Lake Forest Country Day School Junior Kindergarten "Flight" to South America

In a school that values experiential learning as a critical component of the curriculum, LFCDS is no amateur when it comes to actively integrating cultural studies into the educational mix. With a vested interest in educating the whole student throughout the entirety of the educational process, it is no wonder that LFCDS wastes no time in blending cultural awareness into the student perspective.

This holds especially true at a school that celebrates its diverse, international community.

While children in Upper School become fluent in foreign languages, and eighth-grade students take annual immersion trips, junior-kindergarten (JK) students are already delving into lessons on foreign culture in their own active way. Just this past Wednesday, LFCDS hosted the annual junior kindergarten “flight,” which involves an imaginary trip as part of their classroom unit study on South America.

Beginning with their departure from the Early Childhood Center (ECC) classrooms, the JK travelers boarded their “taxi,” driven by Head of School Bob Whelan, Athletic Director Ted Stewart, and countless parent volunteers, and walked through the hallways—stopping to pay their toll of course—until they arrived at their airport, the Performing Arts Center (PAC).

Upon arriving at the airport, each student checked through customs and had their construction-paper passport stamped by parents. Dressing the part, these parents asked the children where their final destination was, to which one excited JK student blurted out, “South America!” Once all the JK students passed through customs with their passports stamped, they checked in their luggage, which consisted of small cardboard objects, such as surf boards, sunscreen, and some pretty cool shades.

After parents checked and “weighed” their luggage, the children passed through the door of the ECC and boarded their plane (the PAC lobby), outfitted with two parent pilots.

Once on board, the two pilots awaited the signal from air traffic control, which consisted of JK teachers braving the cold to walk outside and signal through the front glass of the cockpit with bright light sticks (rulers with boxing gloves fitted to the ends). After receiving the green light, the pilots encouraged everyone to lean back as they “took off.”

Once in the air at a “cruising altitude,” as relayed by the pilots from the front of the plane, the JK students began looking out the windows, transforming the snow-covered landscape into imaginary scenes of Machu Picchu and the Atlantic Ocean.

As their minds spun, parent flight attendants began wheeling food carts stocked with South American-shaped cookies, grapes, and juice boxes through the aisles. After a healthy snack and a ten hour time span crammed into ten minutes filled with joyful laughter and excitement, the plane finally landed in “Lima, Peru.”

After an enjoyable flight, the junior kindergartners exited the plane back into the PAC where they watched current parent Mark Tilton sing and play the guitar and give a presentation on South American culture and artifacts. When it was time to leave, the students happily jumped in their taxis and walked back to their classrooms, where they will continue learning about South American culture, geography, and wildlife.

However, their classroom is no longer located in the ECC on Onwenstia Road. As far as they are concerned, their classroom is a large continent south of the equator.

Lake Forest Country Day School serves students from more than 30 communities throughout the North Shore and beyond. A regional center of excellence for early childhood, elementary, and middle school education for children ages 2 to Grade 8, LFCDS is committed to inspired teaching, academic rigor, attention to individual needs, and responsible citizenship as well as the dedication to producing students of strong character with a passion for learning. For more information on LFCDS, please visit www.lfcds.org or call (847) 234-2350.