Preschool Students Learn and Explore Through Manipulative Play Thanks to Grant from Lansing Educational Foundation
Lansing No Fee Pre-K students have had the opportunity to learn problem-solving strategies using manipulative play, thanks to a $1,000 grant from Lansing Educational Foundation written by Rafaella Saltigerald and Scott Meirose. The grant was used to purchase items such as pattern blocks, beads and laces, creature builders, slot-together snowflakes, and math links. Students have been able to play with these items and learn language skills, matching, sorting, and classifying, as well as critical thinking, mathematics, following directions, and fine motor skills.
"We are grateful to have access to a variety of materials for the children that help them expand their knowledge of the world around them," said Preschool Teacher, Rafaella Saltigerald. "I absolutely love watching the excitement on the students' faces as they figure out how the pieces work together. When young children are playing purposefully with toys, they are building pre-writing skills by exercising the muscles in their hands and making new connections in their brain. The children in the Lansing community are lucky to have a foundation that is invested in their education."
The teachers utilizing the grant materials in their classrooms are Rafaella Saltigerald, Keri Litewski, Lori Daly, Cindy Willis, Heather Trinkle, Jessica Garner, Terri Dominick, Scott Meirose, Jessica Morris, and Robin Clark.