Age blended learning for preschoolers in charter schools has become a unique and successful way to prepare three and four year olds for Kindergarten. This is a new and innovative approach to early childhood education.
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In Jefferson Parish, Lousiana, the Kenner Health Discovery School is one of a few pre schools in the New Orleans area to use age blended pre school methods. It is a charter school
The charter, which opened last year, has 36 pre-schoolers that are mixed in amongst the school’s five Kindergarten classes. There are typically about 8 pre-schoolers with 16 Kindergarteners per class, and school principal and director Patty Glaser said she decided to instate the practice because in her past experience with blended-age classrooms, it made grade transitions easier.
“This prepares the pre-kindergarteners, it dips their toe in,” Glaser said. “And for the Kindergarteners, it helps them model good social behavior and be leaders.”
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Teachers will often instruct a lesson to the entire class, and then divide the students into small groups where pre-schoolers will do slightly simpler or abbreviated lessons on the topic presented. During a visit on Wednesday (March 26), students were learning about bears. Kindergarteners learned facts about bears while pre-Kindergarten students were asked to draw their own versions of the animal.
Teacher Melissa Taylor said that when she was first tasked with teaching an age-blended class she was nervous about how to create a curriculum that would be appropriate for both age groups.
“I had concerns, how was i going to make instruction challenging for both groups?” she said.
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