Visiting the Meadows Preschool
We all know that feeling, the “I’m new to the school” feeling. However, as I entered our Meadows Preschool program for the first time, it didn’t take long for the nerves to settle and disappear. As an SCS teacher, I was excited to see how the Meadows had grown over the past two years. As I stood, surrounded by the silence before a school day beings, my eagerness to walk around and to enter the world the children experience every day, quickly captivated me. It gave me a chance to appreciate the children’s current study topics, and to see the intentional learning environment that welcomed children to come in and play.
During my visit, the children and I enjoyed time around the sensory table with new jewels and valentine-themed rice, heart baking cups, pails, and valentine recipe cards. As the activity grew, we spent time, solving problems and sharing, counting, recognizing numbers, discussing basics to volume and amounts, and these are only to name a few. As the day continued, children participated in various activities, like playing in a NASA space shuttle, solving puzzles, balancing towers, creating a class banner, and making predictions on Groundhog Day. Aside from the activities that I participated in with the Meadows preschool, I also was able to learn some of the most memorable experiences the school has had. This has included delivering hot chocolate out to the big kids at the bus stop, caroling to their neighbors, daily friends waving hello, providing valentines to their elders, and staying in touch with children that have graduated. My favorite observation didn’t lie in the child solving a puzzle or building the tallest tower, it wasn’t even when one child told me, "I'm learning. I like to learn and love school. I like to see my teachers” (although it’s a close second!), but rather it was listening to how Lori and Maggie, the two Meadows teachers, interacted with the children. Their interactions with the children were founded in empathy and patience and promoted a child's self-worth, determination, curiosity, and creativity.
At SCS, our philosophy is centered on the importance of building a child’s social and emotional development. It is this strong foundation that will provide children with further success in all areas of their learning and development. The relationships that our school cultivates, with children and their families, are arguably the most important element to all that we do at SCS. My visit with the Meadows has shown me how it has fully become a vital part of the Seacoast Community School identity. I am grateful for the chance I had to see the preschool, and want to thank the Meadows teachers for sharing their classrooms with me.
If you have any questions about any of our SCS programs, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Admissions Coordinator at jwinn@seacoastcommunityschool.org
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