Hats off to Jaelyn!

By Lisa Bielmeier

Orleans/Niagara BOCES Public Relations Director 

After seeing videos on social media about a teacher who knit hats for her class, Early Childhood Education student Jaelyn Reilly of Niagara Falls collaborated with her great-grandmother, Marion Irwin, to do something similar with the preschoolers she works with at the Niagara Career and Technical Education Center’s Preschool Learning Center.

Jaelyn created a template for the children to color during the preschool’s winter theme, “Marvelous Mittens.” After the children colored their paper hats, Jaelyn gave the children’s designs to her Grandma Marion, who made them a reality.

Jaelyn presented the hats to the children at the end of January and they loved them!

“I think some of the best teachers draw their inspiration from all aspects of their lives, and Jaelyn is one of the best!” said her teacher, Laura Koeppel. “She placed first in the in the Early Childhood Education Program classroom competition and will be representing her class at the SkillsUSA Area 1 Regional Competition at Alfred State College in March.”