Kindergarteners + Education Majors = ♥

What happens when you put 40 kindergarteners and 20 Moravian University education students together in one room? You get the happiest learning experience on the planet.

On February 10, Moravian University education students hosted 40 kindergartners from our community school, William Penn Elementary, in a pre-Valentine celebration that combined learning with fun for students at both ends of the education spectrum. The kindergarteners were divided into groups of four and assigned two student teachers. “This was a wonderful opportunity for our education students to get hands-on experience with children and learn about early child development, developmentally appropriate practices, and early literacy practices, and for all of us to strengthen our partnership with our community school,” says Jean DesJardin, assistant professor of education.

First of the day’s activities was story time. Each of the Moravian students chose a book to read for which they had to identify a reading objective and a PA standard. “This is intentional teaching not just reading aloud,” explains DesJardin. Jennifer Cella ‘18 chose Best Best Friends. “I chose it because it had a very simple, yet realistic story line about two friends in a classroom setting,” says Cella. “Something that I always do when reading a story to kids, is stop at a good part of the book and ask them to guess what they think will happen. My group of kids impressed me tremendously when I asked them the question. Due to their age, I assumed they would have given fantasized or impractical answers; however, these kindergartens were so interested and engaged in the book, they were able to give me realistic responses.”

Once the last pages had been read, the kindergarteners found their places at their craft stations where they worked with the education students to make valentine sun catchers using clear contact paper, sequins, and glitter. They then took their sun catchers to the PPHAC windows and held them to the light. “When they looked up at their artwork, they were proud of what they had created,” says Cella. “They all took a step back and a silent moment to appreciate what they crafted. That was a cool moment for me.

“Something that I will take away from this experience was how easy but necessary it is to make the children feel comfortable in a new environment,” adds Cella. “It made it easier on them once they knew more about me and that I was there to support and help them learn.”

The class ended with song and snacks, and kindergarteners and education students headed back into the rest of their day’s routine, each one taking with him or her a little piece of learning and a whole lot of joy.