Valley Pre-School’s Annual Florida Trip
In l991, Peggy Shaw introduced the "Valley Pre-School Florida Trip". Now in 2013, after 22 years and approximately 500 hours of set up, the children are still enjoying her brain child.
The teachers are as excited as the students (or more so) as the children arrive with suitcases in hand. The travelers wait at the gate to check their luggage and go through security. The first room they enter has been transformed into the inside of a 747 jumbo jet. They match their ticket to the seat number and prepare to take flight. The pilots (teachers) sit in front of a real control panel. As they look out the window an air traffic controller (parent) directs the plane down the runway. The children follow the plane's course on a map and after an inflight movie (giant book) and several harrowing "loop de loops" they land in Key West.
Down the hallway their happy feet patter and into sunny Florida they go. The room is filled with palm trees, sea gulls, a tiki hut overflowing with exotic fruit, a wading pool with nets, a boardwalk with fish and poles, sand casting, post cards to send home, a sand box full of shells and castle molds, a tennis court and sounds of waves and gulls. Teachers and children spread out on towels to enjoy kiwis and oranges, to spy sea gulls with binoculars, to identify sea creatures and talk and laugh and suspend our disbelief.
After a fancy fruit drink complete with tiny umbrella the children reluctantly pack their suitcases, bid farewell to Florida and board the plane for their return to Granby. Upon arrival the children one by one receive their wings and explode into the hallway to greet parents. Ah, the magic!
To look from the outside you might think it's just imaginative play but a lot of learning is happening. Children are discovering biology, geography, ecosystems, the necessary disciplines of air travel, how to compose letters, and who knows what else.
Abby Johnson, a VPS alumni who is now 20 years old fondly remembers her Florida trip. She says "Valley Pre-School is an authentic community of cozy, childhood imagination. I remember walking into "Florida Day" 16 years ago, taking a seat in a cardboard airplane and having the flight attendant Mrs. Brown serve us juice boxes and pretzels. When we reached the gate and the doors to the next classroom opened, the room had been transformed with flowers, sandbox and even a splash pool; our own private beach."
We wonder how many young adults have such vivid memories of their preschool years. Are we crazy to spend so much time creating events? Have 22 years and 500 hours been worth it? There's no real question in our minds. The answer is a resounding "Yes".