"Children Hit New Heights" Otherwise Entitled "How Preschool Students Make Good"

     St. Jerome Preschool Students are proof that the American School System works.  The word "can't" is not a vocabulary term found in our preschool's academic mission. Instead we replace the word "can't" with the word "try."

      Now if you have never been inside a preschool classroom, you may ask "What activities are the students focusing on?" Is it tightly woven curriculum? A spectacular learning environment? Working under the tutelage of skillful educators? The answer is simply a classroom setting where students gain knowlegde, and skills, through hands-on exercises.

     We count numerals, trace alphabet letters, are taught religion through Bible Stories and learn to work cooperatively. Counting comes natural to most young students. Counting numbers in sequence takes determined practice. Counting days on a calendar and counting the number of students present each day are techniques we incorporate.  "You learn better by doing." Tracing alphabet letters is a perfect example of this concept. There is no better way to understand the formation of lines, shapes and forms as they transform into what we recognoize as letters. The fact that reciting prayers is engaging for preschool students surprises everybody except their teacher (Mr. Dank.) The concept of "right vs. wrong" is evident in so many Bible Stories as well as in everyday classroom interplay. Innovations with academic curriculum allow educators to occationally place students in small learning groups for the purpose of problem solving and cooperative interactions.

      Sometimes learning can feel like hard work to students. Lessons presented in a lively fashion engage the mind's of these preschool students. The results turn out to be sucessful. All students are capable of more than they have ever done. St. Jerome Preschool Students have become champions!