Garfield Elementary's preschool students get educational resources through local partnership

LORAIN — Families of preschool students at Garfield Elementary School received bags of books, fidget toys, activities and other items from the Lorain Historical Society and Ideastream on Tuesday. While students and families sat munching green chocolate chip cookies, teacher Meghan Foisy's class prepared for St. Patrick's Day. Lorain Historical Society's Jenn McGee-McManamon, children's education and curriculum coordinator, and Ideastream's Bizzy Blank, education projects coordinator, gave families a brief overview of the two organizations' collaboration with Foisy's class. The "Bridging the Connection" learning bags provided by McGee-McManamon and Blank were part of the yearlong program with Garfield Elementary's preschool students. PBS/Ideastream gave the pair a chance to highlight its partnership with the Lorain Historical Society and provide families with information on opportunities to keep their children engaged beyond the 2025-26 school year. The Lorain Historical Society piloted its preschool program in 2020 via Zoom at Stevan Dohanos Elementary School, McGee-McManamon said, and offered it again to the youngest students at Garfield Elementary this year. "We want our youngest students to have a sense of ownership and being a part of the community," McGee-McManamon said, adding the Lorain Historical Society has a strong partnership with the city schools, but that they want families to know the organization's doors are open to them, too. The partnership with PBS/Ideastream provides a wraparound approach to education throughout a child's day, the pair said, providing families with additional resources like a timer to help children visualize the passage of time and regulate between tasks. On April 28, preschoolers who have participated in the Lorain Early Learning Initiative program will serve as "docents" at Lorain Historical Society, providing their families with a tour of some of the International City's iconic landmarks — such as the Charles Berry Bascule Bridge. For more information on Lorain Historical Society and its children's history programs, visit lorainhistory.org. Lorain Historical Society offers summer camps, open play and other opportunities to students during the school year and summer vacation. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.