Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yikes to the workers who haven't read studies about the importance of free play!

As a former teacher and a parent, let my kid play freely on the playground while you observe for safety reasons. Stay out of their way and let them be.

Agree. Free play is a vital component.

I am a daycare worker that previously posted. I hear what you are saying and I agree, but you all should really talk to the directors and ask what the teachers do on the playground. We were told that we have to do things with the children on the playground. I disliked when the teachers take all the heat for the directors decisions, that we must follow.

Anonymous wrote:Yikes to the workers who haven't read studies about the importance of free play!

As a former teacher and a parent, let my kid play freely on the playground while you observe for safety reasons. Stay out of their way and let them be.

Agree. Free play is a vital component.

Anonymous wrote:I was in for a conference at my DC new preschool today. I noticed that the kids teachers (and this is of a young 3s class) all talking together on the playgrounds while all the kids ran around on a fairly big playground. Is this normal? I dont want to over react but I expected my teachers of my very young preschooler to be actively playing with the children and not standing to the side chatting to the each other. I send my child to preschool so they're taught how to engage socially with other kids. If i wanted them to play alone, i would have a nanny.

Happens at my crazy daycare.

Daycare (and summer camp) Director here- I encourage my teachers to allow the kids to play without a lot of structure while on the playground. Kids need time to just play. After all, a ton of learning takes place during free play.

BUT- Teachers should never be grouped together talking or worse SITTING on the benches. I want teachers stationed in various areas on the playground so that no child is ever playing unsupervised. I want a teacher near the gate. A teacher near the highest climbing structure. And a teacher near the swings. I absolutely would fire a teacher who used playground time as her "break". For heavens sake- That's when kids are at greatest risk of injury.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in for a conference at my DC new preschool today. I noticed that the kids teachers (and this is of a young 3s class) all talking together on the playgrounds while all the kids ran around on a fairly big playground. Is this normal? I dont want to over react but I expected my teachers of my very young preschooler to be actively playing with the children and not standing to the side chatting to the each other. I send my child to preschool so they're taught how to engage socially with other kids. If i wanted them to play alone, i would have a nanny.

Seriously? You don't want the teachers to have a break at All during the day?
Of course they stand around talking. Recess time is the children's free time. You can't expect the teachers to be
'Interacting' with them all day long

I am a teacher in a well known DC preschool and I will tell you that when you are with the childre. It is necessary for you to be on duty. What does that mean? It means bei g with the children and bei g responsible for them. Free time is whe. You are not responsible for the children. I don't understand not watching chilren on th playground. It is part of the job.

I think there's a difference between not watching, and being observant but not actively engaging which is what was upsetting OP.

IME at our DD's preschool, the teachers are fairly dispersed across the playground although it's not unusual to see one or two talking occasionally. One is always by the swings for safety and to give pushes. Kids who want to engage the teachers come up and talk with them or sit while teachers put braids in their hair or something. Otherwise, it's up to the kids to play across the wide variety of playground equipment, sand box and so on. Free play. What my child would be doing if she didn't have to be at school all day. SO important.

Yikes to the workers who haven't read studies about the importance of free play!

As a former teacher and a parent, let my kid play freely on the playground while you observe for safety reasons. Stay out of their way and let them be.

Daycare worker here. Teachers are supposed to be engaged with children at all times, including playground play. A teacher should also still be able to supervise all of the children in their care. A difficult task but it can still be done. Special toys and learning materials can be added to the playground in which teachers lead the games/activities but children should also still be able to have the option of free play on the playground. A teachers job does not stop once they are on the playground. You are still on the clock and being paid to work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in for a conference at my DC new preschool today. I noticed that the kids teachers (and this is of a young 3s class) all talking together on the playgrounds while all the kids ran around on a fairly big playground. Is this normal? I dont want to over react but I expected my teachers of my very young preschooler to be actively playing with the children and not standing to the side chatting to the each other. I send my child to preschool so they're taught how to engage socially with other kids. If i wanted them to play alone, i would have a nanny.

Seriously? You don't want the teachers to have a break at All during the day?
Of course they stand around talking. Recess time is the children's free time. You can't expect the teachers to be
'Interacting' with them all day long

I am a teacher in a well known DC preschool and I will tell you that when you are with the childre. It is necessary for you to be on duty. What does that mean? It means bei g with the children and bei g responsible for them. Free time is whe. You are not responsible for the children. I don't understand not watching chilren on th playground. It is part of the job.

Our old school: Teachers would sit at a picnic table chatting among themselves. We noticed several injuries (including two facial injuries that included cuts and deep bruising) on our child that could not be explained. We left very quickly after the third injury could not be explained. Later found out this place had lost a child at playground time. Wasn't surprised and felt lucky we had left.

New school: Teachers are always standing, not sitting, at strategically placed locations throughout the playground so that someone is always monitoring the play structure, someone is watching the blacktop and the others are watching kids in the play house and manning the water pitcher, etc. The teachers are never together except when they need to consult about something like a kid needing to go to take a potty break. When there are only two teachers on the playground, which is not normal at our school but happens sometimes, they close off the play structure or the blacktop or some other area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am never on this site. I don't live anywhere near DC, but I teach early childhood education to college students and I observe in LOTS of preschools including the Lab School on our campus. Teachers should be treating outdoor time as teachable curriculum time. They should be interacting with children not only for safety purposes but to encourage physical development and social development as well as language and literacy skills. The time should be loosely planned with teachers bringing different materials and activities to the playground. As always, not every preschooler will be interested in doing the same thing at the same time. That is to be expected. But there should be planned, intentional experiences for children indoors and outdoors.

As a parent, I hope not. My 4 year old is scheduled from morning until evening with "development activities". She is school at 3, she is taking immersion language, she is in yoga and swim classes, and now her school is doing dance classes in aftercare. For fuck sakes, leave free play alone.

+1000

I hate the trend or expectation that kids need to be materials and intention for everything. I feel like free time is where they get to put all the things they've learned from classes and managed time together.

Anonymous wrote:I was in for a conference at my DC new preschool today. I noticed that the kids teachers (and this is of a young 3s class) all talking together on the playgrounds while all the kids ran around on a fairly big playground. Is this normal? I dont want to over react but I expected my teachers of my very young preschooler to be actively playing with the children and not standing to the side chatting to the each other. I send my child to preschool so they're taught how to engage socially with other kids. If i wanted them to play alone, i would have a nanny.

Seriously? You don't want the teachers to have a break at All during the day?
Of course they stand around talking. Recess time is the children's free time. You can't expect the teachers to be
'Interacting' with them all day long

Anonymous wrote:I was in for a conference at my DC new preschool today. I noticed that the kids teachers (and this is of a young 3s class) all talking together on the playgrounds while all the kids ran around on a fairly big playground. Is this normal? I dont want to over react but I expected my teachers of my very young preschooler to be actively playing with the children and not standing to the side chatting to the each other. I send my child to preschool so they're taught how to engage socially with other kids. If i wanted them to play alone, i would have a nanny.

You need to rethink this statement. They need to learn through doing. Playground time at preschool is for free play. They will have more guidance and structure in the classroom.

At my son's preschool, playground time is pretty "Lord of the Flies". And, most days, when I ask him what he enjoyed most about his day, he always tells me about something he did with his friends on the playground. It's like his decompression time amid a really long and scheduled day.

In the 2s class, the kids wanted me to play with them when I picked up my son. Preschool...not so much. Kids that age want to play with other kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am never on this site. I don't live anywhere near DC, but I teach early childhood education to college students and I observe in LOTS of preschools including the Lab School on our campus. Teachers should be treating outdoor time as teachable curriculum time. They should be interacting with children not only for safety purposes but to encourage physical development and social development as well as language and literacy skills. The time should be loosely planned with teachers bringing different materials and activities to the playground. As always, not every preschooler will be interested in doing the same thing at the same time. That is to be expected. But there should be planned, intentional experiences for children indoors and outdoors.

As a parent, I hope not. My 4 year old is scheduled from morning until evening with "development activities". She is school at 3, she is taking immersion language, she is in yoga and swim classes, and now her school is doing dance classes in aftercare. For fuck sakes, leave free play alone.

+1