Photos and story by Jennifer Shelby (originally posted Jan. 31st, 2017)
Albert County’s Literacy Express is now up and running for its fourth year! A preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, Literacy Express takes place on the second floor of Hillsborough’s Train Museum. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays kids are dropped off for a free, one-hour session led by Nancy Land, B. Ed, with help from her assistant, Lois Snider.
Albert County’s Literacy Express is now up and running for its fourth year! A preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, Literacy Express takes place on the second floor of Hillsborough’s Train Museum. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays kids are dropped off for a free, one-hour session led by Nancy Land, B. Ed, with help from her assistant, Lois Snider.
I caught up with four-year-old Evening O’Reilly, a second-year veteran of the program, to ask her what she thinks of ‘Train School’.
Evening lists off the highlights of Literacy Express on her fingers. “My favourite part is the play-dough, the mat, my teachers, the stories, and the toys.” She goes on to explain the mat “has letters on it and we pick the letters from the mat. We sit on them during story. We pick out our letter – I like the pink X – and you sit on your letter.”
“Mrs. Land reads all the kids a story and then she does a song with little pictures. We always sing a song. Mrs. Land teaches the kids that don’t know the songs. Then we go to the table and we do a craft. It’s not a big craft, so after we’re done we play with the toys – even the play-dough!”
A recent session began with Mrs. Land reading Raffi’s Wheels on the Bus. After the story, the group sang the song of the same name together. Next, the kids moved to the table to craft a school bus from (pre-cut) paper plates and construction paper which they got to take home with them.
Every session of Literacy Express is planned in advance, and Mrs. Land posts the lesson plan to Literacy Express’ facebook page so parents have an idea of what their children will be doing that week.
At press time, there are still spots available for the Wednesday sessions of Literacy Express. Class runs from 10-11 AM. The classes run from September 20th through December 14th, and again from January 10th to May 9th. In case of bad weather, the program follows the Anglophone East School District cancellations. Parents/guardians can register their children by calling the Hillsborough Public Library at 734-3722.
Literacy Express has been made possible through grants and contributions from the Bennett and Albert County Health Care (BACH) Foundation, NB Children’s Foundation, the Village of Hillsborough, Scotiabank’s Bright Futures program, the Order of the Eastern Star, Aviva Insurance, the Hillsborough Men’s hockey team, PC Riding Association, RBC Dominion Securities, and private individuals.
“Mrs. Land is a nice teacher,” concludes Evening. “I’m going to miss her when I’m five. Can I visit when I miss her?
When she’s not writing articles for Connecting Albert County, Jennifer Shelby can be found writing fantasy stories for children of all ages and helping her kids with chores on their imaginary dragon farm. You can learn more about her at jennifershelby.ca and read her (mostly) fiction blog at jennifershelby.blog
Evening lists off the highlights of Literacy Express on her fingers. “My favourite part is the play-dough, the mat, my teachers, the stories, and the toys.” She goes on to explain the mat “has letters on it and we pick the letters from the mat. We sit on them during story. We pick out our letter – I like the pink X – and you sit on your letter.”
“Mrs. Land reads all the kids a story and then she does a song with little pictures. We always sing a song. Mrs. Land teaches the kids that don’t know the songs. Then we go to the table and we do a craft. It’s not a big craft, so after we’re done we play with the toys – even the play-dough!”
A recent session began with Mrs. Land reading Raffi’s Wheels on the Bus. After the story, the group sang the song of the same name together. Next, the kids moved to the table to craft a school bus from (pre-cut) paper plates and construction paper which they got to take home with them.
Every session of Literacy Express is planned in advance, and Mrs. Land posts the lesson plan to Literacy Express’ facebook page so parents have an idea of what their children will be doing that week.
At press time, there are still spots available for the Wednesday sessions of Literacy Express. Class runs from 10-11 AM. The classes run from September 20th through December 14th, and again from January 10th to May 9th. In case of bad weather, the program follows the Anglophone East School District cancellations. Parents/guardians can register their children by calling the Hillsborough Public Library at 734-3722.
Literacy Express has been made possible through grants and contributions from the Bennett and Albert County Health Care (BACH) Foundation, NB Children’s Foundation, the Village of Hillsborough, Scotiabank’s Bright Futures program, the Order of the Eastern Star, Aviva Insurance, the Hillsborough Men’s hockey team, PC Riding Association, RBC Dominion Securities, and private individuals.
“Mrs. Land is a nice teacher,” concludes Evening. “I’m going to miss her when I’m five. Can I visit when I miss her?
When she’s not writing articles for Connecting Albert County, Jennifer Shelby can be found writing fantasy stories for children of all ages and helping her kids with chores on their imaginary dragon farm. You can learn more about her at jennifershelby.ca and read her (mostly) fiction blog at jennifershelby.blog
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