Children experience hands-on learning
(l-r) Kellan, 2, Bella, 2, and Summer, 2, use a puzzle to learn about pets in the Infant and Toddler A class with Lee Ann Townsend, Child Development Center Lab supervisor.
Peyton, 4, (back) and Ethan, 4, (front) study light and shadows with Magna-Tiles in the Preschool A class. Once they are finished with the light and shadow unit, they will begin a unit on earthworms, said Lisa Jones, Early Childhood Development teacher.
(l-r) Madison, 4, and Righley, 4, try on various hats in the Preschool B class. The students are learning about sun safety by studying hats that can protect them from the sun.
Children in OCCC’s Child Development Center and Lab School are learning about light and shadow, hats, pets and senses this week, said Lisa Jones, Early Childhood Development teacher.
The center is divided into four classes, Preschool A and B, and Infant and Toddler A and B, Jones said.
Jones, a teacher in the Preschool A classroom, is teaching her class about light and shadow with Magna-Tiles.
“We are teaching them about objects that are transparent and opaque,” Jones said.
“When you stand in front of light, it makes shadow,” said Peyton, 4, a student at the center.
The Preschool B class is beginning a project about hats, said Constance Pidgeon, early childhood teacher.
“Especially because of the weather, our goal is to help them learn that hats protect us from the sun,” Pidgeon said.
Theresa Cooper, early childhood teacher in the Infant and Toddler A class, said her students are learning about pets.
She said her students are reading books and singing songs about pets, and will be making puppy chow, a chocolate and peanut butter treat.
“The benefit of studying about pets is to teach them animal awareness,” Cooper said. “The kids are approved to bring their pets on Fridays.”
She said the children will learn about each pet brought to class.
Infant and Toddler B is learning about senses, said Heather Pierce, Early Childhood Development teacher.
She said it’s important to teach them about senses through activities such as touching, smelling and hearing because that is how children learn when they aren’t verbal yet.
For more information about the CDCLS, visit www.occc.edu/ChildDev or call 405-682-7561.