This mornings assembly was speaking about the Elders within our community, however my day today was spent with our youngest members of our community.
Today I visited the Early Childhood Program at Stone Ridge School, also known as “Pebble Ridge.” When I arrived to the classroom of the 1 to 2 year olds, Mrs. Golembiewski, was helping them learn different lessons through music, using finger puppets, and percussion instruments. She tried to get the children to mimic her singing, to test their response to the music. She engaged them through body movements, such as clapping and stomping to the beat, so they have a understanding of rhythm.
After the children finished their music lesson, they were ready to play, with Francesca M. (class of 2015). She started reading to one of the younger girls, then the other four children started to gravitate toward her. Francesca stated that they have grown accustomed to her presence, and also they have grown on her. Francesca has discovered that working with children is very rewarding and has changed her mind of what she wants to do in life in a positive way. She states, “This helps me understand that want to work with kids somehow when I am older and I am interested in public health and medicine, so maybe I will become a pediatrician. I did not really know how much I loved kids before coming here.” Though these are the smallest members of the community, but they are also equally as important. Their energy in the classroom is equal to their curiosity and willingness to experience new things.
After my visit, I realized that in this program, they are learning to become our future leaders, not just at Stone Ridge School, but also the future of our country.
