Kindersley Playschool has been operating for decades!

By Joan Janzen

Kindersley Playschool has played an important role in Kindersley for decades! Roxanne Atkinson, who has been teaching at the Playschool for the past five years, said the Playschool has been running since the 1970’s. She noted that back then, registration day would find parents lined up on the street early in the morning to register their children.

Currently the classes are limited to eleven children per class, with two classes per day from Tuesday to Friday. The classes are geared for children aged three and four years old.

Every class includes a regular routine of play time, carpet time, craft, snack time, followed by gym time. After the recent snowfall, some of the children enjoyed playing in the snow.

Roxanne explained that carpet time encompasses lessons such as learning days of the week, months of the year, counting or learning a specific letter of the alphabet. The craft could be based on a lessons learned that day, or on an upcoming holiday. Gym time includes various fun activities such as play in a bouncy castle, group games or parachute games.

Parents help out as a “duty parent” once a month and provide the snack for that class. Parents are also included for special activities such as the Halloween parade and playschool graduation.

Roxanne said she loves teaching the children, and seeing how excited the kids are to see her whenever they come to playschool. “I love the excitement, the fun, how proud the kids are of their crafts and how glad they are about their special day when their mom and dad get to see them!” Roxanne said. She said playschool is important because it is often the first organized activity the children are involved in.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, seven board members meet once a month to ensure playschool continues to run smoothly. Kindersley Playschool qualifies for a grant from the town during the year. In addition, two major fundraisers are held during the year to help keep tuition costs affordable.

Kindersley Playschool has been offering the perfect balance between play and learning for over four decades, and that is quite an chievement.