Reply to Are DCPS PK3-4 programs more play-based or academic?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My kids both did PK3 and PK4 at a Title 1 DCPS, not one on your list, within the past three years.

Their experience was pretty similar to the L-T poster above.

They have a theme each quarter. Themes have included: Insects, Trees, Tubes and Tunnels, Signs, Buildings, etc. The kids get really into the theme.

Rough schedule of the day (the order has changed a bit class to class and year to year):

Breakfast
Morning Meeting - they talk about weather, days of the week, who has a birthday coming, etc. There's always a "question of the day" that the kids answer through some hands-on-voting system (has differed class to class), like "which food do you like better, pizza or French fries" or similar. 
Recess - they get two 30 min recesses outside each day, one in the morning, one after nap. 
Centers - This is pretty much true play. They pick where they play - the library to look at books, "Dramatic Play" which is like dress up and the play kitchen, blocks, water table, sand table, art table, there's at least one center around the theme. This is a full hour.
Specials - This is basically the same as I remember from elementary school. Spanish, Art, Music, Library, Yoga, PE, etc rotating throughout the week.
"Twiggle Time" - this is their social-emotional learning time when they talk about feelings and stuff. The "mascot" is a turtle named Twiggle. 
Lunch
Nap (90 mins for PK3, 60 mins for PK4)
ELA - They have a reading/writing block. I think it's about 30 mins a day, and they mostly seem to read a book, talk about the book, draw a picture based on a question about the book, and write their names. They also learn letters and their sounds. 
2nd Recess
Closing circle

I think in PK4 they add a math time. It also has a funny name but I forget what.

My kids were both "ahead" and at the end of PK4, both could count to 100 and recognize all the numbers, knew the alphabet and all the sounds the letters made (including a handful of combos like Ch and Th), and could write all the letters (big and little) and numbers and write their full names (first, middle, and last).

My oldest could also do some basic addition (numbers under 10) and my youngest could read a little (but I think she mostly figured that out just from the sounds, I don't think they taught that).

And they had more strategies about calming their bodies and dealing with hard emotions than 99% of current adults, myself included, haha.

Overall, as a layman, it seemed very play-based to me, and a pretty reasonable amount of academics. I will say, at least for my kids (who were at home with a nanny before PK3) PK3 was EXHAUSTING. Partly because they struggled to nap in a group environment, and I think partially because it's just a lot for pretty little kids. Interestingly, my friends with daycare kids, who I would have guessed would have found the switch more smooth, also really struggled at least the first month or two. It's a BIG transition (way bigger than the switch to K, for example). [/quote]

This feels very much like our T1 PK experience except there was some HW in PK4 (never PK3) and here's where I landed: both my kids thrived socially and academically and their friends seemed to do similarly for the most part. I know there are a million theories on educational strategies and learning but ultimately my kids were safe and happy and they also seemed to be learning.

There is no perfect fit for every kid and family and anyone who tells you there is is lying to you and themselves.

We looked at Montessori and after my kid started school and did well we ended up turning it down because it would have been horrible for him personally. But it works for other kids so that's great.[/quote]
 One of the teachers commenting here*

Yes, but research strongly supports guided play over teacher-led academics in early childhood.
To be clear: play-based learning doesn’t mean kids can’t learn academics. Many of my students learned letter sounds, read CVC words, and counted to 100 -because they were interested, so I taught them. Here’s the key: the students who weren’t ready for reading yet?

They learned within 6-9 weeks in kindergarten. The “early push” gave no meaningful advantage.
Montessori is a different model -it’s highly structured and doesn’t work for every child, so it’s not a valid counterargument to guided play.

Teacher skill also matters enormously. A play-based program is only effective with a skilled teacher facilitating it (like anything).

Play is a fundamental right of childhood. If your child hasn’t been in Pre-K in the last 3 years or isn’t experiencing DCPS’s current developmentally inappropriate practices firsthand, you may not fully grasp what I’m describing. This isn’t just about happy kids -it’s about what research shows actually works.

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