Modesto church’s preschool celebrates 50 years

With food, games and a display of memorabilia dating back to its early days, the Tiny Tots preschool program of First United Methodist Church on 16th Street in Modesto celebrated its 50th anniversary on Sunday.

Edith Burchell started the program in 1966 because she sought socialization for her 3 1/2 -year-old daughter. What started as a once-a-week service to give mothers a “day out” on Tuesdays grew within a year to two days a week with a hired teacher and parents pitching in, Burchell said.

The twice-weekly program ran eight to 10 years before growing to five days a week. The program now has up to 34 youngsters. To mark the golden anniversary, First United Methodist redid the Tiny Tots play area and added equipment and a concrete trike track.

This story was originally published May 1, 2016 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Modesto church’s preschool celebrates 50 years."