On Oct. 25 the Teaching Academy partnered up with the Little Cavalier Preschool to host their annual Little Cavalier Halloween Carnival. With plentiful treats and a dash of tricks, little Cavaliers explored the festivities of the Halloween season through six spooky stations, accompanied by students from the Teaching Academy.
Ms. Passwaters, the Teaching Academy sponsor, started the Halloween tradition last year and has brought it back with new enthusiasm. She coordinated with Ms. Baez, the Little Cavaliers Preschool Director, to organize and execute the event for the second time.
“As the president of Future Educators of America, it was my responsibility to team up with the Teaching Academy and set up this event for the little kids. Ms. Baez, Ms. Passwaters and I ordered all the decorations and candy for the event, as well as organizing and planning all the details,” senior Brianna Rodriguez said.
Ms. Passwaters and her teaching academy students set up at 8 a.m. and had six stations prepared for the kids. Each station was run by two students who monitored the kids and ensured everyone could have a chance at participating. Preschoolers were organized into groups of four and chaperoned by a Teaching Academy student. Chaperones led the children around the Carnival, ensuring they stopped at every station.
“We planned out all these little activities that were both interactive and fun. In the sticker station for example, the kids used the stickers to create their own little monsters and characters. We also did face paint so they could look like their favorite super-heroes and participate in the best parts of Halloween,” junior Irela Montelongo said.
To the tune of haunting melodies, the Monster Mash included, Little cavaliers dressed in their favorite character costumes. From Spiderman to skeletons, preschoolers participated in the Halloween season. Preschoolers were gifted goody-bags with treats and toys before they set out on their frightful adventure.
First, they stopped at the sticker station to decorate their shirts with pumpkins, bats and other symbols of the haunted holiday. Students then moved on to the can toss station, where they fervently hurled items at the perfectly stacked cans, awaiting their inevitable tumble. As their accuracy improved, students brought the tower down in a single throw. Thirdly, they played in the ring toss game, where they threw rings onto an inflated octopus’s tentacles, scoring extra points if they managed to get the ring around its head.
“I’m a student in the teaching Academy, and I volunteered to help run the ring toss station. I really enjoyed helping the kids have fun even though I did get hit by rings occasionally,” senior Jasmine Serpico said.
The preschoolers were then ushered to the paper airplane station, where they chose their favorite design of plane and put it together. Chaperones from the teaching academy taught the kids to fold in the appropriate locations and how to send the plane off in flight. Later the children decided between the drawing station, a large Halloween image that the students could color in, or mini golf, where students aimed for holes in Halloween decorations.
Lastly, the preschoolers were treated with cotton-candy and more treats. Finally as the sugar rush began to wear off, the kids posed in front of the Halloween photo booth, showing off their Halloween costumes, stickers, planes and candy.
At 10:30 a.m., Teaching Academy students began packing up the Halloween Carnival and saying goodbye to the Little Cavaliers, exhausted by their eventful day. The event taught students from the Teaching Academy to apply their communication and teaching skills to real experiences while providing the Little Cavaliers with a memorable day, rich with excitement and Halloween’s scares.
“This is an activity for the Teaching Academy to get exposed to dealing with the little kids and putting into practice what we learned in class: how to speak to them, act around them and teach them effectively. We are also planning in December to start an annual tradition of having a field day or carnival themed around Christmas for the kids,” Ms. Passwaters said.
