Skyler West, left, and Gracie Guenther practice their alphabet on Monday morning at the Westminster Preschool in Chehalis. The preschool is the longest continuously running preschool in Lewis County.
Kelly Wheeler, preschool director and teacher, helps her students Violet Swehosky, Ryder Davis, and Karson Bunch make crafts on Monday morning at Westminster Preschool in Chehalis.
Students at Westminster Preschool recite the pledge of allegiance on Monday morning at the Chehalis school. The preschool is celebrating 50 years of providing quality care and education to its Lewis County students.
Students at Westminster Preschool on Monday were busy doing activities, making crafts and singing songs, all focused on preparing them to be ready for kindergarten.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the school is the longest continuously running preschool in Lewis County.
The program focuses heavily on active learning in a format centered around hands-on experiences.
“If you are an innocent bystander walking in sometimes, the program looks a little bit like chaos, but there is so much education in that momentary chaos,” Rita Davis, a volunteer known as Miss Nana to her students, said. “The kids are learning letters, they are learning numbers, they are learning how to share and how to play cooperatively. It’s just an amazing program.”
With the goal of getting all children ready for kindergarten, the Westminster Preschool, located on Prindle Street in Chehalis, serves children ages 3 to 5 years old.
“We do get the kids kindergarten ready here, but we try to do it hands on and make it fun with music,” Kelly Wheeler, preschool director and teacher, said.
The preschool is nondenominational, but does seek to instill Christian concepts and perspectives through its classes. It is sponsored by the Westminster Presbyterian Church, the oldest existing Presbyterian Church in the state of Washington.
Davis has volunteered at the preschool for two years, but her volunteer experience stretches back to 1990. When looking for a preschool to enroll her grandkids in, she said the program at Westminster Preschool won “hands down.”
“It was just perfect,” she said, adding that she now volunteers at least two times a week.
The preschool is at full capacity with 25 kids enrolled. On an average day, between 12 and 16 kids attend class.
“Our kids are from all over Lewis County,” Wheeler said. “They are from everywhere and from all different churches.”
She is the fifth director at the preschool since it was founded in 1966. She’s been at the preschool for five years, and has over 30 years of teaching experience.
In October, the preschool expanded its services to include all day preschool one day a week for students who will enroll in kindergarten next year. On Mondays, the younger students leave at 11:30 a.m., while the older students stay until 2 p.m. The extended hours aim to prepare the kids for full day kindergarten.
The extended time focuses on math and science. Some of the activities include making a volcano, launching a rocket or making mystery goo.
The preschool serves a vast demographic of students and has some kids that come from “hard situations.”
“We try to help those kids out and their families,” Wheeler said, adding the preschool offers scholarships for those families. “We are really compassionate with families that need help.”
Davis said Wheeler shows great compassion to all of the students and is “equal in her concern for all the kids in the class.”
“She has done a lot of research about what is required in kindergarten and what is required as they complete kindergarten,” Davis said. “I’ve noticed that there has been a tremendous amount of focus, fun focus, put on getting these kids ready for what is now required by our state for kindergarten children, which is just phenomenal.”
