Here’s the Scoop: Orchard Preschool Teachers Sprinkle Academics Throughout Student-Led Project

1/29/2020

One of the most important things you can do for preschool-aged children is to honor their natural curiosity. This will spark a love of learning that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. The best way to ensure this happens on a daily basis is to have incredible teachers.

Whenever we ask alumni what they miss the most about their time at Orchard, they almost always say their teachers. Today’s spotlight shines a light on what can happen when you create a classroom environment where students feel like their voices are heard and they’re part of the learning process.

Students in Mrs. Bradley and Mrs. Lapworth-Kuehl’s preschool classroom have been playing “ice cream shop” during recess for so long that it was time to put the cherry on top and make it an official business!

Orchard teachers keep a close eye on benchmarks, but they also understand each child is different, so the curricular journey has to be able to flex from time to time, leaving room to discover what students are passionate about. Because when students love what they’re doing, the sky’s the limit when you integrate academics.

Ice cream quickly became the talk of the town for this particular classroom. Here are some #OnlyatOrchard ways that teachers sprinkled academics throughout the process for the students.

Let's start with their promo video:

Back

- Dramatic Play:
  
  Students were using a wood-framed house like an ice cream shop during outdoor recess. This was a fun addition to add to the mix!
- Science/Math:
  
  Students made homemade ice cream with science teacher Mrs. P! They learned what ingredients were needed and how to measure them appropriately.
- Math/Social and Emotional:
  
  During morning meeting, students gathered together to count and sort favorite flavors. They also voted on a name for the shop! And as always, all voices were heard!
- Community:
  
  At this age, students are just starting to grasp that the world is bigger than their everyday surroundings. This was a perfect opportunity to take a field trip to Graeter’s Ice Cream. Before the trip, students were able to think of essential questions they would need to know in order to open and operate a shop in their classroom.
- Yikes:
  
  BRAIN FREEZE
- Math:
  
  Sorting favorite flavors from their field trip! Can’t go wrong with chocolate chip…
- Art/Literacy:
  
  After the name Rainbow Sparkle Sprinkles Ice Cream Shop was voted as the winner, it was time to create a logo, table settings, and menus! Students loved designing these products while learning how to spell their favorite flavors, such as rainbow sherbet and cotton candy. Yum!
- Art/Fine Motor Skills/Creativity:
  
  Students crumbled paper so that they fit inside of a scooper, and they painted it to match the appropriate flavor. They also made whipped cream, the cash register, and of course, the sprinkles. And don’t forget about the money…after learning the value of a dollar, students created their own money for the shop!
- Math:
  
  Running a cash register is important for any shop. The group decided that each item would be one dollar. This made for age-appropriate addition and subtraction problems when customers came to the window. The shop sold bowls or cones, three flavors of ice cream, and three different toppings.
- Community/Music:
  
  When you open an ice cream shop you have to inform the community, right? The students recorded a promo video (video at the beginning of the article) to inform their parents/faculty and staff that they were open for businesses. Mrs. Lapworth-Kuehl edited the video and music teacher Mrs. McSpadden wrote an original song for the shop.
- Social and Emotional:
  
  Orchard students are known for their ability to converse well with adults, as well as their peers. This confidence is constantly nurtured at Orchard, especially during their early years, with projects exactly like this. At the end of the day on January 29, families flooded the classroom for some ice cream. And the students were ready and excited!
- Leadership:
  
  Store managers were in charge of making sure the customers were happy. They also cleaned the tables.
- Math/Fine Motor Skills/Fun:
  
  Parents rotated through stations with their children. They made ice cream art by cutting out and designing waffle cones with five scoops on top! Oh yeah, there was also REAL ICE CREAM AND SPRINKLES.
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- Staff Photo :)