“They’re pretending a bear is after them right now,” said , director of , laughing while watching four boys pedaling hurriedly away from a pretend foe on their tricycles.

Meanwhile, another boy scoops up loot in a sandbox nearby.

“He prefers to play by himself,” Diener explained. “We let him.”

Later, the group examines two bins full of tomatoes and potatoes that the kids harvested themselves — vegetables that will later make their way into soup the students will help to cook.

“We try to show them the continuity of things, that things are interrelated,” Diener says, adding that students planted corn in the school garden last year, later harvesting, shelling and grinding it into cornmeal to make corn muffins. “We want them to know where things come from, that you can plant a seed in the ground and it can grow. … We want them to make connections and understand processes.”

In addition to her director role, Diener teachs the 4- and 5-year-old class at the Early Learning Center, which has been renting space at the church since the preschool started in 1977. This is Diener’s 21st year with the university’s so-called “laboratory preschool,” meaning students in complete practicums there.

The developmental preschool “allows children to be children, exploring the world, developing in an unhurried way, and learning for the joy of learning,” according to its website.

In practical application, that means the preschool room doesn’t have a computer, for one thing.

“We used to but we took it out because all of these children have computers at home; they have plenty of time to do that,” Diener said. “In here, we want them to experience real objects, hands on things, rather than sitting and looking at a screen.”

It means that the kids are given relatively free reign of the classroom during playtime and told to choose whatever activity suits their respective interests. They can measure and organize objects in the sensory table, climb into a large bathtub to read books, or paint creations on easels, to name a few of the stations available to students’ imaginations in the large classroom.

It means the kids get a healthy dose of nature, art and music daily, with at least 30 minutes of outdoors playtime during every two-and-a-half-hour day.

The program stays developmental despite pressures to “incorporate inappropriate academics,” Diener says.

“There are pressures to push reading and memorization — that kind of rote learning — down into lower and lower grades,” she added. “It’s not even a grade, you know, it’s preschool.”

Hidden Treasure

The preschool has its ups and downs in enrollment, and this fall, it’s down.

Though the 2-year-old class that meets Tuesdays and Thursdays is full, with eight children enrolled and a waiting list, the 3-year-old class that meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays only has seven of its 12 spots filled. The 4-year-old class, which meets every weekday except for Wednesdays, is only half full, with seven out of 14 spots filled.

Many people, upon discovering the center, say they hadn’t heard of it before, Diener says, making the preschool a sort of hidden “treasure,” as she puts it.

Raving Reviews

One parent, Elizabeth Fletchall, is very glad she found out about the Early Learning Center upon moving to Dayton from Roanoke.

She takes two of her three sons — 5-year-old Will and 2-year-old Benjamin — to the preschool. She says she “absolutely” plans to take her youngest to the center when he’s old enough.

“We kind of stumbled into the [Early Learning Center] and were just amazed,” Fletchall said, adding that the preschool’s laboratory status is helpful for the students.

“It certainly teaches the students to be flexible,” she said. “[The EMU students] have different personalities, so each [is] going to bring something different to the classroom. … It also means, as a parent, that the [center] is current on everything, up on the latest in childhood development.”

She says the preschool is “instilling a love of learning” into Will and Benjamin, adding that the teachers also have great communication with the parents.

For EMU students Rachel Richard and Brooke Gonzalez, as well as several other undergraduates, the center is providing a place for practical application of what they learn in the classroom this semester.

“It’s neat to get to see and work with the kids,” said Gonzalez, a 21-year-old senior from Mount Jackson.

“It was an awesome opportunity to get to create my own lesson and actually get to teach it on my own,” said Richard, a 20-year-old junior from Lancaster, Pa. who recently completed a class at the center on leaf shadings and leaf identification. The children picked leaves they liked off of trees around the preschool and took them inside for the lesson.

“Every activity that [the center has] children do, there’s a purpose behind it,” Richard said. “The [classroom] centers have been created with learning in mind.

Students can be learning even as they’re … ‘playing.’”

Courtesy Daily News Record, Oct. 29, 2013

“We’ve had the incredible blessing of several donors giving significant contributions to be used as matching money this year,” said ’76, Royal Callers supervisor.

Wenger, who serves as receptionist in the , volunteered to supervise the Phonathon midway through last year after the previous supervisor stepped down.

“At first it was on an interim basis, but I work with a very supportive office and we were seeing results, so I just kept with it,” said Wenger.

In addition to the total funding success, Wenger said the Royal Callers eclipsed two other records. The nine-member group collected $6,580, setting a new top mark, and then exceeded it with a total of $6,725. The back-to-back record-breaking nights set a five-night calling period of $26,325.

“Our goal is to be relational, respectful and resourceful,” said Wenger. “Our callers have the opportunity to be in contact with alumni, hear their stories and experiences, and talk with alumni who have a shared major to their own.”

“We want to connect with alumni – their participation is critical in enabling students to have financial assistance and raise awareness for the university,” said Wenger. “The University fund supports scholarships enabling students to have financial aid – alumni support is vital to EMU.”

A chance to connect

Michael Swartzendruber, a seminary student from Kalona, Ia., said he’s enjoyed connecting with alumni and has had a few interesting conversations, including “one gentleman who just wanted to talk.”

“He was very down-to-earth and said he would pray for me – one of the better ‘no thanks’ comments I think anyone could receive,” said Swartzendruber.

Other students experienced similar stories of alumni wanting to re-connect with EMU and current students.

“I spoke to a person who was a previous giver and asked her to up her amount by $50 or $75,” said Rachel Richard, an elementary education major from Lancaster, Pa. “She said that she and her husband recently came into some money and that they would actually like to send in $500. I was speechless and could barely finish the call because of my excitement.

“I honestly was worried I wouldn’t be able to do the job because I didn’t see myself as someone who would take rejection well,” added Richard. “But through the training and as I gained more experience, I learned a lot about how not to take the rejection to heart and how to graciously accept a no. I feel privileged to have been a part of such a great team.”

A great leader

Several students pointed to Wenger as the reason for this year’s record-breaking Phonathon total.

“Lois stepped into the job and really blossomed,” said J.E. McNeil, a first-year caller from Washington D.C. “She’s really sweet, bringing us snacks and something to drink – she was a driving force.”

Richard agreed: “There were some nights when the numbers were down and people weren’t getting donations, but Lois stayed positive. She was always quick to say ‘I’m proud of you’ or ‘Keep pressing through, you can do it.'”