Do you remember your preschool classroom?  They sure have evolved over the years.
We’re paying a visit to a child-directed classroom where children are encouraged to observe, make choices and experiment.

Today is “pajama day” at Pershing preschool in Madera; just one of the classroom traditions started to help kids feel comfortable; a home away from home. First year teacher, Rebecca Flores, conducts a “child-directed” classroom. The philosophy is that children choose the activities in which they will participate. Rebecca develops a theme for each learning experience based on what the children think is interesting. The teachers are there simply to guide the kids through the learning process.

At the beginning of the school year, Rebecca asked the parents what their children would like to learn while in preschool. Most of the parents said that the children would be interested in learning about the ocean. “I wait until they get tired of a subject before I change it and for some reason, believe it or not, we worked on the ocean for three weeks!” Rebecca follows the “project” approach for activities in the classroom. “It was a process. So, we did the water first and then we talked about the plant life. My main goal is for them to have that pride in what they do; they value their work.”

Little Jorja Lindstead attends teacher Rebecca’s class. Jorja’s mom, Laura, says she is very impressed with the quality of the program and the warmth of the teachers. “I know that when she goes to kindergarten, she’s going to be prepared; really prepared. These teachers are great; they’re very comforting.”

We asked a few of the students what they learned about the ocean. Preschool student Carlos told us about sharks. “They had sharp teeth to bite!”

Next, we asked sweet, little precocious Katelyn. She had a few interesting facts to share.  “When their arms fall off they grow a new one! That’s what the teachers told me.”
What about sharks? What do they do? “They move their tail around to make them swim.”

Then it was Dusty’s turn; he wanted to tell us all about the ocean wall. “That is a clown fish. That is a sea horse. And that is an octopus.”
 
The children’s ocean art work was displayed around the entire classroom. “What I wanted to do was to bring the ocean to life,” says Rebecca.

“I’m going to go to the ocean with my mommy. And, I’m going to find some sea shells for teacher,” Katelyn stated proudly.

Katelyn has the right idea! Time for a road trip to the ocean!