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Are there ANY play-based kindergartens around?
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Anonymous
| Or have they all gone hyper-academic like Montgomery & Fairfax counties? Any private schools left with K's that allow kids time to learn through cooperative and imaginative play, rather than sit in desks writing for much of the day? Thanks. |
Anonymous
| Green Acres. |
Anonymous
| Just on the basis of my recent school tours, I would say that several private schools in NW DC and Mont. County fit that bill. There is letter learning, sure, but there's also 75% of the time taken up by free play, playground, snack, "sharing," movement/music and so on. |
Anonymous
| definitely take a look at green acres. my son started pre-k there this year. it's been really wonderful. low key and mellow but seriously dedicated to supporting the development of children. terrifically balanced curriculum. yes progressive, but that does also mean structure. lots of time outdoors. beautiful facilities. every classroom opens to the outside world. the website is not that helpful with curriculum, so i'll give you some basics for pre-k (that's what i know so far). 19 kids, 3 teachers. ratio roughly 6:1 which means each teacher's "homecorner" or small group has 6-7 kids in it. the teachers are highly, highly experienced. many teachers at green acres have been with the school 10, 15 some even 20 years. very high retention which speaks well of administration support of teachers. the teacher student ratio and the excellence of the faculty were big draws for us. highlights for pre-k include: science twice a week in small group (class might take creek walk to hunt for earthworms to feed turtles at turtle ranch), creative movement once a week, library once a week, pe 4x a week, outdoors twice a day (i think). free choice time daily. small group time daily which includes show and tell 4x a week (no pressure, just practice sharing in small group). rest time daily for pre-k of course. and the bus service is most excellent. makes the commute very easy for our family. |
Anonymous
| Capitol Hill Day School has a wonderful pre-k and k program, very creative -- |
Anonymous
| Please stop trying to promote CHDS like this. What utter nonsense and lies. |
Anonymous
| Green Acres maybe--but I know what you mean, OP. Like K used to be: housekeeping area, dress up, art projects IN classroom, no switching to 10 'specials', travelling around school. Pre reading and math, but not hours spent on handwriting. I don't know if that exists. |
Anonymous
| Green Acres, Lowell, and Burgundy Farm. |
Anonymous
| Campbell Elementary School in Arlington, VA (Public School) |
Anonymous
|
German School in Potomac
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Anonymous
Can I ask why Campbell is still play based if it is an Arlington Co school? Haven't all public schools gone to full-day and have gone the way of academics? I would love to find a play based school for my son but it looks like the only choices are private (and expensive!) |
Anonymous
| Private schools are being listed because the OP posted this question on the private/independent forum. Not being snarky here ... sometimes I forget whether I am posting/reading on the private vs. the general education forum! |
Anonymous
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Waldorf preschool is very wonderful! Wooden toy kitchens, outdoor play, making a snack, walking outside etc...
In addition, the actual space of the rooms are so warm and home-like. There are some structured activities, such as making bread, or listening to the teacher tell a story, but there is much free play time. The teacher's job is to create a setting that nurtures the child's sense of wonder and fosters play, which this educational philosophy considers to be the work of early childhood. Acorn Hill http://www.acornhill.org/ is in Silver Spring, MD. Potomac Crescent http://www.potomaccrescentschool.org/ in Arlington, VA. Washington Waldorf School www.washingtonwaldorf.org/ in Bethesda, MD. |
Anonymous
| Lowell |
Anonymous
What's up with the person who can't stand to hear anything nice said about Capitol Hill Day School? "Lies" seems like a strong word to throw at someone who merely praised CHDS's preschool & KG. My kids are not at CHDS but we applied and both were admitted. For complicated reasons we decided we could not send them there, but it seemed like a wonderful, wonderful school, and I have friends whose children have been very happy there. |