FESTIVAL BRINGS KIDS TOGETHER.

Byline: - Sabrina Decker

Simple treats like leaf piles, pumpkin-decorating and a petting zoo were more than enough Saturday for bouncy preschoolers attending the second annual Harvest Festival at California State University Northridge's Child and Family Studies Center.

The event was a chance for CSUN to highlight the campus' lab school, an innovative preschool program that has been training teachers and caring for kids for 37 years.

The university brings together typical preschoolers and those with special needs in an inclusive manner that has local families and educators taking notice.

``(The kids are) getting such quality attention,'' said parent Debbie Meyer of Granada Hills, whose 8-year-old Brittany is an alum. Meyer returned to the school with her second child, 4-year-old Andrew, after years on the waiting list to enroll. ``Every semester there are new students, but that just helps them develop even more.''

Classrooms in the off-campus building along Halsted Street in Northridge are staffed by a main teacher and several assistant teachers and student helpers who offer the preschoolers individual attention.

A separate teacher is also assigned to the two children with special needs who are fully integrated into each classroom's activities.

Each room has a special observation window for parents and student teachers while classes are in session.

The facility is used as a training ground for students obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree from CSUN in Family Studies, explained school director Barbara Hill.

Parents of children with special needs who turned out for Saturday's festivities at the school said they welcome the inclusion program, not often seen at the preschool level.

``He learns from the other kids,'' Elsa Camacho said of her 4-year old son Luis, who has Down syndrome and attends the school. ``The environment here is rich in language. It's good for him to be in an environment like this.''

Similarly, other parents enjoying the harvest-themed afternoon said the program allows their children to develop a sensitivity to different people at an early age.

``I think that the biggest gift the teachers give them is that they view every child as having special needs,'' parent Cindy Petrak of Reseda said. ``These teachers are phenomenally good at viewing every child as an individual.''

The school's early inclusion program has been adopted at the new CHIME Charter Elementary School in Northridge, a public kindergarten through third-grade campus that opened this academic year.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Elsa Lewis introduces her 2-year-old son, Andrew, to bluegrass music Saturday during CSUN's Harvest Festival at the family studies center, where some 100 children attended.

(2) Four-year-old Lule De Shields of Northridge passes pumpkins on display Saturday at CSUN's family studies center.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News