PCAP--Celebrating Our Preschoolers’ Journey at PCA

Hello, PCA parents, specifically the PCAP parents. I am around a table with your kids' teachers, and you all are on summer break right now, which is great. And these great teachers are about to be on summer break after today. When you hear this, they will also be on summer break.

Pictured above (L to R, top to bottom): Harlee Tuttle, Beth Jones, Jodi Karnes, Sue Long. Not pictured are the other aides, teachers, and subs that make PCAP excel.

Before they all took off, I asked them to come together with me and share with you some of the things and some of the ways that they have seen your children grow this year, overcome challenges, and grow in faith as well. Well, not necessarily specifically, though they may have a couple of specific stories that they want to share with us that represent broader growth, but really to give you a bigger picture of what's been going on in preschool at PCA.

So I want them to quickly introduce themselves. You probably know one of them very well because of your experience, but you may not know them as a team. And there's even a bigger team of their aides and assistants who are not in the room today. Let’s start off with our PCAP director, Ms. Harlee.

Hi, everybody. I'm Harlee Tuttle, known as Ms. Harlee. I've been teaching for over 20 years and have been here at PCA for seven years. Fun fact about me. I love to go four wheeling. Our family, we each have our own four wheeler. And our favorite thing to do is find really big mud puddles.

Next, we have Ms. Jodi. I'm Jodi Karnes, and I have been in the education field off and on for about 20 years. I've been at PCA as an employee for 10 years and have filled different roles throughout my time here. But definitely my favorite is preschool by far. So I've been enjoying that. And my fun fact, I would say, is that I really love sloths, probably more than a typical adult should.

And finally, Ms. Beth. Hi, I'm Beth Jones, soon to be Beth Slater in October. I'm getting married. I have been at PCA. I just finished my 18th year as preschool teacher. I've been in the education department for over 20. And my fun fact, unlike Ms. Jodi, who loves sloths, I love owls. Owls are my favorite animal. But let's see what else. I have two children that started in the preschool here at PCA and graduated. My son graduated in 2014, my daughter in 2020. And just PCA is my home and my family, and I just love it.

Now, let’s talk about your students' growth as groups. If one of you would want to just share how you've seen your students grow holistically, like as a group or subgroups, over this year and just sort of paint that picture or share a story, that'd be great.

One of the biggest areas of growth across the board that we see in preschool is that social-emotional growth. Some of them are very timid, unsure of what it will be like to be away from mom and dad, what it will mean to be with new friends and new teachers, and just watching how over time they develop these relationships. Their confidence grows tremendously. They make really strong connections with their friends, with their teachers, and you can tell that they just feel really safe here at school. As you watch them engage with all of their friends, that's the most exciting thing.

Another significant area of growth is their self-efficacy. At the start of the year, they don't know that they can do things. They don't view themselves as being capable. By the end of the year, they blossom so much. Like, I had a student at the beginning that refused to do things that were hard for him. By the end of the year, the pride in what he accomplished was evident on his face.

Additionally, we see their growth in practical skills like opening a snack package or zipping a coat. These are achievable things, but maybe this is their first school experience and maybe this is their first time doing those things away from home. Often as parents, we rush right in to help, but in a classroom setting, it's just not feasible to have all your students needing those types of things. So in the Firefly Room, the first month of school is about learning how to take care of oneself.

One of the things that we did in the Frogs class this year at the milestone at the end of the year was to ask them a series of questions about their school year. One of the questions was, what was something that used to be hard for you to do at the start of the school year that is now something you can do well? One of my favorite responses is from this little guy who at the start of the year had a really hard time writing his name. At the milestone, he proudly said, writing my name.

We also focus on their ability to form relationships and solve problems with one another. They learn to socialize, make friends, share, and problem-solve. They communicate effectively by the end of the year and enjoy being with one another.

As we prepare to hand these children off to the next stage, we are excited for them to face new challenges, learn to read, and continue growing. We feel protective of them and want them to have the same kind of experience that they've had this year with us.

Spiritually, we see them grow in their understanding of faith and God’s love. They learn what faith means and how to shine God's light for others. They start to see God's light in other people, which is absolutely amazing. For instance, one of my students decided to be baptized this year, which was a significant spiritual milestone for her.

Overall, it has been a great year filled with tremendous growth, both academically and spiritually. We are excited to see what the future holds for these amazing children. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of their journey.