Pre-K Partners With Local Businesses for American Education Week

Education was in full bloom on November 16th for our Pre-K students at Cumru Elementary! As part of American Education Week, a yearly occasion celebrating all things public education, parents and loved ones stopped into Mrs. Gerhard and Mrs. Davis' classes for a unique look at Total Experience Learning!

"Both classrooms have been learning about pumpkins through exploration this fall season, but the children have recently been introduced to a 'Real World Question'-- what can you do with a pumpkin when you are finished with it?" said Mrs. Gerhard, a Pre-K Counts teacher at Cumru Elementary, "Rather than throw it away, the children will experience repurposing a pumpkin into a beautiful fall decoration." 

Forty total families attended the event. Students and their loved ones worked collaboratively to choose a bunch of flowers, cut the bunches to the appropriate size, and arrange the flowers within a repurposed pumpkin which the students had cleaned earlier that week. Flowers were provided by Amy Muckey, owner of Stein's Flowers in Shillington. Muckey also provided expert advice on how to most effectively repurpose a pumpkin as a vase.

After, students enjoyed a pumpkin cookie from D'LISH Creations, a newly established local bakery owned by Diana Batista. Finally, students and parents stopped by the Cumru Elementary book vending machine to pick a new book before heading back to class.

 Mrs. Gerhard, who is currently participating in the Total Experience Learning program through Albright Science Research Institute, was inspired to create this lesson and activity as a result of her studies.

"4-5-year-old children are not only learning the content, but are experiencing being a 'solutionary'-- someone who is exposed to a question with real-world context and an experience to try and solve the question. So many early learning standards are being met here," said Gerhard.

Special thanks to Stein's Flowers and D'LISH Creations for collaborating on this unique project. It certainly will not be forgotten by our students or families!