Sophomore Ashley Combs and Playschool participant Leia Walters make a beaded necklace in Playschool. Photo by: Patricia Ortiz

By Patricia Ortiz

Sticky hands and big warm smiles are part of the class. Having fun is a big thing and snack time is a must for this class.

For eight weeks Playschool is held at Plymouth High School. Playschool is a part of the Child Development class taught by Mrs. Jyll McNeil. According to Mrs. McNeil, Playschool has been a part of the Child Development curriculum for about 20 years. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday young children between the ages of 3 and 5, attend Playschool at Plymouth High School from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Currently, 16 children are involved in Playschool.

Children can be enrolled as being part of the Child Development class. “Enrollment is open to PCSC [Plymouth Community School Corporation] employees first and then open to the public.” Mrs. McNeil said.

For PHS students to enroll in Playschool sophomore Paola Moreno said, “You have to take the first part of Child Development.” It is not until trimester B of Child Development that students begin Playschool. Playschool lasts about two class periods–fifth and sixth hour Moreno said.

With a name like Playschool, there has to be playing involved in the class. For playschool “you develop a fun activity plan for the kids. We make nutritious yet fun snacks,” sophomore Maiyah Czarnecki said.

Activities are important to have when dealing with young children. According to Czarnecki, they “plan the activities the week before. We come up with the activities from making up fun games to looking on the Internet.” Each activity is done in a certain order. First they do the individual activity, then snack time and then a large group activity. Meshing into a large group helps the children interact with one another. Senior Lindsey Renz said story-time is also part of the schedule for Playschool. Mrs. McNeil said story time is during passing period between fifth and sixth period.

Renz said that her favorite Playschool moment was “graduation [Graduation for the young children attending Playschool] was so much fun!!” Mrs. McNeil agrees with Renz saying that “graduation is always so exciting!”

For people new to Playschool, like Moreno and Czarnecki, they may not yet have a favorite activity. “The kids love to be active and go outside. I would have to say one of my favorite things is taking them out when it finally starts to get nice,” said Mrs. McNeil about her favorite Playschool activity.

Sophomore Courtney Cole and Playschool participant Cadience Howe finger paint. Photo by: Patricia Ortiz