Some think it’s a daycare, when really, the toddlers seen around campus are part of Seminole’s voluntary pre-kindergarten program. Forty students in all, split into two groups per day, are enrolled in VPK.

Lead teacher Karen Smith said, “There has been a pre-K class here at SHS for over 20 years. It has been run [through] Seminole County Schools, but under different titles. VPK has been at SHS for about six years.”

To be eligible, children must be four years of age by September 1. They come to Seminole for three hours a day, in two groups, the morning group (8-11 AM) and the afternoon group (11:30 to 2:30).

Those three hours are busy. They have circle time, with includes the daily calendar, attendance, rules, the alphabet and counting. They have story time, then a snack. Literacy time is next, which includes a weekly book, vocabulary words, writing exercises, and additional phonics lessons. There is a time for music. Lastly, there is small group time, which is “a time for a specific lesson that the class is divided up…based on learning levels and more one-on-one time with the lesson,” Smith explained.

Perhaps the most fun part of the child day is the “Plan, Do, Review” time, where students can decide which area or areas they want to play in. They can play with blocks, the sand table, or do art. They may choose to write, play in the house area, or with the table toys. Some may opt to play on the playground. They are taught beforehand how to use all the materials in the play area and where to put them back at the labeled location.

Seminole students can interact with these children if they are enrolled in Child Care Development, a class offered at SHS. The course has four levels, and students begin coming to the lab during the second year of class.

Junior Johana Perlaza said, “It seems a lot of fun. They play with the kids and color and play games with them [the children].”

It’s not all fun and games in VPK, however. The children are assessed three times a year. Seminole’s VPK is held to a standard mandated by the state of Florida to get the children ready for kindergarten. During the first month of kindergarten, the children are tested to see how ready they are.

If they attended VPK, the state wants to know where they attended. To maintain funding, SHS’s VPK has to have a readiness rate of 80% or higher. Last year, the readiness rate was 94%.

Junior Kadin De la Barrera said, “I didn’t know that we actually had a voluntary pre-K here. I’m going to be a senior next year, and I already have my classes picked out, so I can’t take Early Child Development but it’s something that I think would be cool to suggest to the underclassmen.”

There is a summer VPK program and a Kinder Camp. The summer VPK is from June 5 to July 31, Mondays through Thursdays (call 407-320-0463). The summer Kinder Camp is June 4 to June 27. For more information, call 407-320-0566.