Preschool curriculum planned for Children’s Discovery Center

Lewes’ youngest residents will get a glimpse into the town’s earliest days through a new curriculum at the Children’s Discovery Center.

The Rockets pre-K class from Child’s Play by the Bay visited the Lewes History Museum April 10 to try out a new curriculum for preschools.

Child’s Play co-owner Alisha Fletcher was part of the planning team for the Children’s Discovery Center.

“Lesson plans will relate to exhibits and hands-on experiences here at the center and will focus on STEM, art and reading,” she said. “Preschools will be able to call the center to set up a visit and receive lesson plans.”

Teacher Leslie Caruso described the different floors of the lighthouse and the daily life of a lighthouse keeper, and children learned about Lewes lighthouses, the Delaware Bay breakwater and boats.

Children created their own lighthouses with shapes of colored paper and used the touch-screen boat simulator to build 18th-century shallops, small open workboats, and schooners to sail the Delaware River and Bay with cargo they selected.

In the post office, children sorted mail by name or color and placed envelopes into appropriate boxes. They pretended to cook dinner on the lighthouse keeper’s stove, and pushed a button in the adjacent lighthouse to sound the foghorn.

Fletcher said Kids’ Ketch in Lewes donated learning supplies, toys and books to enhance the learning experience for preschoolers. The Children’s Discovery Center opened in December 2018.