Editor’s note: The following story was submitted for the Shaler Area Student Section, a collaboration between TribLive and The Oracle, the student newspaper of Shaler Area High School.

The preschool program at Shaler Area High School is a unique experience.

High school students act as the instructors alongside child development and family and consumer science teacher Tara Wells.

The program started in the 1980s and is still popular today. Each year, there are so many applicants for the program that there is a waitlist.

Many people underestimate the legitimacy of the preschool and how much the high school students are actually accomplishing when teaching the kids.

“(The parents) are more excited that their kids get more one-on-one attention than other preschools,” said Wells, who runs the program.

The impact the program has on the students, both preschool and high school, is enormous.

The preschoolers’ school day is from 8:15 to 10:30 a.m., which is periods 2, 3 and 4 for the high school students. The young students see three sets of high schoolers every day, one per period, and each set has different responsibilities with the kids.

During second period, the preschoolers have free play time while everyone gets settled in, then they have “circle time.” While play time is a lot of fun, it also is an opportunity for the kids to learn.

They learn how to share toys and how to play and interact with other kids their age. During circle time, the students sit on the carpet and all learn together. At this time, one high school student will lead the group and go over the days of the week, the weather and the letter of the day.

Preschool students also learn basic school rules such as sitting quietly while keeping their hands to themselves and raising their hand if they want a turn to answer a question.

“My favorite station to be at is the kitchen and store. At that station, we can teach them how to share and take turns with the foods and being at the register,” senior Kiersten Bork said.

Third period is called the “learning period.” Everything the preschool program does is designed so the preschoolers are constantly learning and getting something valuable out of their time, but third period is when they are do schoolwork.

Each day, the students are put into groups based on their age and rotate through three stations: literacy, art and math.

For literacy, they learn a different letter of the alphabet each day and usually make a craft surrounding it. They practice math skills in a multitude of ways, such as practicing patterns, counting, matching and recognizing numbers. The art center typically revolves around a fun craft that promotes using fine motor skills that matches the theme of the week.

“It’s not always easy, but you kind of just have to put yourself in there and do your best,” senior Evey Stiglich said.

During fourth period, the preschoolers have music and movement, game time and snack time. During music and movement, the kids watch a video and dance along with it, which is important because it allows them to be active and use up some of their energy. The same goes for game time. The students have a small jungle gym they can play on, basketballs, tricycles or sometimes they play outside if the weather permits. A favorite game for the high schoolers and preschoolers is musical chairs.

“That’s always so fun to watch them do,” Stiglich said.

Even though the preschool program obviously is for the youngsters, the high school students learn a lot as well. To take preschool lab, students first must pass Wells’ child development course. Students learn how young kids’ brains work, their behavior patterns and how to work with them.

“We go over lesson planning, how to prepare lessons for preschoolers in child development so that when we get into preschool lab, you can jump right into that because we don’t have that much time before the preschoolers come to us,” Wells said.

The first few weeks of preschool lab before the kids start is filled with planning. High school students get the opportunity to create their own lesson plans for each week. They pick what theme they want to do and develop literacy, math and art activities, as well as the snacks and games for that week. It is a good chance to see the behind the scenes of what goes on in a classroom when the students aren’t there. The real-life experience that is gained in preschool is helpful for high school students who are considering education as a career.

“It has made me enjoy working with kids and has given me the experience of working in a classroom,” said Bork, who plans to go to college for education.

Along with learning how to do lesson plans, the high school students learn how to take care of the preschoolers and help them with their everyday needs.

“(The class) gives you an idea of prepping lessons, prepping bulletin boards, helping kids with every last thing — whether it’s getting a tissue, washing hands, tying a shoe, dealing with a kid who’s crying. You see all aspects of it, not just the learning aspects, but all the stuff that they need help with at such a young age,” Wells said.

Preschool lab immerses the high school students into the world of teaching. It is a great way to gain experience, and the high school students learn a lot about themselves as well. It inspires many to go into the teaching field and prepares them for the future.

The number of students who have gone from preschool lab to a teaching career has increased over the past three or four years, according to Wells.

“It helps me get hands-on experience. It really does make or break if I want to be a teacher or not, and it definitely makes it,” Stiglich said.

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