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As the saying goes, all we ever needed to know we learned in kindergarten. At the Boston College Children's Center (BCCC), preschoolers learn skills that will not only prepare them for kindergarten, but for being successful in the real world. While we may not hear the pitter-patter of little feet as we head to the Plex or meet with a professor in Carney, the BCCC has been around for 18 years and is more present on campus than ever before.
Upon entering Haley Carriage House on Stone Avenue, a classroom of 42 children play at stations set up by activity. During the normal school calendar, areas such as blocks, painting and sculpture, housekeeping, music, language arts, and math challenge make up the environment. Erin Steinhart, A&S '06, has been working at the BCCC since September 2004 when she transferred to BC. "Its so much fun just getting to play with them and making special connections with certain kids makes all my time there worthwhile," says Steinhart. "I've learned a lot of patience working with these kids and a better understanding of how children relate to each other and to grown ups."
The BCCC's origins are based on the need for extended childcare for members of the BC community. The preschool is open to children of BC faculty, employees, graduate, and undergraduate students, as well as the neighboring community. Many of the three to five year olds enrolled in the preschool are related to BC staff and students, but two spots are held every year to ensure a place for preschoolers from the surrounding neighborhoods.
When asked how the BCCC operates, director Barbara Krakowsky described its mission as, "giving the children a developmental, hands-on curriculum of philosophy, relying on and drawing from their key experiences. The activities allow children to gain self-respect and self-esteem, which helps them to feel included and accepted." In order to help preschoolers achieve these goals, the center fosters independence, language acquisition, social skills, cognitive development, and maturity.
The BCCC is so in-demand that the preschool is busting at the seams. Staff says that plans to expand the building are in the works.
Because of the limited number of children that the preschool can legally hold, the school has enacted a lottery system for each child's admission, held from Oct. 1 through Dec. 20. Applicants are chosen through a random system the second week in January. In a methodology similar to the undergraduate housing lottery, children are put into assigned categories based on age, school, and parental employment status, and names are drawn by vice president of human resources, Leo Sullivan. Krakowsky says that she is the one who phones home to give families the news.
Although many students at BC haven't heard about the BCCC, Krakowsky noted that there have been students from the Lynch School of Education and the Connell School of Nursing, as well as students from the sociology and psychology departments. The Center offers positions as pre-practicum, work-study, and volunteer. Currently, the Children's Center has help from graduate students.
"I wanted to see what working at great school would be like. When I have my own children, this is definitely somewhere I would want to send them," says Nina Cureo, LSOE '09. Cureo understands the benefits of teachers with a background of early childhood experience. Also, with student- teacher ratios between 5:1 and 8:1, children are able to get one-on-one attention as needed.
"Even though it is only my third week here, it's great to be able to get more experience with new languages and activities," says Kelly Puetz, LSOE '09. "At any age, it's always a positive experience to get insight from other teachers, and the guidance that I get from the teachers I work with is wonderful." When asked about how she found out about the Children's Center, Puetz said that she "wouldn't have known that the Children's Center existed had it not been for referrals. I heard great things about it from the volunteers and work-study students before me."
Despite its hiding spot on the other side of Beacon Street, the BCCC is certainly not something to bypass, whether you're gaining insight into education, looking to volunteering, or engaging in a children's study.
This week, the BCCC is in the midst of a "Winter Festival," a time in the curriculum where developmental groups are called off for the week, and a center-wide party with stations, food, and prizes is instituted.
All of the children are occupied and laughing, creating "magic mixtures" out of ice, flour, and food coloring, others building igloos and engaging in a mock snowball fight with Styrofoam and socks.
In the "We're Polar Bears" photography project, preschoolers are asked to imitate faces and body motions of polar bears roaring and gesturing.
"I think that the social and emotional development is the foundation of what this program tries to accomplish," says Krakowsky. "Here, children grow to feel confident, have interaction in groups, and learn about the world through hands on activities is invaluable."
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