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Show 6 Signpost Friday, May 20 , 1983 y j I r- ft,'s leo?rn lQi5 uffaf IBS IIS1..UC Of v5f In case you haven't noticed, there is a playground on this campus. On sunny days swarms of miniature students can be seen romping over the equipment. This playground is part of the Weber State College Children's School. All is not fun and games at the school however. Children are encouraged to become balanced individuals through exposure to social skills, academics and the arts. Each child's behavior is observed and activities are planned according to their interests and needs. Storytellers visit the school to satisfy the curiosity children have about reading. A variety of field trips are taken, even to the parents' work place, which broadens the world of a child. Dress-up clothes are provided for children to play roles. This is especially helpful to the child who is experiencing frustration over a new sibling in the family. Every spring a parade is sponsored by the Children's School for all children in the community. From the Bon Marche on. Washington Boulevard the children walk and ride bikes to have a picnic and play games in the Municipal Park. This year, one child from the school had to miss the fun. So to boost his self-esteem, the Children's School had its own parade on campus last week. The day care center was started in 1952 by Melba Lehner. After World War II, colleges and universities all over the United States were developing these preschool labs. The centers gave working experience to nurses and teachers and also gave parents the opportunity to work while their children were in excellent care. According to James Bird, the director of the Children's School, WSC's child care program consists of an infant program, toddler program, and a pre-kindergarten program for children up to six years of age. The main programs are the pre-school and day care programs. Located in the education building on the first floor, the school has three observation rooms with one-way mirrors. This allows people to observe how children interact with each other, how they try to solve problems and how teachers work with children. Students who go through the child development and child psychology classes are often found in these rooms where they can watch the children from a distance. The faculty consists of six paid teachers and six student teachers, all of whom are well qualified for these positions. Before being able to work with these children they are required to take classes in child development, child guidance, and developmental planning for toddlers and pre-school children. "The teachers have gone through a pretty rigorous screening by the time they get here," commented Bird. "Once they go through the program they know an awful lot about themselves because children will tell you what you're like. They'll give you feedback maybe not verbally but their behavior will let you know." Each day is planned out in advance by these teachers and each child is taken into consideration. There is a lot of one to one contact because of the low student-teacher ratio which is seven to one. Each year eighteen 3-year-olds and eighteen 4-year-olds are randomly chosen and enrolled in .the pre-school programs. The parents must enroll in a class titled "Learn with your child"and are required to do certain activities which are focused on their child. There is no tuition for this program, other than the cost to the parents for the two-hour class. The three-year-old pre-school program is taught for two and one half hours in the morning, while the four-year-old pre-school program is taught for two and one half hours in the afternoon. During the summer the three and four-year-old pre-school program will be taught from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Monday through Thursday. Cost is $75 for the summer session. There are two day care labs open to the students, faculty and staff of Weber State, which are taught five days per week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Day care enrollment is on a first come, first serve basis. The enrollment is based on a balanced classroom, divided evenly between age groups and sex. Priority is given to WSC students with children. Currently there is a very long waiting list. The day care program closes June 9 for the summer. The charge for day care is on an hourly basis. Less than 20 hours costs $25, 20 to 30 hours cost $30, and more than 30 hours per week costs $35. The children are served breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack, depending on the hours they attend. "Because of the big demand, we could have a huge center. But because of costs and facilities it is impossible to expand to meet the growing demand," said Bird. "To better serve the public and especially WSC students, we are in the process of compiling a day care referral service." He continued, "Our list will include homes and centers that are licensed, and we will match up the clients with the day care -center in their area." Funding for this program was made possible by the ASWSC. "We hope this will be a benefit to students and working parents, since we cannot fill the demand with our facilities alone," he added. ' The Children's School is a practical solution to Weber State students and faculty who want a safe, dependable and enjoyable learning atmosphere for their children. Elizebeth Defary sets the tabh encouraged to help in the house ing meals once or twice a week i l t- i i Signature reporter Wearing a sombrero almost b sidewalks on campus. She was |