BUCYRUS―During the holiday preschool break, a crew from Schoolhouse Electronics in Bluffton, Ohio, installed five SMART Interactive 65-inch flat panels in each of the Fairway Preschool classrooms. The SMART Boards are also an interactive whiteboard which allows students to use technology as a part to enhance their learning.
Teachers can use the SMART boards to build upon existing lesson plans through the use of the internet, practice letter and name writing, sorting and much more. They can also use software and lessons already created by preschool teachers all over the worlds. Some classrooms have used the SMART Boards to set the mood of the classroom such as having a picture and sound of a fireplace during nap time or singing and dancing along to their favorite songs.
The children love the interactive learning that is taking place in the classroom. Going from a small iPad screen to a 65-inch screen has provided greater opportunities for the teachers as well as the students. There is a whole new dimension to learning going on at Fairway these days. Parents have commented that their children have talked non-stop about the SMART Boards in their classroom and they needed to come to check them out.
Fairway School received a Child Care Mini-Grant from the Crawford County Family and Children First Council to help offset the purchase of Class License Set/CDs for Math, Science and Language to be used with the SMART Boards. This will help add additional hands-on learning experiences for our children. These programs come highly recommended from other preschool programs. The staff also attended professional development on the many ways to use the SMART Board in their classroom on February 1, 2019. As the teachers are still learning all the aspects of these SMART boards, they are excited about what it will bring to the learning and development of lesson plans in the classroom.
The Crawford County Board of Developmental Disabilities is located at 1630 E. Southern Ave. Suite 101 in Bucyrus and serves and supports over 350 children and adults throughout the county including Fairway Preschool, public schools and private providers.
