As an adult the sights, sounds and smells of a pre-school classroom remind me of my own past experiences, but appear so very distant. It wasn't until I entered that classroom last week when everything came back to me. The smell of clay, the social order of things, the play patterns, the sporadic thoughts of my childhood came rolling back as I watched these children at play. .
On April 21,03 I visited "Kids Are People Too" a pre-school located in Huntington Beach. Upon my arrival to the school my attention was immediately captured by the multiple use of vibrant colors on the outside walls of the school. As I walked in I came across the front desk and introduced myself to the assistant director, Roxanne Gonzalez, whom I had scheduled my appointment with. Ms. Gonzalez then escorted me to the Head director, Ms. Lenia Barba. Ms. Barba was very kind and showed me around the school. As I walked around I looked in to the classroom and noticed the kids were getting ready to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Most of the kids in the classroom appeared to be between the ages of three to four. At first the kids seemed very shy towards me, they did not seem like they were very sociable. I was a stranger to them, and I would have to guess that all of the children were experiencing a little bit of stranger anxiety. I asked their teacher Ms. Brooks about how the children reacted at the beginning of the school year when they did not know her and their parents left them there. She said that the children often would cry and become uneasy. I believe these were signs of separation anxiety. As I watched the .
children play I noticed that the boys in the group were very wild and rambunctious, and the girls seemed to be more shy and reserved. This would agree with what we have learned in class that boys will tend to be more outgoing and girls will be more reserved. I noticed as I waked around how colorful and bright the class- room appeared.