Russia anyway. He will tell you how he lives in Paris and why he still likes Moscow more.

How I ended up in Paris

I want to say right away that I never wanted to go to Europe. I like living in Moscow, so I don’t deliberately look for open positions in foreign companies. But there is a profile on LinkedIn, and offers are regularly received there, including from abroad. I usually don’t take them.

But one day I was invited to work for a company in Paris. I visited Paris as a tourist, I liked it there, so I agreed. We were engaged in satellite technologies, I worked as a DevOps lead and came strictly to the project. The project was for the French army, and when it ended, he returned to Russia.

Then again I received an offer from Paris – they called for the position of a DevOps engineer in a startup that did something like Avito, but for expensive vintage and used branded items. I decided to try and went through five stages of the interview:

• screening from HR;
• technical interviews with future colleagues;
• interview with the head of DevOps;
• interviews with the head of IT;
• interview with the CEO of the company – this is how he got to know all the people who work for him.

During my work, the startup has grown into a unicorn — our director even spoke personally with the President of France. As a devops, I was engaged in the automation of development processes. We had many Kubernetes clusters for different regions, because the site worked in Europe, America and Asia – almost everywhere except Russia. It was not possible to enter our market.

While I was working and living in Paris, I realized that life here is not as good as I would like. I’ll explain why in more detail later. As a result, I quit my job and returned from France to Russia. And I do not regret either that I went or that I returned.

What turned out to be wrong with Paris for me personally

I note that all of the following is true only for Paris – this should not be extended to the whole of France. On the other hand, the offices of IT companies are mainly concentrated in the capital, so if an IT engineer comes to France, he will almost certainly end up in Paris.

VERY expensive housing. A 10 square meter room without a private toilet half an hour from the center will cost 600–800 euros per month. I rented a cool kopeck piece next to the Arc de Triomphe for 1800 euros. In quarantine, I just walked in the arch – it was included in the allowed kilometer of walks during self-isolation =)

In addition to rent, you have to pay a communal apartment and rent – this is also very expensive. And if you live in old historical buildings, of which there are a lot, the whole house also pays for housing repairs.

Complex search for an apartment. The demand for housing in Paris is greater than the supply. It is difficult to find a good apartment, and often just bare walls are rented out – you will even have to buy kitchen appliances yourself.

At the same time, many houses are old, they have spiral staircases, and it is technically impossible to bring a large closet or refrigerator into the apartment. Therefore, there are special services that come to the house on a lift so that bulky items can be unloaded through the window. And the prices for services from such services are cosmic.

I was lucky: at first the company rented an apartment, and then they managed to extend the same contract. But if there was no possibility of extension, the apartment would have to be searched for a long and painful time. Due to the fact that there are many tenants, the landlord chooses the one who will live with him. It’s like a job interview – they can ask about marital status, salary level, plans for the future. And if you don’t like something, refuse.

No normal heating. In Paris, most houses do not have central heating. Each house is heated separately, and the prices are gigantic. Residents themselves decide when the heating season starts and try to start it later to save money. Because of this, it can be very cold in the houses in autumn and spring. And in winter they don’t heat very well, so you have to get used to walking in a warm sweater and socks.

Terrible internet. I had a 10 Mbps channel – and this is not a joke. In fact, it turned out about 8 Mbps, we shared it with my wife into two devices, and this was absolutely not enough. I tried to push the repository from the github, or push something – nothing worked. And the Internet cost 25 euros per month.

Incomprehensible paperwork processes. In France, there are several different packages of documents for applying for a residence permit, and they are constantly changing. You can’t figure it out on your own, especially if you don’t know French. The agency dealt with my documents with my wife, their services are expensive. They were paid by the company, but this is not always the case, and bureaucratic red tape can knock someone down.

And according to official sources, citizenship can be obtained after 5 years of living in France. But in fact, after 5 years, no one will give anything, and you need to live at least 7.

You need to know French well. One cannot live comfortably in France knowing only English. You will be able to communicate at work, but in order to be friends with the locals, use all the services, communicate normally with the state, you need to know French. And the French are quite aggressive towards those who do not know French, or speak with errors and an accent. And gradually “pulling up” the language, communicating with the locals, will not work.

Love for homeopathy. While the whole of Europe is drowning for evidence-based medicine, treatment with sugar balls is flourishing in France at the state level. Even I got caught – I was prescribed medicine for a bad tooth, and besides the usual painkiller, homeopathy was included in the recipe. I bought it – expensive! – and only at home I realized that they sold me fuflomycin. So you need to be more careful.

High prices for services. In Paris, a barista without much education can earn almost as much as an IT engineer. And the cup of coffee he makes won’t be cheap. The same applies to hairdressers, taxi drivers, plumbers and anyone who provides services. Because of the prices of everything in Paris, I could afford much less than in Moscow, despite the seemingly high salary.

In the end, it was high prices for housing, services and goods that influenced my choice. I realized that in Moscow I would earn less, but live better, and returned to Russia.

What I really liked about Paris

Pleasant climate. There are no sudden changes in the weather, in winter there are rarely sub-zero temperatures, and in summer you do not suffer from sweltering heat. We saw snow twice, and it immediately melted. Plus, everything is smooth, and not like ours – today + 25 ° C, and tomorrow + 6 ° C and the flood.

It’s beautiful here. This is Paris, and arguments are superfluous =) No wonder tourists come here: almost every house is a work of art. Plus, there are many museums and exhibitions for lovers of cultural recreation.

Quality food. Even if you buy the cheapest products, they are delicious and of high quality. For example, I noticed that if you buy tomatoes, they already spoil in a couple of days. And not like our store ones, they lie in the refrigerator for a month and won’t even tie up.

I came to Paris with a little extra weight, and in just two months I lost 10 kilograms. But I didn’t move more actively, I didn’t change my eating habits – so I think it’s the quality of the food.

There are many parks and a culture of recreation in them. In Paris, all the locals come to the parks on weekends, spread blankets on the lawns, drink wine and eat cheese. I really liked it – it turns out a cool relaxing holiday. In Russia, you can’t sit on the lawn in a civilized park, but you won’t find a lawn in a wild one, and you can only feed mosquitoes =) In general, I give parks the biggest plus, they are very beautiful and well-groomed. I miss them in Moscow.

Evgeny also maintains an account about DevOps – here.

Didn’t the cons of Paris outweigh the pros for you? Or maybe they have established themselves in the desire to stay in Russia? The telegram bot @g_jobbot has many vacancies from Russia and other countries, relocation/office/remote work.

What else to read about moving

• [Personal experience] Montenegro is a country like a dream. The simplest moving story
• [Personal experience] Life behind the Great Wall of China: How are things in China with IT, censorship and integration into society
• [Personal experience] How to grow to Senior in a FAANG company using Uber as an example

Prayer for Healing: Three Amazing Stories

Natalia Loseva, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of MIA Rossiya Segodnya :

“It confuses me when people say ‘through your prayers’. This is not coquetry, I really do not feel the special power of my prayer, on the contrary, in prayer I am helpless, perhaps even infantile. I just ask – “please, please!” Or, when I am in complete despair, I say as in the Gospel – “it is impossible for a person, but everything is possible with God. Lord, destroyed! I understand that it is impossible, but you can, you do it.”

There have been several occasions when the impossible actually happened. One of our relatives, who should have been turned off life support systems, is on the mend. In our family, all the doctors, everyone understood that his recovery was impossible, that if we talk about an operation for a complication that has arisen, then it will still be palliative. Doctors went to her out of sympathy, and this operation was the impetus for recovery. Now he is a perfectly healthy, working person.

And my only child had an injury in childhood – he got a serious eye burn. And all the doctors in our country and in other countries where we sent documents refused, saying that it was impossible to save his eyesight. I couldn’t stay with Tema in the hospital all the time, it was forbidden. And when I had to leave, I went to the Donskoy Monastery. I just sat there and cried. It was such a state when there was nowhere to go – because you have to wait for the next appointment time and return to the hospital to the child, and there is nothing to ask for, except for the Lord to give at least some option, so that the impossible happens, so that there is a doctor who save his eyesight.

And then a miracle really happened. We were advised by professors from Rostov-on-Don. After the examination, he said: “There is such an option, such an option and such an option. In each option, such a degree of risk is quite high. Let’s take responsibility together or not take it. I am ready to operate on you today at 14:00, but for now, go to the temple, right here, 500 meters away. Pray there, and whatever decision comes to you, return to me with that.” The operation was done, and there was a very big improvement.

These stories, when we receive an incredible, inexplicable miracle, are dangerous, because after that you always begin to expect a miracle. And it happens that a miracle simply cannot be given to you. Because there are other tasks, laws, some other solutions.

On the one hand, we are told to be like children. Pray and whatever you ask will be given to you. On the other hand, you can’t, probably, be a capricious child and stomp your feet and ask for something that is not useful to you, that you don’t need.

And now you don’t know – to trust, to say like a child: “Lord, please give me this, help this loved one” or to say: “Lord, give me this if it is useful for me”.

My experience of praying for my married husband is just about this. I really wanted Anton to live, so that he would not die. And when everything was already clear, when the doctors said that this type of disease is incurable, I still said that what is impossible for a person is possible for God.

Then I went to one of my favorite saints – to Luka Krymsky in Simferopol – and asked. And I remember that feeling when I asked and felt the answer in my heart. And the answer was “no”. I understood it. Of course, there were no voices in my head, but it was clear: “no”. And it had to be accepted.

Now, months after Anton’s departure, I understand how many miracles happened in our family and our environment during the time we saw him off. And his death is also a miracle – bright, deep, with communion, when his beloved bishop arrived, his confessor was nearby, and the whole family was nearby. There was an absolute sense of birth, not death. The birth of a dear person in a new life. Now I understand that we needed it. That it was a gift.

The disease was not defeated, but the miracle happened anyway. We have witnessed an absolutely amazing Christian death.

Prayer is our relationship with the Lord. And this is such an incredibly simple and at the same time complex question. Simple, because everything is said: love and pray. And difficult, because you are never really sure – what you are asking for is really needed? Really good?

I am not very good at praying, I am constantly distracted and unable to concentrate. And at night I often don’t pray, I fall asleep and that’s it. I am one of those prayer books who pray fervently when the pressure is on. Then you pray for real and you get moments of dialogue with the Lord.”

Marina Tikhonova, teacher :

“The most striking experience for me was praying not for a loved one, but for someone else’s newborn baby.

When I was in my early 20s, I worked as a nurse in a maternity hospital. Then I had just come to the Church and went through everything that a neophyte is supposed to do – both an ardent desire to pray and a desire to keep all the fasts. But the most important thing is the infinite, unconditional trust in God.

I wore my Orthodoxy, probably, like a pioneer badge. Sometimes, over tea, colleagues asked who I was, where I came from, why, with a higher education, I went to the nurses. I explained, and at the same time said that I was a neophyte in the Church, I sang in the choir. Of course, I considered myself very smart, but I tried to broadcast harmlessly and unobtrusively.

One day a very large baby was born on my shift. It soon became known that he was very ill. I saw that they were fussing around the children’s ward, running around. Especially the neonatologist. And then my older sister called me to her and said: “Marina, this is the situation. The kid is really bad. It might not even make it to the morning.” I was surprised – why am I here? I was surprised and immediately understood what they really want from me. The doctor did her job and everyone who could did their job. I could be called for one simple reason – to pray.

Then the older sister said clearly, in a military way: “So, do you have holy water? Bring everything you have in the ward and get up to pray. ” It was at night. I called my husband, he brought me holy water to the hospital. With him was an akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos. I armed myself with all this and went to the ward.

The baby’s mother was sitting near the ward. I didn’t have my own children then, but I imagined myself in her place, and I really wanted to do something for her. I hesitated for a couple of seconds, and then handed her an akathist. She said as softly as possible that, they say, if it makes you feel better, please read it. If not, don’t do anything, it’s optional. She took it and began to read.

The baby was really big, almost five kilograms. When I entered the room, he looked quite normal, but then he began to choke. I saw that literally in front of my eyes a person is between life and death.

I sprinkled the cauldron with holy water (I couldn’t do any harm – it’s completely closed), stood next to me and began to pray. It was really hot, from the heart. And a bit of a soldier, because I felt like a bit of a soldier.

She stood like that for several hours. Our neonatologist did her job all this time, the whole nightstand nearby was just lined with empty medicine vials, and I read all the prayers that I knew, prayed in my own words, then again by heart, lost my way, started again. I understood that it doesn’t matter what I say, because the main thing is not to be silent. I looked at this baby and with all my being asked God that he would survive. And at the same time she said: “Lord, Thy will be done.” It was very difficult.

Even as a neophyte, I understood that prayer is not a spell. I remembered all my sins. Do I have the right to ask?

I kept looking at the baby. Watching and not being afraid, too, at that moment seemed to me part of this important matter. I asked: “Please let this child live now. May he survive the night.” We knew that in the morning he would be taken to the intensive care unit in a neighboring town, where everything was needed. And he has to wait.

That the Lord is always near, that He is in the midst of us at all – I never had any doubts about this. Will He listen to me, will He answer me – that was the big question.

The baby survived. In the morning he was taken to the intensive care unit. Mom returned the akathist to me. I don’t remember this mother’s face at all. In general, from that night I remember only silhouettes and a feeling of warmth from everyone. It was as if everything was under God’s protection… Yes, it was! By morning, the baby’s condition stabilized, and he was taken to intensive care alive. What is this if not a miracle?

At that moment, I realized that it was okay to ask like this and pray like that. There are prayers that we read in the morning, in the evening, somehow “plannedly” we thank God or turn to him. And there is also such a special state – a very strong prayer. I didn’t know this before, but then I had such an experience.

In the morning, when we learned that the baby was alive, it was such a joy – like Christmas or Easter. We understood: the Lord has been here with us. ”

Svetlana Kameneva, artist :

“Three years ago my husband’s friend Marcel came to us from Ufa. His daughter was diagnosed with cancer. She studied at MGIMO, she herself entered the budget, and suddenly – this.

He called us in total desperation and said that he wanted to get away from it all a little. Of course, we invited him to our place, we then settled in a small seaside town.

Marseille arrived on Friday, November 16, 2018, and we had a long, long conversation at the barbecue. He is a wealthy man, and if there were no quota, he would still have money for treatment. And then he said: “No money is needed, all this is so perishable, it is so unimportant when the life of your child is in danger.” He had tears in his eyes. And my husband and I were very sad about all this.

Then I was a completely unchurched person. Moreover, I taught courses on self-development, meditation. It was very profitable: many people want to solve their problems without putting much effort.

When we saw Marseille off early on Sunday morning, for some reason I said to my husband: “Listen, today is Sunday, there must be a service in the Church. Let me go and pray.”

In our church there is a miraculous icon of the healer Panteleimon. When, before that incident, the only time I went in and venerated this icon, the Lord sent us a daughter. And this time I came to this icon, asked, prayed. And at some point, just all covered with goosebumps. Some incredible feeling.

And on Tuesday or Wednesday, Marcel called and, out of emotion, could not immediately explain what had happened. He just repeated: “Guys, this is not cancer!” It turned out that my daughter had an operation and no cancer was found. Three years have passed, the girl is doing well.

Everything seemed to fit into a single chain, like puzzles into a picture. It was clear that I had no right not to come, not to thank God. I came to the temple on Saturday, prayed, said “thank you”.