Igniting the Spark
I first started my teaching career over thirty-five years ago. It quickly became apparent that I best grabbed my students’ attention when together we explored a new concept or experienced a new and different activity. During those early years of teaching, I was mainly employed at a demonstration school in Center City Philadelphia. The school boasted open classrooms with no walls and the teaching staff regularly took advantage of the varied Center City venues which richly facilitated the learning of our students. What I came to realize quite quickly was that the knowledge my students gleaned from lessons taught and programs experienced, was directly related to the emotions they felt during those times in school and with me as their teacher.
After my own child-rearing hiatus from teaching, I was hired as Kindergarten teacher at Or Ami to develop an all-day Kindergarten curriculum and to teach the class. When developing that curriculum, I paid special attention to the skills which our students needed to master but also to the programming options. I knew that I needed to fill their days with meaningful activity in order to spark a lifelong love of learning, exploration and self-confidence. Fast forwarding, a number of years later, I met three of the first Or Ami Kindergarten students at a chance meeting in a movie theater. After lots of hugging and catching up on what these now high school seniors were doing, each one of them asked about whether we still did the chick-hatching project at our school. Although they had learned many valuable skills way back when they were involved in that project, it was, they admitted, also the keen sense of pride and curiosity that had stayed with them.
Similarly, although there were many, many skills I learned in my childhood (both in and out of school), there is an event that, by far, stands out as the one that particularly summons a sense of wonder and self-confidence. Growing up, I was fortunate enough to live on a street with lots of other children. My “best friend” had an older brother and a younger sister. One day her brother, Stuart, gathered all the children on the street saying that he had built a rocket and invited us to participate in its launch. So, on a chilly March day, we all set out for the launch pad (Stuart’s front yard). My father was the on-site commentator and recorded an audio tape (which I still have!) of the momentous occasion. We all learned a lot that day – science related and otherwise. I cannot say that the event sparked a particular interest in space travel for me, but nonetheless, it did set an example for all the times in the future when I questioned whether it was worth trying something new or experimenting with the unknown.
I guess my rambling all leads to what the teaching staff and I strive for in our nursery school. That sense of adventure, self-confidence and love of learning and curiosity seeking is all that we hope our curriculum, programming activities and events will foster. Since, as educators, we never exactly know what might “light the spark” in each student, our plan continues to offer a wide-range of programming and a variety of activities, events and experiences.
As registration for the 2011-2012 school year continues, please contact me for information or to refer a relative, friend or neighbor. Our school is open five days a week from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM and coordinates with Vacation Play Days (between school and camp) and Or Ami Summer Camp.
· Toddler and Me (12-24 months with parent or caregiver)
· Stay and Play (18-24 months independent stay)
· Preschool Classes (two year old, three year old and Pre-K classes)
· Three year old and Pre-K Enrichment Classes
(enhancing preschool classes)
· Creative Arts Workshops
(after-school classes in the fine arts and the physical arts such as sports, yoga, karate, dance)
· Extended Hours (before and after school care)
Additionally, our Nursery School Committee has recently given their approval to plan for a Transitional Class in the 2012-2013 school year. This class will be appropriate for students not quite ready for the Kindergarten year. More details will be forthcoming soon.
As this school year winds down, I look forward to our nursery school igniting that spark in our students for many years to come.
