They’re the youngest group of scientists you’ve likely met, in Lashcoka Thompson’s Pre-K classroom at Plummer Elementary in Cedar Hill.
Why am I calling a group of four year old's scientists? Well, they’re leaving pre-K with some basic knowledge and skills on how to code using a tiny toy bee and frog.
"I initially introduced Froggy to the students as a classroom management tool," said Thompson. "If Froggy doesn’t listen, Froggy’s not going to be able to complete a task I’d like him to do."
Behavior wasn’t such an issue for this group, They wanted to know how and why Froggy followed commands. So, Ms. Thompson said 'Alright' and taught the kids to code.
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What started on a tiny toy has branched out. Dawson Brown has coding apps all over his iPad and he can’t stop talking about them.
"I like my games on it, oh gosh, I love it I learn a lot on it. I use it on the charger at home at my mom's house," said Brown.
"I like when we make mazes," added Ava Villanueva, another student.
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The students have a natural curiosity on how things work, mixed in with a little nose-picking, playing with big blocks and struggling to keep their hands to themselves.
"It's a lot of coaching," said Thompson. "In the beginning, some of them were able to start saying, 'Well, you know', right, or they will assign a point in a direction. So we know that that'll come a little later. But I think that the entry point is not putting restrictions on what they can learn."
Raising the bar for the students was inevitable.
Thompson is just back in the classroom after taking time off during COVID-19 to home-school her son. Before then she was a middle school principal and teacher. When she decided to come back, she felt this was the place to be.
