LaGRANGE – The opening of Lafayette Christian School’s Joyful Noise Musical Playground Tuesday morning is expected to be beneficial for the entire student body but will also serve as an uplifting and valuable resource for special needs students in the Discovery Cottage.

The Discovery Cottage at Lafayette Christian School is a brain-based program dedicated to helping students with learning differences and developmental delays discover their natural gifts and abilities by facilitating growth in the sensory-cognitive, academic and social needs areas of each child. The Discovery Cottage involves three classrooms: the Lindamood-Bell program (a brain-based program which helps with comprehension, reading and spelling), a math/science/social studies room, and an Imagination Station (where the students can stimulate the brain by coloring, painting, using play-doh and participating in thinking exercises).

“We do everything that a normal classroom does but we just do it more to suit our children,” said Discovery Cottage Director Amber Donnett. “We figure out where they are and we move along with them.”

With the introduction of the Joyful Noise Musical Playground, one of the Discovery Cottage students, 9-year-old Sam Battle, will surely enjoy his time there, as he was at the grand opening.

“Sam loves music,” said Linda Whitley, Sam’s grandmother, as she watched her grandson play the drums with his father Jeff Battle. “I was talking to the guy who did this and I couldn’t believe he put this together. I told him special needs children relate to music. I think it will be very instrumental, not just mentally but with him physically, too. Music just makes Sam happy. I’m very excited about this and so are the teachers.”

 

Reach James Simpson II at 706-884-7311, ext. 2155, or by email at james.simpson@lagrangenews.com