Last month, Acting Commissioner Bill Beardsley visited Brittany Kamenos’ four-year old classroom at the Chelsea Elementary School. RSU 12 Superintendent Howard Tuttle, Principal Andrew Doiron, Southern Kennebec Child Development Corporation’s Executive Director Cristina Salois, Program Manager Penny Poolman, and Child Development Services Director Larry Schooley briefed the acting commissioner on the collaboration.
The collaboration is an example of how blended funding from various early childhood funding streams allows for the delivery of high quality preschool programming. Beardsley chatted with children as they ate breakfast and afterward observed them as they participated in a group activity learning about wind and its effects on balloons and other objects.
Ms. Kamenos built the lesson on the class reading of Gilberto and The Wind, a children’s classic story about a little boy who is both frustrated with and happy about the wind’s effects on his walk. The children were fascinated by the fan Ms. Kamenos used to demonstrate the effects of wind. They asked questions, made predictions and shared observations about the demonstration. The lesson is an example of building vocabulary and conceptual knowledge both of which are critical in preschool curriculum to create the foundation for later grades.
For information on public preschool, contact Early Childhood Specialist Sue Reed at susan.d.reed@maine.gov or 624-6632.