BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE learning experiences of students at the McKnight Pre-school stretch beyond the four walls of the physical structure, as just Friday (Feb. 10) the bright-eyed youngsters were seen strolling through the streets of Basseterre experiencing their newest adventure.
SKNVibes spotted the future leaders, most of whom were dressed in orange T-shirts, and made some inquiries as to the reason for their “field trip”.
Teacher of that specific class – Kimoy Francis – told this publication that outings such as this are customary for the group and is part of their adaptation and education processes.
She further explained that for that week, the students were focusing on “colours” and on that particular day the colour was orange.
As part of their exercise of identifying all things orange, “the students said they wanted to come to town to take a walk so we decided to do that. And while doing so, we are identifying all the orange objects that we saw. We did not stop there, but we were also identifying all the other colours which the children are familiar with”.
Francis noted that the stroll through Basseterre is a weekly exercise which, while assisting the students along the educational process, promotes acclimatisation.
“The students not only learn about colours but they also learn how to interact with people and learn about the many aspects of their environment. It is a very interesting and exciting experience for them and they are doing very well. It teaches them where on the road they are to walk, how to cross the street properly, etc.”
As part of what she described as the “high scope method”, Francis said the pupils would be involved in other activities that are geared towards molding independent individuals.
“Next week, which is Valentine’s Day, we will have a Valentine’s activity, which is traditional for the children and which is part of the High Scope Method. It is a new method for pre-school teachers where children are taught how to be independent and come up with their own activities according to their interests.”
