But what surprised parents about the new Grace Preschool in Los Gatos was that there were only two criers—and their fits weren't contagious. The rest of the children were too busy having fun playing with a tandem tricycle, child-sized toy vacuum and wooden train set to notice.

The preschool at 111 Church St., which officially opened Sept. 7, is an outreach program of the Los Gatos United Methodist Church. But it's also a vision that has taken about 15 years to come true, said Lois Stocking, chairwoman of the preschool committee.

"Over a decade ago, a group of parents or lay members of the church had the dream of starting a preschool," said the Rev. Judith Stone, pastor of the former Grace United Methodist Church of Saratoga.

When Grace United closed and merged with Los Gatos United, Stone said the decision opened up the possibility of new life, programs and resources. The combined churches held monthly committee meetings and brought together funding that underwrote the building of the preschool. They were able to renovate a 1960s existing building on the Church Street site.

Pastor Lee Neish and Los Gatos Mayor Steve Glickman kicked off the dedication ceremony of the new preschool with a red-ribbon-cutting ceremony conducted by parents and their children—with colorful safety scissors in hand.

"Our community demographically is changing," Glickman said. "We're having more families and young children coming to us, and we need more facilities like this to accommodate them."

Wendy Hawkins, the preschool's new director and former Grace United member, said she couldn't be more thrilled with the opening of the facility, centered on developmentally appropriate and play-based curriculum for children ages 2 to pre-kindergarten. The school is also unique in that it accepts children who are not toilet trained, said Laurie Jones, a parent and preschool committee member.

"It's my first time directing a preschool, and I'm having a blast," Hawkins said. "It's been great to be a part of the committee for the past two years and getting the preschool started."

Hawkins has been collecting ideas and projects over the years that she can't wait to implement. She also said there's a large demand for preschools in the area, and Grace Preschool has a unique downtown location.

"We belong to this church, and we've seen the effort, love and work that's gone into it," said Bob Petrokas of Los Gatos, visiting the school with his wife, Judy. "We wanted our grandson to be a part of it."

Their grandson, Sean, shyly said he liked all the new toys and especially a turquoise-colored rubber ball.

Hawkins said the preschoolers attend a chapel service once a week for 15 minutes. But families don't have to be members of the church for their children to attend the nonprofit preschool.

Mark Richards of Los Gatos said he and his wife, who aren't members of the church, were delighted their 2 ¹/2-year-old son, Nathan, was accepted into the preschool.

"We felt guided to be here because Nathan was enrolled in another preschool, and we overlooked the requirement that he needed to be potty trained," Mark said. "We're hoping that he just enjoys being with the other kids here and learns from the adults."

Hawkins, a preschool teacher who formerly worked in Menlo Park, said so many times in public schools children have to separate their values and faith from their schoolwork, but at Grace Preschool they don't have to worry about that difficulty.

In addition to Hawkins, the school is staffed by two aides and teachers Laurie Miller and Michele Winchester. The school currently has 33 children enrolled and still has openings.

"Grace Preschool is truly an amazing place," Hawkins said. "It's so centered on the kids who are here."

For more information about Grace Preschool, visit www.lgumc.org or call 408.354.4730.