Little Crusaders
The foundation of a child’s early education lies in our beloved Little Crusaders Program. We extend a warm welcome and open arms to children ages 6 weeks through 2 years old. Our goal in The Little Crusaders Program is to provide a loving, safe, and comfortable environment for every student and family who graces our hallways and classrooms. Care and education begin with love, understanding, patience, and a desire to find the best in every precious child made by God. Teachers provide such an environment to care for our Little Crusaders while teaching them through play, song, dance, conversation, and educational materials. Our PK1 and PK2 classes complete a yearly classroom curriculum that introduces our youngest learners to basic concepts like colors, shapes, basic vocabulary, and developmentally appropriate lessons. Parents are kept abreast of their children’s days in real time via the ProCare app. The goal of our Little Crusaders Program is to nurture a love for learning within our students while providing a home away from home to them. The bond between our students and teachers only helps to make our students' world happier and more fulfilling every day. Our teachers day to day interactions with parents and families are yet another piece of the puzzle that allows SLKF to create significant and powerful bonds between teacher, student, and parents/families. The SLKF Little Crusaders Program is more than just a place of care and education. It is a place to call home!
"Striving to educate and develop the whole child: physically, intellectually, emotionally, morally and spiritually."
Message from the Director
I am overcome with joy knowing you are expressing interest in The Little Crusader Program at St. Louis King of France Catholic School. It is my distinct honor to have the privilege of caring for the development of your child. The Little Crusader Program strives to be at the forefront of care and education. Above all, we care for, nurture, and love every child entrusted to our care. Our added curriculum for PK1 and PK2, along with Spanish, Music, and P.E. classes, sets us apart and has proven to prepare children for their next big step into lower school.
Here at St. Louis King of France:
- Your child will grow socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically with the support and care of their teachers.
- Young children are given the predictable daily routines they require to develop appropriate limits and boundaries.
- Children will learn through meaningful, hands-on experiences.
- Children will develop a variety of age-appropriate developmental tasks to increase skills in all areas of development, including thinking, reasoning, speech/language, and fine/gross motor skills.
- We believe that play is the work of young children. Preschoolers learn from a variety of teacher-directed, child-initiated learning activities.
- We strive to provide a safe and supportive, well-organized, engaging environment that encourages children to play, interact, and share with each other.
- The classroom environment will encourage the curiosity, exploration, and discovery of children for them to develop into lifelong learners.
- Our teachers are caring, patient, creative, and supportive of all the needs of the children by understanding and respecting that each child has their own growth rate and individuality.
As a mother of an SLKF student who has benefited from the Little Crusader Program and the director of Early Childhood at St. Louis King of France, I strive to improve the program daily and watch our little ones develop their minds and spirits for their coming years in lower school. I personally look forward to getting to know your little ones and your family during these important years! I am open and welcome to any feedback you may have. If you need any assistance throughout the year, please contact me and I will be happy to help you in any way possible.
Sincerely,
Our Mission
Our mission is to begin building Gospel values while guiding children to reach their highest developmental, social and academic potential. The Little Crusaders Early Childhood Program will create and maintain a hands-on, child-centered early educational program while empowering families to participate in and enhance their children’s development. Our caring and nurturing environment will foster growth in language development, problem solving, as well as gross and fine motor skills, which will provide the building blocks for success in future learning.
Our Philosophy
We believe that children excel when they feel loved, wanted and secure. Therefore, the Little Crusaders Early Childhood Program provides a warm, loving, comfortable and safe environment for optimal growth and development. Each classroom establishes routines that are predictable and consistent. All children are treated with tenderness, honesty and respect, and we encourage them to treat others in this manner.
We are committed to enhancing children’s education and believe teachers are important role models. Therefore, we use modeling as a vibrant tool in our classrooms. We utilize constructive guidance and positive reinforcement to maintain a Christian atmosphere where children feel comfortable and confident. To foster their growth and enrich their peers, children are encouraged to take ownership in shaping our classroom dynamics by openly sharing their work, ideas and personalities. Our curriculum engages students in active and creative exploration and identifies goals in social, emotional, physical and cognitive development.
The St. Louis King of France Little Crusaders Early Childhood Program advocates open communication with parents, for they ultimately play the most vital role in their child’s continued development. As much as we love to care for, nurture and guide children, we believe that parents should also be encouraged to be active participants in their children’s education and growth. Parents, teachers and administrators share a common priority – to provide the best they possibly can for every child. Working together as a team, we will provide a strong foundation for our Little Crusaders to continue their academic, social, emotional and physical successes.
Meeting Student Needs
St. Louis King of France Catholic School seeks to provide opportunities for all students through the use of various methodologies, programs, activities, interventions, and assessments.
Teachers utilize the most current and effective trends in teaching strategies. Due to the increasing diversity of students in the classroom today, the shift in education has moved from how teachers should teach to how students can learn. The trend in recent years is toward a heterogeneous grouping of students with a curriculum including activities that promote learning through a multi-disciplinary approach. SLKF strives to keep classroom sizes small so that teachers are able to present information to students in ways that best suit their learning needs. SLKF teachers may teach the same lesson in smaller groups of auditory learners, visual learners, etc. Differentiated instruction is a key component of SLKF’s curriculum.
Support SLKF
St. Louis King of France is small by design. We believe education is a process presenting a unique experience for each individual. Every child at SLKF has a close connection to the faculty members. Our method of teaching speaks to individual attention that depends on small class size and a low student to teacher ratio. It is important to employ techniques suitable for students that will enable them to be successful in the classroom, as well as later in life.
The cost of the quality of education that St. Louis King of France School provides each student is not completely covered by tuition. Annual donations and fundraising subsidize tuition and helps fill the gap between tuition and the actual cost of educating each child at St. Louis King of France School. Giving back is a great way to help SLKF! Any gift makes a difference – whether big or small – and it shows your trust in us as a school worthy of your support.
Tuition and Fees
Registration Fee
PKO-PK2: $761.00
Registration Fees are NON-REFUNDABLE and NON-TRANSFERABLE.
($400 of the above fee will go towards the first month’s tuition.)
Tuition
PK0 (12 months): $12,017.73
PK0 (10 months): $10,753.78
PK1 (12 months): $11,637.37
PK1 (10 months): $10,437.67
PK2 (12 months): $11,258.20
PK2 (10 months): $10,119.50
Incidental Fees
Oldest student at SLKF
$789.50
Students with older SLKF sibling $649.50
Parish Support Fee (per student)
$350.00
Administrative Fees
Any family utilizing the 12 month payment plan
$360.00
Any family utilizing the 10 month payment plan
$300.00
Breakdown of 2025-2026 Incidental Fees
Registration Fee
PER STUDENT:
Student Insurance Fee
$7.50
Archdiocesan Assessment
$32.00
Building & Maintenance Assessment
$200.00
Bucktown Seafood Festival Raffle Tickets
$30.00
Class Party Assessment
$40.00
Supply Fee
$300.00
T-Shirt Fee (Theme & BSF)
$40.00
PER FAMILY:
Parents’ Club
$40.00
Auction Tickets
$100.00
PK3 - PK4
PER STUDENT:
Student Insurance Fee
$14.00
Archdiocesan Assessment
$32.00
Building & Maintenance Assessment
$200.00
Bucktown Seafood Festival Raffle Tickets
$30.00
Class Party Assessment
$40.00
Supply Fee
$300.00
T-Shirt Fee (Theme, BSF, & Field Day)
$60.00
PER FAMILY:
Parents’ Club
$40.00
Auction Tickets
$100.00
K-7th Grade
PER STUDENT:
Student Insurance Fee
$14.00
Archdiocesan Assessment
$32.00
Building & Maintenance Assessment
$200.00
Bucktown Seafood Festival Raffle Tickets
$30.00
Class Party Assessment
$40.00
Enrichment Assessment
$250.00
Workbook Assessment
$120.00
T-Shirt Fee (Theme, BSF, & Field Day)
$60.00.
PER FAMILY:
Parents’ Club
$40.00
Auction Tickets
$100.00
Incidental Fees will be spread out over 12 months if you choose to use the 12-month payment plan. If you choose to pay your tuition in full, the Incidental Fees are due at the same time.
Little Crusaders Curriculum
In the St. Louis King of France Little Crusaders Early Childhood Program, your child will begin to create the building blocks of learning through developmentally appropriate teaching. We are preparing our children to become successful, life-long learners.
As young learners, children will need the ability to:- Communicate with and respect others, accept diversity and perform as members of a group
- Examine situations, make judgments and solve problems
- Process information through spoken and written language
- Continue to learn new approaches, skills and knowledge as needs change
- Work cooperatively with peers and teachers in a variety of settings
Research shows that children learn by doing, and they need many opportunities to explore and grow. Preschool activities foster creativity and promote emotional, cognitive, social, language and physical development. These appropriate activities build self-esteem and enthusiasm for learning. Our program curriculum is based on current research and sound educational theories of early childhood learning and development. We provide a wide range of hands-on, interactive materials allowing children to explore their surroundings.
Our Curriculum:- Provides consistency and a predictable routine, which is comforting to children. Children learn best when they are relaxed and can anticipate what will happen next.
- Allows for changes necessary to the varying developmental ages in a group. Even though the children are the same chronological age, their skill levels may vary.
- Encourages children to work together, share and be successful at their individual skill level.
- Encourages participation in reading, listening, Spanish, art, music, dramatic play and creative movement.
- Provides multi-sensory experiences that allow children to learn through touch, smell, taste, vision and sound. Children learn best when information is provided through all senses.
- Invites exploration and discovery by including open-ended questions to promote thinking and problem solving.
- Encourages independence while following instructional and classroom rules.
Children learn and grow at different speeds, sometimes slowly and other times by leaps and bounds. We strive to provide a safe and loving environment for your child to learn and grow at their own pace and feel confident doing so. Skills and curriculum are introduced in order to aid each child’s ability to successfully learn and transition in a classroom setting. Parents are kept abreast of schedules, curriculum and activities to extend learning time at home and beyond the classroom.