PCES pre-kindergarten families ‘wrap up’ units

GUILFORD — Learning is a family affair for students in the pre-kindergarten morning and afternoon sessions at Piscataquis Community Elementary School. After the end of each of the half dozen units across the school year, parents/guardians are invited in to the classroom for a “Family Wrap Up.”

PCES pre-kindergarten teacher Lindsay Panciera said unit No. 3 recently concluded with the third “Family Wrap Up” of 2017-18 — each session lasts for an hour and 40 minutes. “We invite parents in to see their work and parents also engage in activities the students have done throughout the unit,” she said.

“Parents really enjoy coming in, most of them do,” Panciera said, saying participation rates are at least 90 percent.

“Parents really want to know what their children are doing and it gives them ideas about what they can do at home,” she said. “Some of the activities we have done are simple math, using dice for rolling games for counting and learning numbers.”

Panciera said a sensory table in the classroom is used for imaginary play, such as washing dishes the students can later see be done at home. She said the pre-kindergarteners and parents made boats out of styrofoam and placed these in the sensory table to continue lessons learned about floating and sinking.

The Family Wrap Up included storytime as parents learned there are different ways to read with their children. Panciera said theses methods include reading the story straight through, having the students retell what they have heard, reading the book again and focusing on the vocabulary, and acting out the tale.

“There are some different ways to think outside the box with the reading and literacy piece,” Panciera said.

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