HBRES Early Childhood Program
"Decker, what did you dream about last night?”
This is a question I ask my kids every morning when they wake up. My daughter, Allie, has always been able to tell me vivid details about her dreams. It’s my favorite way to start the day. When I would ask my son this before school started this year, I would be met with an emotionless face and blank stares.
I grew up in Big Rock, and graduated from Hinckley-Big Rock High School. Because of that, I knew, even before being fortunate enough to get a job here, that this district has the best of the best. That’s why I wasn’t worried at all when I assumed that my son would probably need a little more than what a “traditional” pre-school could offer.
Decker, for those that don’t know him, just turned 4 in February. He not only could say the alphabet (both forwards and backwards), but could write all upper and lower case letters, spell and write a plethora of words (some that my first-grade daughter still doesn’t know how to spell), write numbers, count past 100 by ones, fives, and tens, and identify colors, all before he turned 3. While all of these things are amazing (and really cool!), what Decker couldn’t do was answer simple “yes” and “no” questions, look at us in the eye when talking to us, ask for what he wanted, and many other things that are “typical” of 3 year old children. I was relieved when we took him to the Early Childhood screening last year, and the teachers recognized the things we had noticed at home. Decker’s Early Childhood journey started shortly after that, and we truly couldn’t be happier!
Where do I even begin in describing all of the things I love about Hinckley-Big Rock’s Early Childhood program? I guess I have to start, first and foremost, with Decker’s AMAZING teachers. As I mentioned before, I knew that this district had the best of the best, but man...his teachers are just beyond fantastic. “Ms. Brittany,” as Decker calls her, knew about Decker’s love of letters and numbers, and figured out how to use that in a curriculum to help him with his social skills. She helps keep the learning fun and engaging, while still challenging him at his level. Mrs. Davis is Decker’s speech teacher, and I get to see all the fun things she does with him when she posts things on Seesaw. It’s so cool to see how she works on social and life skills while playing really fun games. I’ve heard that Decker cries when it’s not his turn for speech, because he loves learning with her so much! Decker also brings home artwork all the time that he and “Ms. Emily,” his occupational therapist, work on together, and anytime he talks about being with her, he gets a huge smile on his face. Speaking of smiles, “Ms. Kathy,” and “Ms. Ashley,” always have smiles on their faces, and always make sure that Decker is enjoying his time at school, while also making sure that he is learning and following school expectations. They help him succeed in the classroom, which will help him be able to succeed later in life.
So, after reading all of this you may be wondering, “why did she start this blog by telling us she asks her kids what they dream about every morning?” Well, because now when I ask Decker, “what did you dream about last night?” ninety percent of the time he’ll light up, look me in the eyes with a huge smile on his face, and say, “school!”
As a parent, you can’t ask for anything better than that.