Ten advanced child development students from Hazelwood West High School have been working with pre-kindergarten and first-grade students at Armstrong Elementary School as part of a tech prep articulation with St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley.
In the program, high school students must complete 15 hours of practical, hands-on work with children. During the school day, the high school students visit the elementary school and give the younger students lessons they designed and prepared. The high school students make sure the teachers receive copies of the lessons.
In Michelle Chitwood’s first-grade class, the student teachers asked the students what plans they had for the upcoming weekend as they passed out a coloring assignment on flowers. Next, they distributed short, wooden sticks and cupcake baking liners in pastel colors. Following their directions, the young students eagerly made craft projects using these items.
“I like it when the kids ‘get’ something we’re teaching them; they get excited,” said senior Charlene Behlmann. “I don’t want to be a teacher but this is about family and it’s about kids and I want to have a family someday. When I’m older, this will really help me a lot.”
The students’ youth can pose a challenge for Behlmann.
“When the kids don’t understand a concept, I try to figure out another way to explain it,” she said.
Next door, in Ashley Dickey’s room, first-grade students worked on making self-portraits and created a list, describing their skin, eye and hair color.
“I really like making the lesson plans creative and then show the kids and see their excitement on their faces,” said junior Kelly Parsons. She said she plans to go into education or pediatric nursing, so this class helps her set a good foundation for her future. She vividly remembers the first-grade’s introduction to shaving cream.
“We used it and they had to write numbers in it and it was really messy,” she said.
A little farther down the hall, in Kim Reese’s class, some students worked at the board, making food pyramids, labeling them properly and coming up with examples of each level or section of the pyramid.
“I’m very awed by the control these teachers have,” said Deborah Kniepkamp, who teaches family and consumer science at the high school. “We already feel privileged to be here and it’s such an advantage for my students.”
After the young ladies finished in the first-grade rooms, they crossed to the other side of the building to visit the pre-kindergarten room and teacher Melissa Wright. The high school students planned a counting lesson for the pre-school students that included a number train. Each car was numbered and the young students had to put the cars in the correct order.