BY KAYLYN FISCHER & MARRISSA DELREAL

On April 13 Jessica Buchanan’s Human Growth and Development class went to the Early Childhood Center to host a Toddler Camp.

“In Human Growth & Development we study the developmental growth of infants to adolescents,” Buchanan said. “During the toddler unit, we like to host a toddler camp to interact with the age we are currently learning. We do a developmental checklist with our toddlers while we play.”

A total of 42 South students attended the trip while there were 25 toddlers at the ECC.

“I loved building a relationship with some of the kids and learning about how they grew as they got older,” Josephine Miller, 10, said.

June Rempel, ECC, who is on the teacher pathway advisory council at the ECC suggested to Buchanan that they use their facility since it was close.

“We were allowed the facilities at zero cost,” Buchanan said. “It was amazing to have a playground and room fully equipped with toys and toddler height facilities.”

Each student was assigned a toddler to play with and observe.

“Our job was to maintain and just watch and take notes of the certain things they could do,” Spencer Steinhoff, 11, said. “I got assigned a boy and we took him out to the playground and we shot hoops on this little goal.”

The students spent second block, MavTime, and third block at the ECC.

“My favorite part was probably shooting hoops and talking to him,” Steinhoff said. “[I would say] the word three and he would pronounce it back as tree. I thought that was kind of funny.”

In past years, the Human Growth and Development class has had toddlers come to the school since the ECC wasn’t yet built.

.

Faith Henry, 10, helps a toddler build with blocks at the ECC during Toddler Camp. “This was the best Toddler Camp we’ve had,” Buchanan said. Photo by B. Jones-Rupp