Middle schoolers take on role of educators
Back
Hilary Hobelman, a student at Lakeside Middle School, shows Blue Ridge Elementary Pre-K pupil Alyssa Pierce how to
decorate a cookie.
Photo by Jim BlaylockWearing a white apron to keep his green shirt free of icing, sprinkles and, other flying debris - all natural hazards of working with pre-schoolers - Lakeside Middle School sixth-grader Jonathan Hsieh darted between the cookie-decorating station and a table filled with small cups of apple juice.
"Are you done with your apple juice?," he asked 4-year-old Katie Brown. "What would you like to do next?"
Jonathan was one of about 40 sixth-grade family and consumer science students at the school who had the opportunity to entertain Blue Ridge Preschool & Daycare students Thursday.
Lakeside Middle School teacher Tammy Hodges invited the 36 pre-schoolers to the school as an activity to end a unit on child development. With the sixth-graders' help, the young children made gingerbread houses from milk cartons and graham crackers, decorated cookies with sprinkles and decorated paper gingerbread men.
"It gives them a chance to work with the children, and it's something fun to do during the holidays," Hodges said.
Blue Ridge Elementary Pre-K pupil Mason Beasley, who was visiting Lakeside Middle for the sixth grade's
family and consumer
science class, makes a
gingerbread house around a milk
carton.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Ashleigh Lee, who hopes to one day be a teacher, said it was a good experience for her.
"I made the icing and helped little Casey (Smith) do her house," she said. "I had a lot of fun."
At a nearby table, Paige Miller cautioned everyone not to eat anything that wasn't theirs because it might spread germs.
"It's fun to help other people and to know that you're the bigger kid," she said, while helping Michael Smith, 4, stick crackers on his house.
While carefully balancing two sugar cookies so the sprinkles wouldn't fall off, Jonathan led 4-year-old Jake Durden to a nearby table to eat them.
Jonathan said he enjoyed the experience of working with the tots.
"It's a lot easier than it looks, but it's a lot of responsibility," he said.