Press Release

Release Date: April 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Susie Pickering

Oak Lane Day School

137 Stenton Ave, Blue Bell, PA 19422

Phone: 610-825-1055

Fax: 610-825-9288

Email: spickering@oaklanedayschool.org

Children's Interests Direct a Fascinating Study of Color and Light at Oak Lane Day School

Walk into the Oak Lane Day School pre-kindergarten class of Fairlight Beasley and Laurie Flynn and see a world bathed in color and light. Recently, a wonderful study was underway in which the three and four year old children explored color combinations, tints, shading, and shadows through various mediums and experiences.

The creation of this project stemmed entirely from the enthusiastic responses of the students to their own activities in the classroom. Fairlight explains, "Our study of color and light grew out of simply observing and listening to the children as they painted at the classroom easels. They were so excited by and interested in the way colors mixed in their own artwork. We knew that an opportunity for a rich and authentic experience was at hand!" The decision of the teachers to develop an in-depth study of a particular interest of the children's is in keeping with the academic philosophy of Oak Lane's preprimary division. Based on the Reggio Emilia approach, instruction is built on recorded observations of childen's interests, and enables children to learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing, and hearing, and allows for endless ways and opportunities for the children to express themselves.

Providing an array of activities with which to explore a subject is key to the success of such a study. In Fairlight's and Laurie's class, the children watched as drops of food coloring swirled in clear containers of water, tinting the liquid one shade and then combining to make another. Great buildings of transluscent color blocks rose from the carpet like cathedrals in miniature complete with gorgeous stained-glass windows. A favorite activity involved the exploration of shadows cast by the afternoon sun on the floor and walls of the classroom. Like Peter Pan, the children reached out and tried to grab hold of their own shadow-selves and were intrigued and delighted by the mercurial nature of the images. Throughout the study, children were happily and purposefully engaged.

The benefit of offering various experiences with which to study a subject comes from the children having some control over the direction of their learning and capitalizing on their natural intellectual curiosity, thereby learning in a way that makes sense to them. Fairlight and Laurie report being very impressed with the work done by their students. Fairlight describes the study of color and light as "very compelling and interesting to the children. It was great scientific discovery combined with beauty and magic." (Information about Reggio Emilia found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach.)

Oak Lane Day School Information

An independent elementary school, founded in 1916 and located in Blue Bell, Oak Lane Day School serves a diverse population of boys and girls. Oak Lane honors each child's unique individuality while fostering intellectual, creative, academic, and personal growth within a diverse community of active, engaged learners. Small class sizes and an atmosphere that encourages children to develop their academic and social skills are priorities at Oak Lane, where learning is a meaningful and joyous pursuit. Oak Lane's country-like property of 30 acres along Butler Pike and Stenton Avenue boasts a stream, pond, woods, meadows, and specimen trees as well as athletic fields and playgrounds.

Oak Lane Day School is accredited by the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS), and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools (ADVIS).