by JIM CULLEN

Hays High School junior Sonia Ruiz shares a special reading moment with young Yesenia Moreno during the final day of the 21st annual Kids Korner, a one-week experience for local high school students to practice what they’ve learned in childhood development classes. (Photo by Jim Cullen)

It’s an annual rite at Hays High School and has been for more than two decades now. The students from Hays High’s Child Development classes host small children for a week of fun and learning – for those little kids, as well as the high school students – in what is known as Kid’s Korner.

The child development students get first-hand, real-world experience in a setting that allows them to put into practice the things they’ve learned in the classroom. It means a week of planning and coordination of schedules, creating activities that entertain and educate small children, and making it happen despite life’s inevitable glitches.

Such was the case on the final day of the 2010 Kid’s Korner week, the finish line for the 21st annual event, as Hays High School teacher Amy Hendrickson’s students had to roll with the fact that it was raining and their planned outdoor activity wasn’t going to be possible.

Adjusting to the conditions of the day, the child development students were clearly in command of the situation, at least as it appeared to a visitor checking out the scene. From the situation-adjusted crayon activity on paper taped to the floor to one-on-one reading time, the host of children on hand for Kid’s Korner’s final day were obviously entertained – and educated.

Kid’s Korner originated when now-retired district administrator Bob Presley suggested the idea to a teacher after observing its success in his former district, Kerrville ISD. Since then, a succession of teachers have put their Hays High School students through their paces with young children in an exercise otherwise unavailable to most.

As in past years, Hendrickson and her students express appreciation to the local parents who allow them access to their children and speak enthusiastically about the experience. The sum-up prediction of the last few years remains the same, “Kid’s Korner will return next year and new faces are always welcome.”