There's a whole new world to explore for the children at Kids Place Preschool mother's morning out program at Central United Methodist Church in Shelby. The program recently added a new ecology room to the program.
"This room is full of hands-on activities to help children learn all about our Earth," says director Shelley Rempson. "The children will learn about space in our dark room, explore ocean life in our sea center, identify bugs and gemstones under a microscope and plant flowers and veggies in our garden center!"
Children ages 2-5 are currently participating in the room, but there are plans to include 1-year-olds soon. The room will also provide spaces for children to use their imaginations and learn through play.
"To make it special, we only visit the room with the children once per week," says Rempson. "That makes it something the kids really appreciate and anticipate. It also helps them to realize the importance of taking care of the room and its contents."
Rempson and her staff got the idea for the new room when they attended a yearly workshop through the Western North Carolina Weekday Ministry Association in High Point, NC.
"There was a large church in High Point that had opened a room like this, and it was just really beautiful and amazing," she says. "We wanted to bring that same experience to our small town. We are currently the only preschool in the area to have a room like this."
Funds for the new room were collected through a spring art show and hot dog supper and through private donations. While the room is already well-equipped with a microscope, seashells, flowers, gemstones and a table made from an old oak tree, Rempson is still seeking out more donations.
"We would love to have a hornet's or bee's nest," she says. "We would also like to have a wider array of items from ocean life - currently we just have some seashells."
The Kids Place Preschool program is open to children ages six months to 5 years old and operates five days a week, Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m. to
1 p.m.
Those interested in learning more about the program can contact Rempson at kidsplace@cumcshelby.org or by calling 704-487-6357.

By April Hoyle Shauf, Special to Community First Media