My son just started K at a well regarded private school in the area and they do spend some portion of each day (usually in the beginning of the day as a transition from home) playing with toys. This is very much like what he did in a separate preschool and I, personally, am delighted. My son absolutely needs this free play time and would not do well sitting at a desk or having instructional time all day, from 8 to 3. His preschool friends who went public, however, have commented "where are the toys?" (at Westbrook and Rosemary Hills) so I suppose there are K classes that do not offer this.

PP here. Meant to bold the next sentence in the paragraph I was quoting, sorry.

Anonymous wrote:We're in another school district and have free play indoors for about 20 minutes a day and also have two short recess periods. I think all DC schools have this as well through their Tools of the Mind program. The reason this time is needed in K is because a lot of these children don't know each other and [/b]need to learn to work together and get along. One on one playdates aren't the same thing. Also, these materials are a way of learning by doing. Sometimes my child would build something with legos based on a lesson that morning. They also learned to negotiate with each other, share, learn new activities, and win/lose at games with each other[b]. We had kids reading at a 2nd grade level too, so I didn't feel like the academics was lost.

THIS!! This is what is lacking in children's experience these days. They can't get it at home w solo or 1-on-1 play dates, and they can't get it in structured adult or coach-led sports and activities. It's where their minds do some of their most advanced work, creating, decision making, negotiating, planning. Executive function and self-regulation are fostered through this type of play. This is one of the primary reasons most child development experts bemoan the loss of free play, recess, and lack of after school large group (neighborhood- wide, not 1-on- 1 play date) activities where kids make the rules, not directed and coached by adults. The academics are great and fine, but not at the expense of this. Elementaries in the Far East nations often have more hours of school, but not more hours of academics per day - they use that extra time for these essential activities during the school day.

My kid went to a public charter school that had a play-based kindergarten. Lots of free time in blocks, art, housekeeping in addition to recess. I thought it was great.

OP

last 2 PPs from MoCo - thanks. So this is apparently not a county-wide policy requiring no play time. Good to know. Next step I guess is seeing if it's a school-wide policy....

To the "Martini-hr" mom...totally agree that alone play time is also very important and DD does get this. That is not the same as playtime with classmates though. I suppose after care could check the box, but we don't do that yet since we're already paying a nanny since DD is the oldest of 2.

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I mean time to play with the toys in the room like dress up it kitchen etc. I am sure some of the academic oriented activities / centers may be fun but that is not free play. And I do not mean recess since that is really a very different kind of play from indoor play with toys.

My DD is at a Title I elementary in MoCo and they have free play time at least once a day in their classroom. Now, DD is not the best at giving me information, so I am really unsure whether it is once or twice a day, but when we came to the classroom open house, I would classify it as true playtime based on the stations I saw set up in the room. They had several different block sets, a kitchen area and painting/crafts. They also have recess every day.

Our MCPS kindergarten has a play kitchen area and other toys. We have daily "choice centers" where the kids can choose the center where he/she wants to play and it is downtime. This was usually at the end of the day to help the kids decompress. My DD used to choose this time to finish her work (coloring, worksheets, etc. that she hadn't finished during the day). Her teacher used to have to tell her to stop doing work and instead play at one of the choice centers. OP, I'm surprised that your child's school allows this only once a week.

My main memory of kindergarten was a dress up loft in a corner of the room and how I made some really great friends that year.

We're in another school district and have free play indoors for about 20 minutes a day and also have two short recess periods. I think all DC schools have this as well through their Tools of the Mind program. The reason this time is needed in K is because a lot of these children don't know each other and need to learn to work together and get along. One on one playdates aren't the same thing. Also, these materials are a way of learning by doing. Sometimes my child would build something with legos based on a lesson that morning. They also learned to negotiate with each other, share, learn new activities, and win/lose at games with each other. We had kids reading at a 2nd grade level too, so I didn't feel like the academics was lost.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - I mean time to play with the toys in the room like dress up it kitchen etc. I am sure some of the academic oriented activities / centers may be fun but that is not free play. And I do not mean recess since that is really a very different kind of play from indoor play with toys.

I've done public and private with my kids and I've never seen this. In fact. Never saw it in any of the privates I toured two years ago when I was deciding on schools for my now first grader. This is really preschool and maybe a little Pre k level activities.

NP. My child is in a non-DC private (though a highly regarded and academically strong one) and the last hour of their day is child directed free play time - I think it's wonderful and developmentally appropriate. I believe there may be a drama / dress up area, but there are also lots of puzzles and games (I believe the teacher will help kids learn the rules if they are interested) as well as art projects. According to the 3 kids I carpool it is the best part of the day.

My kindergarten kid gets plenty of "free play" time at home. I call it "Mommy's Martini Hour" and I wouldn't trade it!

Your DD will be fine. Make sure she's not scheduled to hell and back after school and just let her be.

My child's small private school's kindergarten room has a play kitchen, small toys like dolls and cars/trucks, simple games like Connect Four, and lots of blocks and Legos.

It's one of the reasons we chose it for him (other child is in public).

Thanks PPs. DD does love it so far and she has not complained about the lack of play (it is just my worry that this is an important piece that is missing).

Anonymous wrote:"A class with playtime, dress up center and/or kitchen. That's just not kindergarten. In pre-k I did see kitchens, but they were used for before and aftercare time, not class time. "

If it's normal then I will grudgingly accept it as simply wildly different from when I went to K (admittedly 30 years ago). Since it's a Title I school though I'm on edge to try to make sure she's not getting short-changed compared to other schools in the county and so me lack of any real indoor playtime at 5 years old just seems wild. I could also understand it more if K were still a 1/2 day program, but DD's at school for about 6.5 hours.

It is wildly different. But, if you embrace it, it is also really a wonderful time. I loved watching all of my kids transform into classroom learners. Kindergarten is a little tough for some because it's a big transition from home or preschool. But, the excitement they have for school is so much fun. I particularly loved watching the reading process. You won't believe how your child is doing by January. What's so great about it is that reading crosses all subject lines, so when they get proficient, they have skills in other areas as well.

OP, I understand -- when I was kindergarten age, kindergarten was half a day and consisted of indoor play, milk, nap, outdoor play, and going home. However, those days are long gone, and it's not necessarily a bad thing.

And I can understand your worries -- I had the same when kid #1 went off to kindergarten. But since this is just the beginning of the third week of school, suppose you gave it a few more weeks, and see how DD feels about kindergarten? The important things to me would be that she's happy and she's learning.

Meanwhile you could take a look at the MCPS curriculum guide to kindergarten:

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/elementary/parent-guide-curriculum2.0-kindergarten-en.pdf

There's a lot of education jargon, but there's also specific information -- in particular see the diagrams on pp. 3-6.

You might also consider volunteering in the classroom, if that is possible for you.