JEFFERSON TWP — While most high school students spend their days sitting at desks, some students at Knoch High School spend at least one of their class periods running a preschool.

The Child Development class runs the operation with 13 children between the ages of 2 and 5, according to teacher Melissa Grantz.

Two different classes of high school students and one class of middle school students work with the children every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:55 to 11:45 a.m.

The free preschool started Oct. 24 and will run through the end of the semester. After the holiday break, another group of students will lead a preschool between March and May, Grantz said.

“(The students) learn about the physical, intellectual and social development of children for the first eight weeks (of class), and the ninth week is when the preschool starts,” Grantz said.

With their new knowledge, the high school students design lesson plans during the off days, Tuesday and Thursday, focusing on topics such as art, language arts, science, math and music.

“I put most of the (responsibility) in the kids’ hands and just facilitate,” Grantz said. “By the end (of the semester), they are running the preschool.”

During the first week of November, with a sea theme, the students led a fishing game, asking the preschoolers to sort the fish they caught by color.

For senior Ali Adams, lesson planning is one of the more difficult aspects of the class.

“You always have it in the back of your mind: Is it going to work, are they going to understand?” Adams said.

But keeping a preschooler’s attention is another obstacle to consider, according to Grantz.

“We focus on learning through play,” she said. “Everything is very interactive, and we try to keep it fun because if it’s boring, they’re not going to do it.”

Adams said teaching also depends on the child. With the range of ages, the children are at different places in their social and intellectual development, Grantz said.

Working with each child one-on-one is what helps many lessons succeed because the high school students can tailor the task to a particular child, Adams said. The best part of taking the course is when she sees a child grow right before her eyes.

“It’s nice to see the kids develop their skills with the activities,” she said. “It’s nice to know that you’ve been a part of that.”

That’s not to say it’s all hard work either.

“It’s kind of nice to come here during the school day,” Adams said. She relishes the time as a break from the typical school routine. “If you’re having a bad day, the kids cheer you up.”

JT Schemrich, another senior, said he took the class for the practical skills it has to offer.

“I took (the class) because parenting skills are important,” he said. “It’s important for males to learn it (now) instead of waiting until they have children.”

Schemrich said women often know how to interact and take care of children earlier in life, but men are often thrust into the situation when they finally have kids. He doesn’t want that to be the case for him.

In fact, Schemrich is now confident in his abilities to take care of a child, even though learning about it in theory was completely different from running the preschool in practice.

“You learn it in the classroom, and you think you know it. But when you’re with a child in the classroom, it’s an entirely different situation,” he said.

The hardest part was learning to interact with a child, but the key is just jumping right in, Schemrich said.

“I feel like I’ve gained a lot more parenting skill than I thought I would ever have,” he said.

Grantz said she hopes the students leave the class with more knowledge about themselves. Often, students take the course to see if they want to pursue a career working with children or have their own.

By the end of the course, they know.

Most students like it, but a handful of the about 50 students each semester decide working with children is definitely not for them.

The hardest part for the students: telling the children ‘no.’

“They have a hard time being stern with the kids,” she laughed. “Just because you ask them to sit doesn’t mean they’re going to.”

Apparently, if you give 3-year-olds the option to sit and learn, that’s not always on their agenda.

Sometimes, you can’t bargain or ask; you just have to tell them to sit.