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Presbyterian Preschool enjoys ‘Rumble in the Jungle’
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .The students of the Poland Presbyterian Preschool Summer Camp posed near the new flowers and rock garden that they planted and placed during the second week of June.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Swathi Padmanabbon (left) checked on Sophie Meloy (right) as she gave some water to the plants that the students of the preschool summer camp planted.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Jonas Ovaska (left) helped set up his preschool's new rock garden during his week at Poland Presbyterian Summer Camp. On June 10, he checked back in and made sure all the rocks were in order.
By SARAH FOOR
From June 6 to 10, it was a jungle inside Poland Presbyterian Preschool.
For their third annual Preschool Summer Camp, the students of the school played, explored and learned about tropical animals through the theme “Rumble in the Jungle.”
The school year for the preschool ran until June 3, giving teachers Julie Simington and Mary Lou Volchko only one weekend to transform their school into a jungle getaway. After their decorations, the preschool rooms had vines and nets hanging from the ceiling, with plush jungle animals perched throughout the room. A comfortable sitting area called “The Lions Den” offered the preschoolers a spot to read and play.
On June 10, the last day of “Rumble in the Jungle,” the students reflected on all they had learned throughout the week and celebrated with a jungle feast.
“We wanted to teach the kids about the jungle from top to bottom,” explained Simington. “The preschoolers are learning about birds who live in the branches, to the predators on the ground, to the tiniest beetles and bugs who are part of the system. We hope that the students see that all animals are important and that rainforests are worth saving.”
Throughout the week, the students wrote in jungle journals about things they had learned, and created jungle jars that served as a photo frame for a class picture.
To further their teachings about helping the environment, the preschool staff and students planted flowers and created a rock garden at the entrance to their school.
Their week of jungle fun ended with a feast that included a cake Simington decorated to look like a lion.
“What do you think lion cake tastes like?” Simington asked her students.
“Lions?” the preschoolers offered.
In fact, the inside was chocolate and the group enjoyed the treat before saying goodbye for another year.