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Greenmont Pre-k plays giant board games to end year

Greenmont Elementary School prekindergarten students played “Hungry Hungry Hippos” using carts and laundry baskets to scoop up brightly colored plastic balls in the school gymnasium. (Photo Provided)

VIENNA — Prekindergarten students at Greenmont Elementary School ended their year last week by playing life-sized versions of some classic board games.

The event was devised by prekindergarten teacher Tina Lowers and classroom aide Billie Lunduski as an end-of-year activity. The school year for prekindergarten students ended May 18.

“Greenmont pre-k celebrated with a family-oriented game outing because this particular class had a fondness for board games,” Lowers said.

The two prepared a life-size ‘Candyland’ game board on Greenmont’s field, a process which took 12 cans of spray paint and nearly three hours to paint. Props were added the next day to complete the look of the board.

“We recreated the gingerbread boy and girl, Lollipop Woods, Peppermint Forest, rainbow slide, King Candy’s Castle, Lord Licorice and Gumdrop Mountains,” Lowers said. “We even added a new station, the Sour Silly Straw Jungle, where students were sprayed with silly string. This was a class favorite.”

Greenmont Elementary School prekindergarten students played life-sized board games last week to wrap up the school year, including a “Candyland” board laid out on the school’s field. (Photo Provided)

The gumdrop mountains were made from brightly colored sand buckets which later doubled as take-home goody buckets for students. Students drew actual Candyland cards from a bag to proceed through the game. All of the materials were donated by parents and organized by homeroom parent Christina Nestor.

The students also had the chance to participate in a giant version of “Hungry Hungry Hippos.”

“We used scooters, balls and baskets to recreate the game in the gym,” Lowers said. “One student would lay on a scooter while holding a basket while a fellow student took them by the legs and pushed them to the center of the circle to collect as many balls as possible with their basket.”

The interactive game was a huge success, she said.

“The gym was full of giggles,” Lowers said. “After a game was completed, students used teamwork and counting skills to count the amount of hippo food collected by their team.”

Greenmont Elementary School prekindergarten students drew cards to determine their movement on the giant “Candyland” board, traveling through iconic areas such as the Peppermint Forest and Gumdrop Mountains. (Photo Provided)

The class also was selected as the top Box Top collector in the school and had a pizza party courtesy of East of Chicago and the Greenmont Parent Teacher Association.

Lowers said while the games were a fun way to wrap up the school year, they also provided the students with a chance to show off the skills they’ve learned.

“Overall, students demonstrated teamwork, counting skills, color recognition, sportsmanship, locomotor skills, eye-hand coordination and were able to spend their last day of school having fun with their entire pre-k family,” she said.

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