A group of small, eager four year olds begin a new adventure. For most, this is their introduction to “big boy” or “big girl” school. They don uniforms and carry backpacks and report to class for the first time as parents snap photos and swipe away tears. For these students, the transformation has begun.
From those initial days in Frazer Hall onward, children are immersed in an environment of purposeful play. Such an environment is carefully thought out and planned. Teachers Julie Mendes and Lindsay Smith create each lesson so that students feel like they are simply playing, while they are actually learning new concepts and new life skills. Students spend hours in the PreK garden each week planting, digging and caring for vegetation. Centers are set up to foster a sense of play and fun while also encouraging learning. Students learn to cooperate with others and to function as part of a team outside of their family. Fall is also the time to begin developing writing skills and to identify letters and the sounds they make in preparation for reading.
PreK-4 learning is done with the students’ insatiable curiosity and exuberance in mind. Questions and discussions are encouraged and oftentimes take lessons in unexpected directions. For example, a garden lesson on the creatures that live in the soil can easily become a discussion on digging wells for water. In a similar way, a visit from a paramedic can lead to pretend playground rescues as they process what they’ve learned.
The adventure is in full swing with half of the year gone. At this point the development and progression of these little adventurers is astounding. In just a few months, their vocabulary has exploded. They have gone from simply making a mark on a piece of paper to proudly and confidently writing their name and identifying letter sounds. In February, they celebrate a milestone – 100 days of school complete! To commemorate the occasion, students collectively complete 100 acts of kindness in just two weeks. The concept takes off and students continue to recognize each other’s acts of kindness for the remainder of the year.
Students, now wearing monarch butterfly wings, celebrate their own metamorphosis. They show their family members how they can stand on the VPAC stage all in a line and sing songs as a united group. Behind them, a video highlights the year’s adventures. There have been visits from paramedics, doctors, dentists and even a certified K-9 dog. While students will remember the year as fun, parents can rest assured that it has also been a time of significant and meaningful learning.
Students can now express a complete thought or idea through their drawings and writings. They are reading sight words and using new terms. That pesky sleeping mat that was once a challenge for little hands to roll, is now expertly folded and stowed in the cubby each day. They have made friends and learned how and why they should work collaboratively with their peers. They have emerged into the spring as new little people eager to learn more.
It’s no coincidence that Mendes and Smith choose the butterfly cycle as a theme for their students each year. PreK-4 truly is a transformative time in a students’ life with many milestones and achievements to celebrate. Similar to the miracle of a caterpillar emerging as a beautiful butterfly, it is amazing to look back at the changes a PreK-4 student experiences over the course of one school year. Just imagine where they’ll go next!