HILLSBOROUGH: Goddard School teacher Mruskovic wins national award

Christina Mruskovic of the Goddard School in Hillsborough has been honored with one of the preschool chain’s “Teacher of the Year” awards.
The Goddard School is a national preschool company focusing on learning through play for children from six weeks to six years old. It has more than 440 locations nationwide and more than 50,000 students.
Ms. Mruskovic is a kindergarten teacher who organized intergenerational activities for her class with residents of a nearby assisted living facility.
During a month lesson on family, many of the inaternational students expressed that they did not get to see their grandparents very often due to them being oversees.
As a way to bring together the elderly generation and kindergarteners, Christina organized intergenerational activities at a visit and craft/song program at nearby Avalan Assisted Living Center in Hillsborough.
The day created opportunities in reading and writing, but also forged friendships and let kids become teachers in leading seniors through creative activities.
The children spent the first few months of school setting the foundation for the project by learning about families, etiquette and manners. Ms. Mruskovic incorporated lessons about different generations into all the learning domains.
After some brainstorming, the children decided to make love bug pins with the residents to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The children worked with the residents to help them complete the craft, then shared a snack and sang songs.
Ms. Mruskovic is already planning the next event in May when the class will visit the facility to do a Mother’s Day activity with the residents.
Other national teachers selected for the award were Anna Pecoraro in Elgin, Ill.; Pamela Gijanto and Sabrina Piotrowski in Marlboro N.J. and Paige Hardwick and Erika Posey, in Roswell, Ga. 