The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 1, Milford, Kosciusko County, 18 January 1984 — Page 8

THE MAIL-JOURNAL Wed., January 18,1984

8

School

Kindergarten: A vital segment

By DOROTHY GALL Milford Kindergarten Teacher Kindergarten is a very vital segment in the brick upon brick progression of skills and concepts that lead every child through a series of successful levels in the educational experience. Between the ages of five and seven, the eyes, ears and small muscles of the fingers are just reaching the developmental level at which they can deal with lines, small letters and small differences m letter sounds. Five is not a magic number for kindergarten success. For some, it would be better to delay school until the child is a full six years . The curriculum load for Kindergarten children is just as heavy for them as the load at any other grade level. If the visual, auditory and large and small

& I® I mha I 1 j MB nmml ' i 'i z ' i * \ jL J? IL, \ J ( QUIET PLACE — Dorothy Gall’s kindergarten class is one of the rooms atMilford Elementary that has access to a reading loft, designed for students' quiet times. Kindergarten students standing on the ladder from the left are Brandi Warrick and Amy Harris. Seated above are Darcy Murphy and Dani Justice. "State Os The Art" TYPESETTING Large And Small Manuscripts At Reasonable Rates ★ High Speea Compugraphic CRT Phototypesetter (5 Pt. To 72 Pt. Type Range) ★•Computer Driven Grammar And Proofreading Systems ★ Phone Modem Hook-Up n If It's Type You Want THE PAPERS INCORPORATED Phone 658-4111 10ft Swill Mata MILFORD

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muscle development has not progressed to the point that they can handle the tasks presented in the readiness program, it doesn’t matter how bright students are, the expectations of kindergarten will not be as successful for them as it might be with a little more maturity. Reading as a cognitive and associative process is an integral part of the entire three-hour program. In order to read, one. must have many experiences to bring to the printed page or the words have no meaning. Therefore, all the activities that provide sensory responses of seeing, hearing, tasting, touching and smelling are vital to comprehension of a story at a later time. Being able to decode a word into syllables, vowel sounds and consonant sounds consistently is a sorting process of likes, differences and small nuances of sound. The kindergarten child

strings beads into patterns, manipulates all kinds of pegs, blocks, Legos, puzzles — the myriad of materials available — into structures that balance and hold together. Then, du ofthese pieces myst be sorted and put away in appropriate places. This process, while appearing to be games and socialization, is allowing the mind to organize, plan, select and discriminate shapes, sizes, likes and differences. Reading requires the same skills, but the structures are abstract. Little lines and curves that are called letters must be sorted and organized into patterns that become words to express thoughts. This is a highly involved process and the child who cannot get small items selected into some organized pattern probably will have difficulty handling a pencil within lines as well as abstract letters at a later time. The construction of many art projects reinforce perception of spatial relationships, auditory and visual memory, and the name of the letter for whom it was made. These also give much practice in cutting and coloring within a restricted area, eyehand coordination and following directions. By December, the students have learned through the Alpha Program, five letter boys and their special characteristic from which the students understand sounds. They also know that Little Miss A must be in the middle or the letter boys cannot make a word. Through this, they have been introduced to beginning, middle and ending sounds, and the process of blending them together to sound out a three letter word. With this introduction, they are ready to move rapidly with the other 20 letters during the second semester. The table of contents in the math book is much the same as that of other grade levels. Children deal with classification, geometry, time, money, and fractions, along with the number/numeral concept and some addition and subtraction. Using concrete objects such as blocks, cars, themselves and things from the world around, they firm up concepts of up, down, top, bottom, above, below, inside, outside, more, less, greater than, less than and fewer. Then the children can transfer this to the abstract pictures on paper where the concepts of “above the line,” “below the line,” “on the line,” “larger” and “smaller” are essential math terms. Show and Tell conference time is far more than sharing the favorite toy or recent gift. It enables students to verbally explore the variety of uses, textures, speeds and other variations that can be drawn from each item or experience. They are encouraged to wonder and pose possibilities of the source of power that makes the vehicle move, the doll talk, one garment warmer than another or the computer operate. These expressions contribute the adjectives, adverbs, comparisons and superlatives that build vocabulary and again lead them with exciting associations to the printed page. tn the gym. they bounce, catch and kick the balls. On the mats, they do a forward roll, backward roll, cart wheel and a headstand against the wall. Students continue to hop, skip, gallop and balance; and they should develop a steady rhythm. Soon, throwing and catching bean bags and jumping rope will be added to further develop body management and control. Kindergarten is much more than learning to sit still, count and say the alphabet; however important these may be. Experiencing and relating to a rich environment that is brought into the classroom or extends the classroom into the community builds a wealth of knowledge, concepts, associations and skills that are vital in making the world of books come alive.

AGRICULTURAL. COMMERCIAL. INDUSTRIAL R 1 Box 4 J No Webster. IN + + ~ e. Mon Fn BAM SPM *> 2l9 834 4448 CLEAR SPAN BUILDINGS MCMMR NORTH WEBSTER CONST. NC.

HU* •jl-' * """881 i f I __ l 4 - - *W- V ; i -V ■*' I VAlf w mNBNBBBwi ' LEARNING TOOL — Computers are the newest learning tools in schools. Pictured above with one of Milford Elementary School’s computers are kindergarten students: Christy Hollar, Jason Price and Joshua Bess. NORTH WEBSTER WINNERS — North Webster Junior High recently conducted is school funding drive, with five students receiving recognition for their involvement. Pictured above are four of the top five salesmen in the project, which will go for extra-ciricuiar activities, and the purchase of a new computer. Standing from left to right, are, Brad Richards, fifth place; Kris Madden, first place; Rochelle Denny, fourth place; and Jennifer Carn, third place. Not pictured is second place winner Brad Leedy.

'Si 1 Wbc==. ■r ■ c 9 \//ia vM HBMkI BaSESsiiiiwZfla SALES COMPLETED — Milford Junior High School completed its cheese and sausage sales in November and honored the top sellers at a program last Wednesday. Top salesman for the school in the front row is John Wright who chose a home computer as his prize. Diane Coppes. also in the front row, won her computer in the drawing which was open to students who had sold at least 10 items. . In the second row from the left are: Julie Hollar, third highest salesman with her camera; Renee Manges, second highest with her radio; and sponsor Richard Bender.

Creative Co-eds elect offices

By SHARON GERENCSER The Creative Co-eds met at the home of Lisa Kaiser on January 12. The elected officers are as follows: President — Lisa Kaiser

Vice president — Karen Haney Secretary — Kristi Templin Treasure — Laura Haney Reporter — Sharon Gerencser Devotional leader — Lessli Hershberger Health and safety — Amy Jodry and Teresa Musselman Games — Holly Jodry and Pam Shock Song leaders — Bobbi and Becky Haab and Tara Netherly The American pledge was led by Laura Haney. The 4-H pledge was led by Sharon Gerencser. The song was “Old McDonald Had A Farm.” The members decided to give a donation to the Hoosier Leadership Center at Purdue to help keep it open. Refreshments were served by Mrs. Kaiser. The next meeting will be at Karen and Laura Haney’s home.

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SPECIAL STUDENTS — Five North Webster sixth graders in the junior high’s gifted talented program received a second place award in a state sponsored project for the special students. Pictured above are, standing, Kimberlee Carmichael; sitting, Christa Sincroft, Amy Barton, Jenny Noble; and standing, Lydia Bonner. The project, which had 78 schools involved recently honored the group from North Webster for their work in the Future Problem Solving Project. (Photo by Mark Weinstein)

Children have medical learning experience

The children in Miss Niles pre-kind erga r t e n and kindergarten classes of the Milford Christian School recently had some medical learning experiences. On Wednesday, Jan. 11, the 5-year olds took a trip to the Goshen Hospital. While there they toured the emergency room, the dietary, the kitchen and were entertained with a puppet show explaining the operation of Shawnta Pippenger, one of the students, who had her tonsils taken out there. The class members were able to try on the surgical garbs and were given a mask and haircovering to take home. Linda Replogle drove the van of 10 students and staff who took the tour. On Tuesday, Jan. 17, the 4-year old pre-kindergarten class walked down to the office of Dr. Rheinheimer and Dr. Dick where they were met by Jane Venerly, one of the nurses. Starting in the waiting room, Mrs. Venerly took

fl What we call adversity God calls opportunity; I fl what we cad tribulation God cads growth. AN OPEN INVITATION IS EXTENDED TO YOU | TO WORSHIP GOD WITH US .. . K3HHBI I ■ 9:30A.M. Koinonio Worship (7th grade — young ® single adults) Sunday Bible School Hour (Children of , V 6th grade 4 adults) I 10:30 A M. Morning Worship Hour Sunday Bible School Hour (Koinonio ■ group) I 7:00 P.M. Evening Service M 7:00 P.M. (Wednesday) Youth Meetings (all I Fred Walls a9 ** ): Aduh Bib,e Sludy: AdMlt Choir Corl Sheerer I Associate Minister Practice Minister I CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF MILFORD f Fourth And Henry Streets 658-9151 Milford fl

the group on a tour. They visited the examination room where they saw blood pressure cuffs, tongue depressors, table, light to check their eyes and ears. They saw the scale and an office with a typewriter and all their records. There was also a laboratory with a microscope, a blood separator and medicine. They then viewed the X-ray room with some

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X-rays and the material that casts are made out of. In total the group saw three treatment rooms, two storage rooms and two waiting rooms. Each one in the group received a free band-aid. The class members voted and decided that they had really had a fun time and appreciated the opportunity to make this visit.