Peshtigo Little Paws program provides daycare and enrichment

PESHTIGO – The Peshtigo Little Paws program is a childcare option open to students enrolled in PELC’s 4K program allowing students the opportunity to stay at school the full school day, five days per week, following the same school calendar as the rest of the school. It was started in the 2023-2024 school year, and has grown in popularity since. 4K teacher Justin Woulf is the head of the program. Amy McMahon is currently the only teacher in the program and there is a waiting list for interested families.

Woulf said the Peshtigo School District began to explore full-day 4K following the closure of several childcare centers.

“We were having trouble with parents who couldn’t get their kids to school because, with 4K only being a half day program, they didn’t have the option for anything the other half of the school day,” Would said. “So we started looking at ideas and ways we could help support the families. We went around to some other districts that offer something similar, and got their input, and it kind of snowballed from there into what we currently have.”

McMahon started working at PELC as a long term substitute in 2018 as a Special Education paraprofessional. In that role, she worked daily with students ranging in age from 4K-sixth grade. She said that role made her realize how much she enjoys working with preschoolers.

“I absolutely love my role in Little Paws,” McMahon said. “Being able to have a front seat to watching as these kids explore and learn about the world around them has been such a blessing in my life. I get so excited for them when they recognize the letters in their names, when they complete puzzles all by themselves for the first time, when they design very detailed Lego airplanes and boats, when they are able to make it across the monkey bars at recess, or when they color pictures they are so proud to take home to show their parents. All of those moments are very big milestones for my Little Paws… and I just feel so grateful to be one of the people to celebrate those successes with them.”

Little Paws focuses on social and fine motor development for 4K students. The curriculum includes academic focus, social time and play-based learning, and is based on the Wisconsin Mode Early Learning Standards.

“The Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards focus on social and fine motor development, so it talks a lot about hand-eye coordination and proper use of scissors, pencils and utensils,” Justin Woulf said. “It covers everything from birth up until the age of five, so there’s things in there like even potty training. It covers a wide range of different skills that kids learn as they grow, a lot of times through family, but sometimes outside of the house too.”

The program offers family outreach through monthly newsletters and activity suggestions.

“A huge part of our 4K program is parent and family outreach,” Would said. “We do monthly newsletters where we include education on things like why nursery rhymes are important, or how to help your child practice writing letters and holding a pencil and different techniques that we use at school, that they can go home and practice with their child too. We offer family ideas for ways to spend a fall weekend or different times of the year, how you can spend time out in the snow or in the summertime, giving them ideas about different things that maybe they’ve never thought of before.”

A day in the Little Paws program mirrors the 4K program, according to Woulf.

“We have the same academic focus, where we practice the same letters and letter sounds,” he said. “We practice the same shapes. Each day we’ll practice pronouncing a different letter. In the Little Paws classroom, it’s a smaller group, and so it’s more of a relaxed schedule.”

One of the advantages of the Little Paws program is the extra time it gives students to practice their skills.

“They have a little more social time and play time, but they still do projects. McMahon will read a story and they focus on one story theme each week, where she’ll read the same story multiple times and take a different piece of that story each day to dig a little deeper in and maybe do a project on, maybe be able to focus on some rhyming or letters or whatever that they’re doing with that story.”

Not only do Little Paws students have more time each day to develop their skills, but they also have more time to relax as needed.

“The Little Paws students have snack times, lunch time, and rest time in the afternoon, so it’s got some time for relaxation as well,” Woulf said.

The extended time also allows McMahon to engage the kids in many different kinds of play, building up their social skills and confidence.

“We have free-choice playtime, where students can color, work on puzzles or building with legos, cook in our play kitchen, using their imaginations to create fun snacks and meals for their friends… and for me,” McMahon said. “We also have a variety of cars, dolls, blocks, books, trains and dollhouses to choose as options during this time. During this time, I usually float through the room, visiting with the groups of students in a variety of settings.”

There is also structured playtime, where students engage in a specific activity, often roleplaying real-world situations.

“During our more structured center times, we often open our sensory tables, have a dramatic play area and a center which allows me to work with a small group of students,” McMahon said. “Our dramatic play centers allow students a chance to use their imaginations and explore a variety of things.”

Lately, McMahon has been selecting fall-themed activities to engage the children in dramatic play.

“Last week, for example, our dramatic play center was a pumpkin patch,” she said. “This week, it will be an apple orchard. The students will be able to pick pretend apples from the trees, fill their baskets and pay for them at the pretend cash register. Before leaving the orchard, they can also stop by the apple bakery and buy some apple pie, apple doughnuts or apple butter to take home, too. In these kinds of centers, the students take turns being the shopper and the cashier. They practice using their good manner words like please and thank you, as well.”

Like any classroom, there are occasional disagreements between students. McMahon says she uses these as an opportunity to help the kids learn how to manage their emotions and treat each other with respect, even when they’re upset.

“When my students have arguments or disagreements, I remind them to use their words and talk through the problems,” she said. “I encourage them to work together to come up with a solution. I am so proud of how my students are learning to talk through problems and work together to find solutions. I believe these are important life skills that they will be able to carry with them forever.”

According to Woulf, academic learning alongside the students’ peers is just as important as developing social skills in a group.

“A lot of academics at this age are peer driven, where they want to be able to answer the questions that their peers are answering,” Woulf said. “So they try to listen a lot more closely so they can answer and try to grasp some of those letters and other things that we’re working on.”

The Little Paws students also learn to establish self confidence to carry them through difficult moments in their lives.

“We have daily affirmations for the kids that say I am kind or I am a good listener, I am brave, I am strong, different things like that to build up their self esteem,” Woulf said.

While the Little Paws program shares many similarities with a traditional 4K program, the extended schedule helps families who aren’t able to pick up their kids halfway through the day and also gives the students extra time with their peers to develop academic and social skills.