Space Still Available in RBR's "Little Bucs" Program

From Red Bank Regional:

For as long as anyone can remember, has operated a Pre-School for its sending school communities of Little Silver, Red Bank and Shrewsbury.

The RBR “Little Bucs Preschool” (renamed this year for the school mascot The Buccaneers) has its origins in the former high school building (now the Red Bank Middle School) over forty years ago. It is not unusual for students who supervise the preschoolers to be alumni of that same preschool.

The preschool was established as part of the pre-school lab curriculum, where the high school students plan and operate a nursery school in a fully equipped pre-school classroom.  The Preschool Lab is a natural sequence to the prerequisite Child and Personal Development course which covers neonatal development through adolescence.

The Little Bucs Pre-School opened it doors to enthusiastic three and four year-olds on Wednesday, October 5. It operates from 9:00 to 10:23 a.m., three days a week through June. There is usually a one-to-one ratio of student teachers to pre-schoolers.

The class has always filled up in the spring prior to the new year. This year, however, the student class is larger than anticipated with 18 enrolled high schoolers, and, therefore, a few spaces were opened for additional enrollment.

Anyone interested in inquiring about this year’s program, can contact the preschool director and RBR teacher, Susan Eads, at 732-842-8000 ext. 331, or email her at seads@rbrhs.org. The cost is an incredibly low $75 which usually covers special projects or semi annual field trips to Huber Woods, Holmdel Park, Jenkinson Aquarium or Monmouth Museum.

Susan Eads, a 16-year veteran teacher at RBR, has been teaching the pre-school lab for the past nine years and considers the program the highlight of her day, stating, “It is so nice working with both age groups together. The little ones are so adorable and they absolutely love the high school kids who may, in some cases, be their babysitters. They sometimes see them in their community where they have been known to exclaim, ‘That’s my teacher!’”

While the preschool takes place Wednesday through Friday, all the programming is developed by the students when they meet for class time on Monday and Tuesday. The students plan each lesson and activity. A plethora of teacher resources is available to them from the pre-school lab library as well as many on-line websites. However, often these very creative young people will devise their own lesson plans from their own babysitting experiences or memory of what they enjoyed most in pre-school--which many of their parents will attest, did not seem that long ago.

Ms. Eads adds, “The students who take this class are usually interested in careers involving children whether it be pre-school or elementary school instruction, child psychology or nursing. It provides them with a terrific experience in working with quite a developmental range from very young three-year olds to older four year olds.”

Ms. Eads explains that although 83 minutes may seem like a short period of time, a lot is packed into that timeframe. A typical pre-school day starts with free supervised play, where the Little Bucs decide which center to begin their day. It could be the sand or water table, the truck or housekeeping center. They may play on the computer, paint or do puzzles.

Then comes circle time which is lead by the student teachers. Each pre-school student is given a responsibility whether it be weatherman, flag holder (as the group pledges allegiance) or line leader, among other jobs. The line leader will have the option of transitioning the students from circle to snack time as either a chugging choo-choo train, a swarm of fluttering butterflies or some other creative manifestations while they line up to wash their hands.

During the last period of the day, students rotate between a planned group art project or rug time which may include such popular games as Group Bingo, Charades or Duck, Duck, Goose. While the emphasis is on socialization, the program does incorporate academics including math and science concepts and language arts. Midway through the year, a letter of the day is introduced along with letter sounds and object identification. 

The Little Bucs have long held a special place in the high school building. Towards the end of October, they parade around the adjacent classrooms in their not-too scary costumes and pay a special visit to the Board of Education office for the annual Halloween photo.They celebrate Christmas with special homemade holiday gifts and have a picnic in the spring on the RBR back patio.

The students also embark on in-school field trips by visiting the school nurse who conducts a short health lesson. An annual visit to the principal’s office thrills them as they learn about mail boxes, and mail a letter home, assisting Mrs. McGowan, the Principal’s secretary, at the mail machine. 

Ms. Eads comments, “The program provides a mutual benefit for both ends of the age spectrum. Our students get an incredible hands-on teaching opportunity while the youngsters are afforded a wonderful socialization experience and an early introduction to their future high school.”