School is in. Nursery school, that is.

Last week the fall session of nursery school began for children aged three and four in Jasper. Classes are held at Jasper Elementary School, where children learn through play.

Tammy Crozier, outreach worker for prenatal to pre-school with Community Outreach Services (COS), explains that there are two different classes throughout the week, two days for three-year-olds and three days for four-year-olds.

The young scholars enjoyed some Halloween crafts on Oct. 13, with their colour of the day, orange. Finger painting was a big hit with the kids, all four years old. 

For those uninterested in getting messy at the craft tables, activities throughout the room entertain. 

“Mostly we encourage full play,” said Joey Katajamaki, who teaches the class, adding that every activity at the school helps to develop critical thinking skills and explore each child’s creativity.

“It gets a little messy but it’s fun,” she said. 

The added benefit of the nursery school is that younger siblings don’t feel left out when their older brothers and sisters head to class in the mornings.

“They feel like they’re coming to school if they have older siblings,” Katajamaki said. 

Crozier says that class duration and number of days were increased this year for each age group.

“It seemed like parents and kids were ready for more.”

She says that both programs are generally the same, with children having opportunities to go to a variety of “centres”, including sand and water tables, paints and crafts, a kitchen area and even a dress up area. There are also a wide variety of toys available for play.

Held at the elementary school, Crozier says the program is very beneficial for parents with three or four year olds who have older siblings that are in elementary school.

At nursery school, children learn through play and there are many activities based on socialization. One such activity is circle time, where kids sit, listen and enjoy that time with their peers. 

Crozier says she thinks parents with children this age saw a need for this type of programming, that would even help prepare them for kindergarten.

“A lot of parents are looking for that socialization time where children are learning to play and interact with other children,” says Crozier. “One aspect of the program is to prepare children for school, but the main goal is learning through play.”

Classes usually begin with children arriving and choosing a centre for the first 30 to 40 minutes, though nothing is written in stone. After that, there is first circle time, snack time, the chance to go back to their chosen centres and the class ends with a closing circle. Crozier said circle time varies, with singing, sharing time and reading. Interaction happens throughout the class.

“We also run in conjunction with the day care with different themes. That can be anything from the seasons, to “all about me”.

Part of Crozier’s job involves working with young families.

“I try to get them connected with programs like this and I also help with the registration and hiring of teachers, (etc.),” she says, adding that she feels this program is very beneficial for three and four year olds.

Crozier and Linda Shore, outreach worker for prenatal to pre-school with COS, also run the Parent Link program and a variety of other programs for parents with young children.

“Our goal is to have parents and their children interacting and enjoying playtime together,” says Crozier.

Parent Link offers parenting programs throughout the year, with new sessions starting this winter. Contact COS for dates and times.

Crozier and Shore also provide support and direction to appropriate professionals for various issues parents may have.

Along with the beneficial parental programming, coming up on Oct. 29, COS will host a Halloween Family Dance at the activity centre.

“We hold dances twice a year for parents and children of all ages,” says Crozier, adding that the dance will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Registration is still open for the current session of nursery school, which runs until mid-December. New classes will begin in January and registration for that session will happen in December, with  dates to be announced. Three-year-olds are in class from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and four-year-olds are in class Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from 8:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.