WHS History teacher Mark Dargie and Preschool Director Deborah Auclair speak to the children at the start of the lesson. (Photo by Amy Porter)
WESTFIELD – Last week, Mark Dargie’s ninth grade U.S. History classes used Westfield’s 350th anniversary as a teaching moment for themselves and the Children’s Corner Laboratory preschool’s four and five year olds. Five classes visited the preschool, which is located in Westfield High School, and taught lessons they had prepared about what life was like in Westfield 350 years ago.
At Tuesday’s lesson, the freshmen each formed a circle with a child or small group of children and talked about “Foods from the Past.” What kind of food did people eat 350 years ago, and how did they cook it without stoves, microwaves and refrigeration? Did they eat apples like people do today? What about pizza and hot dogs? The children thought that having to make a fire to cook food would be difficult.
WHS freshmen and Children’s Corner preschoolers enjoy a hands-on activity. (Photo by Amy Porter)
The freshmen then played interactive games with the preschoolers, such as having them find matching pictures of the different foods they had talked about.
Following the lesson time, the preschoolers thanked the freshmen for their visit, and quietly sat down to lunch, thinking about what they had learned.
Other classes taught by the freshmen included “What is a birthday? Life now and then”, “Games of the 1800s”, “Transportation” and “Immigration in Westfield”.
The children enjoyed the interactive games. (Photo by Amy Porter)
“I thought it would be great for the high school kids to be able to teach to very little kids basic ideas,” said Dargie about the series. He said all 100 of the students in his history classes got involved, creating posters and hands-on activities to teach and play with the children.
“I think it’s a great collaboration,” said lead pre-school teacher Torrie Hodovanec, adding, “They’re used to having high schoolers in here, but having a new group bring something new is pretty neat.”
Family consumer sciences teacher Deborah Auclair said the children love the learning that they’re doing, and the activities. “One of the really great things here is that there is always something new,” Auclair said about Children’s Corner preschool. “Being in the high school is the most exciting place to work. Never a dull moment,” she added.
The children sat down quietly for lunch following the lesson. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Auclair supervises the high school students who teach in the preschool throughout the year, who have completed Child Development I and II classes. Auclair said students that get involved in the program either want to be teachers in preschool, elementary or special education, or nurses, doctors and speech pathologists, and get college credit for the student teaching. “Their passion is here, that’s why they love it so much,” she said.
The preschoolers get one-on-one teaching and time with the high schoolers, and end the year fully prepared for kindergarten. This year’s graduation for the Children’s Corner Laboratory Preschool will be on May 23. For more information, go to whs.schoolsofwestfield.org and click on the Preschool tab on the menu.
