Playgroup visits SAD 1 Greenhouse
PRESQUE ISLE — The Presque Isle Regional Career and Technical Center’s Early Childhood Playgroup recently visited the SAD 1 Greenhouse. The playgroup students enjoyed a short lesson on plants from John Hoffses, educational farm manager. Planting marigolds for a Mother’s Day surprise followed the lesson.
Contributed photo
GREENHOUSE VISIT — The Early Childhood Playgroup recently visited the SAD 1 Greenhouse. Clockwise from bottom left are Parker Harris, McKinley Cronin, Stephanie Hammond, Kristen Gingrich, Molly Kinney, Katelynn Perkins, Abigail Reed, Hope King, Bailey Soucy, Brittany McPherson, Eliza McCurry, Arianna Forbes, David Shaw, Rachel Wasson.
The playgroup, consisting of 12 children between the ages of 2-1/2 and 4, provides a lab experience for the PIRCTC Early Childhood Education students. They meet twice weekly for this social and educational program. Young children have an opportunity to socialize with others their age as well as enjoy one-on-one and group interaction with the older girls. The schedule and learning centers are structured similar to pre-school to help prepare the children for pre-K. The goal of the playgroup is for the children to have fun as they practice playing and sharing with others and gaining more independence practicing self-help skills.
The PIRCTC students in the early childhood education program have the option of dual enrollment with NMCC, which also requires the lab time. The students in the afternoon class plan the room layout, prepare lesson plans, learn positive methods of guiding behavior, plan and prepare snacks, play with the children, clean the playroom and operate a playgroup of preschoolers.
The morning class obtains their lab time by volunteering at ACAP’s Child and Family Services Center. The students have an opportunity to work with children from ages 3 months to 5 years in three settings: high-quality childcare, Head Start and Early Headstart classrooms with experienced teachers. They observe the implementation of lesson plans and the use of positive guidance with the children.
