If you ever get the chance to spend time in Christina Arroyo’s classroom, not only will you be ambushed by a group of phenomenal preschoolers, but you will be impressed by her ‘hands on’ style of teaching.

Mrs. Arroyo teaches preschool-age students in the Beverly School for the Deaf program at CCCBSD.  She always makes sure that she goes beyond the lesson plan! For example, her class learned about Nepal and the Holi Festival, which celebrates bringing people together in unity through colors. Christina brought her students outside where they covered themselves in powdered paint as they do in the festival. Students were thrilled to have the chance to throw paint all over each other and their teachers. Originally the colors used during the Holi Festival came from herbs and flowers. Over the years they have become synthetic and use colors that spread happiness.

In a more recent STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Music) activity, students were tasked with making a fence out of various materials. The goal was to create a strong fence that could stop a rolling pumpkin. Prior to the challenge, Mrs. Arroyo’s class filled plastic bottles with a variety of materials to figure out which were strong enough to stop the pumpkins. Students were excited to learn that filling a plastic bottle with leaves, is not as strong as filling it with rocks or other heavier materials.

These preschoolers are constantly engaged in a variety of learning experiences through Mrs. Arroyo’s creative teaching techniques. Stay tuned in the upcoming months to see what she’s up to next.