Courtesy of The Bluffton News Banner: Jenna Schweikert
Walking into Bluffton-Harrison Elementary School’s underwater-themed classroom on Aug. 14, the BHES preschool students let out a chorus of squeals and cheers.
The third and final experiential room features a sensory and auditory wall, a shallow water feature with plastic ocean creatures, a large submarine with a functioning telescope and an open-mouthed felt shark.
Yes, it does feel like being eaten by the shark, one student confirmed. It’s very scary, he added with a wide smile.
The submarine seemed to be the largest draw, with as many as eight students playing in the space. A working telescope and ceiling hatch drew the most attention, with a game of “who can throw the toy into the hatch” beginning near the end of play time. (None of the children, who were about half the height of the submarine, succeeded.)
This final classroom is the culmination of a yearslong project BHES embarked on to expand experiential learning in preschool.
BHMSD unveiled the new classroom and a community room with a ribbon cutting event on Tuesday, inviting members of the Indiana Department of Education, BHMSD school board and community partners like the Wells County Foundation and Wells County Chamber of Commerce to celebrate.
“There’s been a big push the last couple years in learning through play for early childhood,” BHES childcare director Jaci Moser said Tuesday. “They’re doing the math. They’re finding the letters, the shapes, the colors, but they’re doing it through play.”
The rooms are partially inspired by the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, Superintendent Brad Yates shared before the event.
“(They’re) interactive, engaging, feels like you’re actually there,” Yates said.
Each room has several options for learning through play, from sensory and auditory features to book centers and dramatic play areas.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for early childhood children,” State Director of Special Education Nancy Holsapple said at the ribbon cutting. “For Bluffton to have been able to do this for their community is wonderful.”
Former BHES principal Schlaura Linderwell spearheaded the project when it first began about five years ago, Yates said. Linderwell was among the attendees Tuesday.
The district has unveiled one themed room each year, beginning with a farm room, then a construction room and finally the underwater room this year. All three are popular with the preschoolers.
“Kids come in, their eyes just explode,” Moser said, describing the kids’ reactions.
During back to school night Aug. 11, one now-kindergartner even decided he missed preschool so much, he wandered down to the farm room to play — unbeknownst to his parents and new teacher, Yates shared.
It was a challenge to balance the scale of the rooms with safety, but it’s a pretty cool place to go to preschool, Yates said.
Also new to the preschoolers this year is the community room, decorated to look like a mini version of Bluffton. It includes a police station, TV reporter, florist, post office, hospital and city hall.
“Sometimes our little ones don’t always get to go to these places inside their family unit,” Yates said. “If we can represent that within our school, it gives them a better chance when they’re out and about in the world to have some prior experience.”
The community room is where the preschoolers do most of their academic work, learning numbers, letters and shapes, Moser said. It’s also the room for snack and craft time.
Also Tuesday, the group took a tour of the new Tiger Tots childcare program.
A former science building on BHES grounds had previously been turned into a childcare center for the half-day preschoolers. But that program outgrew the building, eventually moving into BHES.
The idea behind Tiger Tots is to retain young teachers by offering convenient on-site childcare for kids too young to be in preschool, Moser said.
“We came into the problem, we need our teachers to come back after maternity leave, and our aides to come back after maternity leave,” Moser said. “Dr. Yates had a great idea: we house it right here on our campus.”
Children can be enrolled beginning at eight weeks and stay enrolled until age three, when they would be eligible for preschool.
Tiger Tots is open only to BHMSD staff for now because of budget and staffing constraints, Yates said, although they’ve had community interest. The program has a max capacity of 10 children and they’re expecting to have between four and six enrolled by the end of this school year.
“(It’s) just the fun stuff of like, you’re coming here to work, you’re here where your child’s at. Super exciting,” Moser said.
Please view more photos from the event on our Facebook page.