Penn-Kidder celebrates young children with family lunch
Pre-K Counts students participated in a Family Friday luncheon at Penn-Kidder Campus, where they put a meal together for the mothers, fathers and siblings. Semaj and Anaise Robinson, left, and Shawn, Amaru and Kai Robinson. Scan this photo with the Prindeo app to see a video of the event. BRIAN W. MYSZKOWSKI/TIMES NEWS
Stephanie and Pat Lombardi enjoy lunch with their son Pat on Family Friday.
Jarrett and Rebecca Farina, along with daughter Ivee, eat a ham and cheese lunch prepared by Quinntin.
The staff of the Pre-K Cafe, at your service. From left: Kai Robinson, Xyla Bryant, Elijah Harrison, William Flammia, Ivy Desjadon and Charles Martino.
Penn-Kidder Campus’s Pre-K Counts Program rounded out The Week of the Young Child with a special family luncheon on Friday.
“It’s a day when we invited the parents in, and the children take the time to make a nice lunch for them. They really enjoy it,” Pre-K Counts teacher Kate Harleman said.
The luncheon is part of the Week of the Young Child, an event hosted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Each day of the school week is meant to celebrate early learning, young children, teachers and families with special themes.
Pre-K Counts kids also participated in Dot Day on Monday, Feather Day on Tuesday, a Teddy Bear Picnic on Wednesday and Pirate Day on Thursday.
“The Pre-K Counts program has been running for 10 years, and we’ve been doing The Week of the Young Children for the whole 10 years. The luncheon, we’ve been doing that for nine years,” Harleman said.
In preparation for the event, the kids created their own personalized aprons, along with custom-made place mats for their families.
When family members arrived, the were greeted at the “Pre-K Cafe” by a host or hostess, and taken in to their reserved tables.
The kids took a turn in the kitchen, putting together a meal of ham and cheese sandwiches, chips, pickles and cookies for dessert, and then serving the adults.
“I set up the food on the plates and I put the sandwiches together,” student Quinntin Farina said.
While making and serving a meal with Pre-K students may seem like a recipe for chaos, Harleman said it worked out rather well.
“We have a great routine, so it’s very easy. They follow directions and routines, so we did an assembly, and they did great,” she said.
Semaj Robinson, mother of current student Kai, has been coming to the Family Friday event for five years.
“I love it. It gets better every year. The kids love it, they get really creative and they get to make their lunch for us, and take home their cute little aprons,” she said.
On top of that, Robinson said, the get-together allows the parents to socialize and catch up with one another.
“Sometimes we get together and talk afterward. Last year we all stayed after, let the kids play, and the parents talked about the growth of their children, getting them ready for kindergarten. It’s a wonderful thing, I enjoy it every year,” she said.
Parents were pleased to take a nice break and enjoy some service from their little ones, though the fantastic service may have raised expectations for the students.
“He did a good job putting it all together for us. I guess we’re going to have to teach him how to make dinner when we get home,” Quinntin’s mother Rebecca Farina said with a laugh.
