Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Hale helps NEA students develop life skills

As an early childhood educator, Karen Hale believes it is never too early to begin teaching children.

And in her Discoverers classroom at New Enterprise Academy (NEA), where she is introducing prekindergarten students to the skills they will need in school and in life, she is devoted to having each child under her care become successful.

Hale, who joined the NEA faculty in August, gained much of her education experience as a teacher's assistant in early childhood classrooms in South Carolina, where she worked for nearly 20 years. She then received her certification and Montesorri degree in 2004 and for the five years prior to coming to NEA she worked as a lead teacher in Montesorri classrooms in Illinois.

She is currently continuing her education at Southwestern Illinois College, where she is concentrating on early childhood education. Hale said she chose her career field because she is "drawn to little children."

"I really enjoy this age group," she explained.

She then noted, "If you get the children early, you have the opportunity to help make their lives better."

And she added, "They teach me a lot too."

The six students in Hale's classroom range in age from three-and-one-half to five-and-one-half. And the little learners are constantly in motion, moving from station to station to work with numbers or letters or shapes, either alone or in groups of two or three. The students also migrate regularly to a large box in one corner that is filled with clothing they use to dress as make believe characters.

And, occasionally, one will even march right up to give the teacher an impromptu kiss on the cheek.

Discussing what she brings to NEA’s early childhood program, Hale said she is integrating creative activities into her students' daily curriculum.

"The curriculum for the Discoverers program is set but I am bringing some of my knowledge to it. And I am bringing some of the manipulative I used in the Montesorri classroom to help reinforce lessons," she said.

Hale, who also has worked as lead teacher for the St. Pancratius Catholic Church Parish School of Religion in Fayetteville since 2001, believes education is a lifelong process that begins very early on.

"A lot of people say children cannot learn at two-and-one-half or three years of age," she said. "But when you catch them early you can teach them a lot of things and there is a lot children can learn at that age."

Specifically, she noted, young children can be introduced to skills that will allow them to live independently.

"My students are learning how to button and learning how to zip. Things like that help promote independence and make a child feel better about themselves on the inside and out," she pointed out.

"We also are building skills the students will need when they get to kindergarten," she added. "They are learning to recognize letters, numbers and shapes. We also are beginning to work on printing their names, addresses and phone numbers and getting them to recognize those things." "I don't think it is ever too early to work on those things. Of course, it takes a little bit of time so we work on it daily," Hale noted.

A native of Massachusetts, Hale lived South Carolina while her husband Jay was stationed there with the U.S. Navy. The couple moved to the small St. Clair County community of Venedy on his retirement in 1995 to be near their children and grandchildren.