Peter Pan Day Schools - Little Shepherd Day School
Little Shepherd Day School at Naperville Church of the Brethren, 1020 W Jefferson Ave, Naperville, IL 60540
About
Peter Pan Day Schools - Little Shepherd Day School includes daily play-based learning with activities such as large motor movement and other gross motor activities. Children spend time in the Learning Gardens, where they learn to identify many vegetables and flowers and to distinguish between annuals and perennials, and they take part in early spring plantings and late fall harvests. The program also includes Christian lessons and Children’s Chapel with Pastor Dennis.
Little Shepherd was originally established as a ministry of the Naperville Church of the Brethren in the 1970s. In 2001, the church board outsourced management to Helen Hochstetter, and at that time Little Shepherd joined the Peter Pan family. The program uses the Peter Pan curriculum with the addition of Christian lessons and Children’s Chapel with Pastor Dennis.
The mission of Peter Pan Day Schools - Little Shepherd Day School states that “Every Day is a Nature Day” and that its nature curriculum has been designed over decades to go beyond preparing children for elementary school. The mission also states that the program focuses on play-based learning every minute of its daycare and preschool programs and that daily activities instill the importance of loving oneself, family, friends, and the world, while children begin to develop an appreciation and respect for all that God has created.
Parents describe a “real sense of care and nurturing” when they walk through the doors and say their children receive individual attention from teachers and staff. One parent notes that their child comes home with “a wealth of knowledge and questions,” and another shares that their son was “extremely prepared” when he started kindergarten, which they attribute to the instruction at Little Shepherd. Multiple parents refer to feeling “blest” or “blessed” to be part of the Little Shepherd family and say their children enjoy going to school each day.
Last updated May 28, 2026.
Little Shepherd was originally established as a ministry of the Naperville Church of the Brethren in the 1970s. In 2001, the church board outsourced management to Helen Hochstetter, and at that time Little Shepherd joined the Peter Pan family. The program uses the Peter Pan curriculum with the addition of Christian lessons and Children’s Chapel with Pastor Dennis.
The mission of Peter Pan Day Schools - Little Shepherd Day School states that “Every Day is a Nature Day” and that its nature curriculum has been designed over decades to go beyond preparing children for elementary school. The mission also states that the program focuses on play-based learning every minute of its daycare and preschool programs and that daily activities instill the importance of loving oneself, family, friends, and the world, while children begin to develop an appreciation and respect for all that God has created.
Parents describe a “real sense of care and nurturing” when they walk through the doors and say their children receive individual attention from teachers and staff. One parent notes that their child comes home with “a wealth of knowledge and questions,” and another shares that their son was “extremely prepared” when he started kindergarten, which they attribute to the instruction at Little Shepherd. Multiple parents refer to feeling “blest” or “blessed” to be part of the Little Shepherd family and say their children enjoy going to school each day.
Last updated May 28, 2026.
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