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Building Life
“Spiderman” Paul Celari Photo Editor
“I taped two tubes together,” said five-yearold Khaleesi Celeri. “Then one you talk through, and the other goes to your ear.” While North Idaho College prepares students for the career path they’ve chosen, the Head Start Children’s Center on campus teaches preschool-aged children about the world ahead of them through artistic exploration. The center provides a needed service to students and staff who are also parents, but it is more than just a convenient childcare option. Unlike the rigid structure college students are used to, the children of the Head Start program are given almost unlimited creative freedom. Teachers supply an ever-changing array of items that can be
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employed artistically by the children and allow them to create anything they want. “A phrase we use here in general is “process over product,” which is why we have a lot of loose materials for them to work with,” said Children’s Center teacher Ashley Crosby. “Sometimes we may put out a particular item thinking they’re going to go one way with it, and they go a totally different way and end up creating something awesome.” Underneath the creative freedom, children are learning important lessons about themselves and the world around them. They develop fine motor skills through painting and drawing and gross motor skills through singing and dancing. As their abilities grow, they learn to
