The Pilot Point Early Childhood Center cafeteria was overrun with kindergarten critters on May 1.
As part of the annual project, the young Bearcats spent time researching the animal of their choice to write and illustrate their own book about those creatures.
“It’s so good to see from the beginning of the year where they just knew their name, and now they’re writing complete sentences,” kindergarten teacher Dominique Gauthier said. “They understand how to do a finger space. They know what a stop means at the end [of the sentence]. … It’s super cool to see the progress.”
Family members and district administrators filtered through the cafeteria, stopping to hear from the students as they read their work.
“This is the best part about being a parent,” Hannah Guilford said. “… To see their hard work, to see their face light up when you walk in the room and you’re here— showing up means everything.”
Her son, Micah Guilford, was excited to share the details he learned about crocodiles.
His favorite fact was that they eat turtles.
Hannah said she could see her son’s growth reflected in his project.
“We’ve had some challenges, so this has been exciting, to see him be excited about it and tell me about it and the little facts and be excited about his little costume and to be a part of it, that’s so cool,” she said.
Micah’s father, Brandon Guilford, and little brother Kyren Guilford, were there to support Micah as well.
“Just watching him develop, grow, learn—it happens fast,” Brandon said. “… When we get to come here and see, ‘Oh, wow, you learned how to write or you learned how to read or look at that drawing from five months ago to now.’ … It’s a little emotional at times, because, man, these babies are growing up so fast, but seeing that, seeing them interact with their friends, it’s a great time.”
Andrea Perez and her oldest Ophelia Perez were there to support Penelope Perez, who chose the Arctic fox as her animal, complete with a furry white mask and a stuffed animal next to her.
“When you can make learning exciting, they’re actually going to learn,” Andrea said.
Seeing the kids’ creativity mattered to Andrea, not just as a parent but also as an educator herself.
“I like that the kids are able to showcase what they’re learning, and it makes them proud of their work and gives them a reason for their education, not just, ‘Oh, we’re doing another project,’” Andrea said. “’We’re doing something to show our parents and something they can be proud of.’” Stephanie Joyner’s son, Cooper Joyner, was a turtle for his project.
“I love to be able to support him and see all of the growth that he’s done,” she said. “And it’s just fun to be able to see his face light up when we get there.”
Having family support for the kids is crucial, and the kindergarten team was grateful for the Friday morning turnout.
“It’s always good to see when parents or grandparents come to support their kids and see the progress, because I see it every day,” she said. “For them to see it actually in real life and how just excited the kids are—they want to see their compliment cards, they want to see people reading their books, they want to tell their facts. That means a lot.”
