Teens ‘n Tots> High School students learn from teaching preschoolers at Foxcroft Academy nursery school

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Jennifer Smith shows off the 18-inch-high stuffed brown bear, holding the rapt attention of 14 sets of little eyes.

“This is Spinoza Bear,” explained Smith, a Foxcroft Academy sophomore. “He’s a very special bear. My sister got him while she was sick, and he helped her feel better. He plays music when you turn this knob near his heart. He sings from his heart. Can you hear it? … Do you want to hug him?”

A few of the braver preschoolers jump up to hug the bear, while others hang back, a little uncertain. Then they all race off to play, then to go home. Smith’s presentation has been the capper of Teddy Bear Day at the Foxcroft Academy nursery school.

For a generation, teens have been aiding young children through a special program at the Dover-Foxcroft high school. Students in Doreen Emerson’s child growth and development class run a twice-weekly nursery school for area preschoolers during the fourth quarter of the school year. Students in the class, sophomores to seniors, take turns as directors of the day, with other class members acting as their helpers.

As the smiles on the faces of the “big kids” and the “little kids” attest, both sides enjoy their brief time together.

Emerson says the class has been around since at least 1983, but she isn’t certain how long before that it actually began.

“Some of the big kids came here [as little kids],” she said. “Some of the moms and dads of the [little] kids came here.”

The teens spend most of the year in the classroom studying child development. Then comes the actual experience in nursery school.

“We get the academic background, then we get to learn what to expect when working with the children,” said junior Matt Ruby.

Which students take the class? Those interested in social-service fields, teaching, nursing and psychology, Emerson said. “Then there are other kids who just like kids,” she added.

The school advertises for interested parents to bring their children. The bulk of them come from Dover-Foxcroft, but they have come from as far away as Guilford, Charleston and Dexter. This year, the children range in age from 2 1/2 to 4.

Depending on class size, each student serves as director once or twice during the quarter and must come up with a theme for the 80-minute period.

Sophomore Amy Logan, this day’s director along with Ruby, chose teddy bears as a theme, festooning the large classroom with stuffed animals. Their day’s schedule was developed over a four-hour period, on their own time.

“You have to plan the snack, the story, the activity, the schedule,” Logan said. “You also have to direct the big kids, too, and assign them jobs.”

Although the order of elements may vary day to day, it includes a greeting, free play, a bathroom break, snack time, a craft or activity and story time.

There is a 1-to-1 ratio of “big kids” to “little kids.” On this day, most everyone enrolled in the class is busy, as 14 youngsters are present, a record for this year.

Emerson says that each teen watches a different preschooler every session.

“The big kids rotate to keep the little kids from becoming too attached to any one high school kid,” she said.

Both sets of kids are busy playing with teddy bears and toys during free play when Logan announces that it’s time for snacks. On the menu today: red Jell-O and animal crackers, washed down with apple juice.

Some of the youngsters sit by themselves, while others sit on the laps of the “big kids,” as the more reluctant among them are coaxed to eat their repast.

Next, Logan and Ruby bus the table and prepare for today’s activity: string art. Logan passes out the shapes desired by each youth, then distributes lengths of yarn to them. The preschoolers, aided by the teens, will string yarn through the holes cut out around the edges of colorful teddy bears, with a handful of other shapes mixed in.

Some pairs rapidly and neatly stitch around the perimeter of their bears. Others are content to hit the occasional hole, often working across the body of the shape. One boy gets a stitch or two in his star shape, then drags it around the room.

Next comes story time. The book Logan has selected is the pop-up book “Animals Showing Off.” A few children keep standing up to pull the book’s tabs, which make the animals’ parts move.

Logan holds up a picture of a peacock and asks, “What kind of animal is this?” One very sure young boy screams, “It’s a turkey!”

With a little time to spare, Logan leads an impromptu game of “Duck, Duck, Moose.” She walks around a circle of little and big kids, saying “Duck” while touching each. She then taps a boy on the head and says “Moose!” He chases her around the circle, but she sits down in his spot, making him “it.” Before long, four or five boys are running around, rather aimlessly but spiritedly, none too eager to sit down.

Eighty minutes have flown by, and parents arrive to pick up their children. Most go home not only with their craft of the day, but with a small seedling in a styrofoam cup which was planted at an earlier session.

Both Logan and Ruby took the class in preparation for their future.

“I just want to be more educated for when I have kids,” said Logan. “It’s just an interesting class to take.”

“I wanted the experience and the knowledge for when I have kids of my own,” added Ruby. “Plus I like working with kids.”

Emerson said both age groups take away a lot from the nursery school experience.

“It’s a real social time for the little ones, as they learn to play with each other,” she said. “The students have to learn to get along with each other, to be tolerant and work together. I don’t know who has the most fun, the big kids or the little kids.”

Although this school year is winding down, Foxcroft Academy will be seeking 10 to 15 preschoolers for next year’s session. For more information, call 564-8351 or 285-7052.