Day of the Child celebrates family, student success

Carson High School’s High Tech Center on May 11 offered numerous playground and coloring activities for preschool and kindergartners. Spider-Man’s appearance attracted the attention of younger and older kids in the photo booth corner.

The Carson City School District’s Career and Technical Education Teaching and Training Early Childhood Education students’ recent “Day of the Child” event was a showcase of their skills they gleaned from this past year, according to early childhood education teacher Kendra Tuttle.

While Tuttle said her job is to facilitate and direct the annual event, her students do the hard work of setting up the resources to connect families with local organizations to help them with their young learners.

“The kids worked hard and did an amazing job,” she said. “My favorite part is seeing the big kids interact with all the families and show off all the knowledge they gained throughout the year.”

Future Empire Elementary School student Kylie Lozano, 5, enjoyed creating a swirl of colors with a simple chemical reaction caused from combining baking soda and vinegar on a paper plate at a table Merri Pray, Carson City School District’s professional learning coordinator, was manning.

Pray said it’s a simple STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activity to offer children who enroll in CCSD’s “Ready to Rock Kindergarten” program at any of its elementary schools. Pray was promoting the program to parents who are considering enrolling their preschoolers for kindergarten in the upcoming school year. The program focuses on important social skills to help them focus on going in between activities and learning structure without the use of devices, she said.

“Last year, we had almost 100 kids in the program,” she said. “We can hold 225 so we can hold kids in classes. … It’s so much fun when you around from class to class. I work as a summer admin and you see them when they’re just turning 5 or they’ve just turned 5 and they’re having a ball. It’s more about the social skills.”

Parents also had a chance to enjoy Day of the Child with their older and younger children, watching some help host the event or others play.

Angel Handely’s older daughter Charlotte Workman is one of Tuttle’s students enrolled in the early childhood program and said she was excited to participate. She said the early childhood curriculum has helped to broaden her mindset on her opportunities and has enjoyed the field trips she’s taken.

“I came in to support her,” Handely said. “I brought my nephew and youngest daughter. (Charlotte) wants to be a teacher or child care worker. She loves it very much. This has encouraged her to pick up her grades.”

Her younger nephew, who is autistic, enjoyed his morning playing in the tunnels and among the sandboxes the older students provided, she said.

“It’s a good class for kids, especially with the way things are in the world,” she said. “It’s good to give them a little more love. Ms. Tuttle’s a very caring teacher.”

Tuttle said the annual event is supported thanks to partnerships with local organizations such as the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Nevada, the United Federal Credit and Advocates to End Domestic Violence.

“Our community is really on the early childhood train right now and this program will have some budding professionals who are ready to take on a new field,” Tuttle said.