Taylor: "We can tell the difference"

It's easy to identify the difference a Pre-kindergarten education makes in a young child's life, said Robin Taylor, assistant principal at Great Falls Elementary School.
“The main thing about our Pre-K program is we can tell the difference between children that have attended a Pre-K program and those who have not,” Taylor said. “Children who attend a Pre-K program in Chester County are well prepared for kindergarten.”
This “preparation” is exhibited in many forms of the student's progress, Taylor said.
“Pre-K programs not only help with academics but socialization for children who have not had an opportunity to be around other children or other adults outside a home setting,” she said. “The curriculum has rigor to it and covers different aspects from academics to socialization.”
GFES offers a full-day Pre-K class taught by Marilyn Price and Lee Walters and a half-day class taught by Michelle Smith and Henry Wilmore. The Pre-K class environment is conducive to learning on all sides. At the top of a classroom wall, words centered on either side of the clock encourage the students “Be the Best You Can Be!” On wall cabinets are a selection of vocabulary words including, “red,” “brown,” “green,” and “orange” posted on corresponding colored poster sheets. To help the students learn their numbers, 1,3,5,7,9 are listed as “odd Todd's” while 0,2,4,6,8 are called the “even Steven's.” A book center offers the children opportunities to learn about animals, equipment and careers. Titles include, “Baby Animals: Ponies and Foals,” “Farm Tractors,” “A Day at the Farm,” and Careers: Farmers.” Pre-K students Damon Rojas, Caroline Cate and Jazmine Sorcia, all age five, expressed what they enjoy best about their class at GFES.
“I like to play in the block center because they have tools,” Damon said.
Damon also enjoys the books his teachers read to him and his classmates, he said. One of his favorites is “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss, he said. When asked what details he could recall from the stories he's learned, he became momentarily pensive then responded carefully.
“I like the one about the mouse that fell down in the ice,” Damon said with a chuckle.
Caroline likes fairy tales about beautiful princesses and queens, she said.
“I like (the story) about the queen, she was lost and a man found her and took her to a kingdom,” Caroline said.
In the various centers, the children have the opportunity to learn about households and potential future careers. Caroline says she likes “the kitchen.”
“You can fix somebody's hair and stuff,” she said.
Jazmine calls the kitchen her favorite center but finds it to be a multi-use space.
“You can fix hair and cook fish,” she said.
Jazmine couldn't remember the title of the book she enjoyed having read to her by her teacher but when asked what she remembered from the book, she shared her favorite part of the story.
“When the cat hit the mouse,” she said and laughed.

Denyse Clark

Carolina Cate, left, and Jazmine Sorcia, share learning time in “the kitchen” a Pre-K activity center at Great Falls Elementary School.

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