Pre-K Counts persists through pandemic

The three preschoolers are busy in the play kitchen with pretend food. An older girl in a pink mask tells a younger boy not to do something because it is wrong. The boy, who is wearing a colorful mask, hesitantly listens. Then they continue on running back and forth, ordering each other around playfully in the kitchen. This would be a normal occurrence in previous years, except for the masks that have now become a standard part of many people’s attire. 

Hands–on learning and socializing are the basics of pre-kindergarten education, but the Milton Pre-K Counts students and teachers have changed their routines because of Covid-19 regulations, said the Pre-K Counts Teacher Ms. Kelly Jimison-Boyer. 

Pre-K Counts is a pre-kindergarten education program funded by the CSIU. It started in 2007 with Milton, Line Mountain and Shikellamy locations.  

Before Covid-19, 18 preschoolers attended the program Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Due to the small size of the facility and social distancing regulations, nine of the students now go into the school on Monday and Tuesday, while the other nine go in on Thursday and Friday, according to Ms. Jimison-Boyer. They are all virtually learning on Wednesdays, she added. 

During the three days that the preschoolers are not in the Pre-K Counts facility, they go to a Google classroom to find and complete assignments at home, Ms. Jimison-Boyer said. These assignments are usually take-home versions of classwork assignments, such as letter practicing and books to read, she said.  

The virtual assignments also include a demonstration of a certain skill, such as rhyming or opposites, and a story time for virtual students, she added. 

The Pre-K Counts teachers have had to cut down on the amount of materials that the preschoolers play and learn with, Ms. Jimison-Boyer said. The teachers must do this because they can only use what they have time to clean, she said, adding that they also can’t use non-washable materials. 

Also, the preschoolers can no longer make food as a class or bring in outside food for the class, said Ms. Jimison-Boyer. They can no longer have parents come in to volunteer or have occupational guests, such as firefighters or dental hygienist, come in to teach the preschoolers about their jobs, she added. 

Limiting materials has been relatively easy for the Pre-K Counts teachers, according to Ms. Jimison-Boyer. They often have at least two sets of certain toys, so the same toy is still available for students if one is being cleaned, she explained. 

However, because they are not able to use certain materials, such as cardboard lacing cards, arts and craft materials and a texture table where they practice measuring, preschoolers have had less practice with their fine motor skills, basic math skills and using their creativity this year, said Mrs. Jimison-Boyer. This style of hands–on learning is the primary way that preschoolers learn, she added. 

The teachers have cut down how many pre-k students are allowed at the working or playing centers from four to two. This change has worked better for the preschoolers because it helps to eliminate conflict over toys, according to Ms. Jimison-Boyer. 

To further meet the social distancing regulations, the students must spread out when they do group activities, such as story time. Social distancing has been a difficult change for the preschoolers and the teachers, she added.  

“That’s challenging because they don’t know what six feet looks like, and how are they supposed to interact and get their socialization that they’re supposed to have in preschool if they are six feet apart? Much of what their education is at this point is just learning how to play with others and how to socialize,” said Ms. Jimison-Boyer. 

At lunch and snack times, pre-k students use plastic protective shields when they take off their masks. However, during the preschoolers’ playground time outside, Ms. Jimison-Boyer said they still must wear their masks. Certain playground equipment is also blocked off to help prevent students from being “right on top of each other,” she said. 

According to Junior Laurel Bower, an Early Childhood Education student, the pre-k students do have three minute socially distanced mask breaks a few times a day. When it is nice outside, they can go out to have five minute mask breaks, she added.  

At first, the preschoolers struggled with wearing their masks and they constantly tried to pull them down or take them off, Laurel said, but added this changed as the school year went on. 

“They are very good at wearing their masks actually. They’re used to it,” Ms. Jimison-Boyer said. Since the preschoolers must wear their masks everyday in the classroom, this consistency has made it easier for the preschoolers to adapt to the practice now, she added. 

The mask requirement has also helped to stop the spread of germs and other sicknesses that would have spread easily in previous years, according to Ms. Jimison-Boyer. 

But certain skills that would be taught in a normal year are harder to learn due to social distancing, she added. 

“Where they see a picture of the toy on the shelf, they would … put it back on the shelf where it belongs. Now they are taught to put it in this bin on top of the shelf. That means it’s been used and then we have to sanitize it before we put it back on the shelf. So, those are big changes,” according to Ms. Jimison-Boyer. 

One thing that has not changed is how the Milton High School’s Early Childhood Education students help the Pre-K Counts students during the preschoolers play time and small groups, Ms. Jimison-Boyer added.  

“I think for the most part we have adjusted well. You know, children are learning. It’s just different,” said Ms. Jimison-Boyer.