Kindergarten assignments have been made...what next?

For most of last week, I left it on the field, hence few posts here. This week will probably be similar but I will attempt to post when possible.

A couple of weeks ago, families of incoming kindergartners received letters from PPSD informing them of their children's placements. I am tuned into this mostly through my connection as a long-time parent at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, where I help school staff and students (fifth graders are the tour guides at King) to offer tours to prospective families. We have had a flurry of interest from newly assigned families and we've done our best to accommodate their desire to tour King and learn more. Though I am sure there's similar interest all over town, I am not at all sure whether people have the opportunity to see the schools where their kids will be. Ideally, it would be great for elementary schools to offer some kind of open house/orientation during this time of year, and as part of the PPSD Parent Advisory Council, I'll work on whether it's possible to build that into next year's schedule.

This is happening now because the district made K assignments far earlier than in years past. I haven't been tracking in any formal way, but I know that generally, families don't find out until June, often near or past the end of school, where their kids will be the following year. PPSD has been working on tuning up the registration process and while I have heard that there is still plenty of room for improvement, the district should get a shout out, which this is, for getting word to parents in a speedier way about K assignments.

If your kid is going to another school and you want to take a peek inside, please note, as I am sure you already have if you've read this far, that there is no formal program within PPSD for doing that kind of thing. Getting access to schools during this time of year is handled on a school by school basis and it's a crazy busy time of year. For sure, you should be able to check out your kid's assigned school but at this point, you may not be able to. I'd definitely call the school, and see if there's anything they can do for you. If you can't get a tour, you may want to ask for the name of a parent who's willing to talk with you. PTO leaders are usually willing to do this (sorry, fellow PTO people, for potentially putting yet more on your plates)

More things you can do as an incoming family:

• Ask for the phone/email of the PTO president and be in touch with her/him to ask to be put on any email list they might have. Some schools send weekly emails to families and that's a good way to get a sense of what's doing at a school.
• Ask about whether you can attend an upcoming PTO meeting or other school event.
• Ask whether the school has a Facebook group you can join. Some do. Here's a link to the MLK PTO Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/mlkpto/
• Ask whether it's possible to set up a meeting with the principal or assistant principal to learn more about the school. Again, crazy busy time of year, etc., so it may be tricky. But if you have specific concerns or questions, don't just sit on them. Pick up the phone and get the info that you need.

As the mom of a kindergartner this year, I will say that it's been a super year. Henry is reading, and confident about math, and has lots of new friends. He's had a terrific year and is eagerly anticipating first grade. I wish I could guarantee it will be the same for you - can't of course. But I can wish you all the best, and whether this is your first or fifth kid heading off to kindergarten, do what you can to be involved not only with your kid but also with her/his school, not only for your own kid but also for all of the kids at that school and in the district. They need you!  But first, enjoy the rest of preschool and the summer. 

PS: For what it's worth, we'll be doing one more tour of MLK this Thursday, 5/17, at 9:30am. Please spread the word if you know people who'd like to see the school.

The Learning Community in the NY Times + PPSD kindergarten registration

Happy new year! Like most of you, I was away holidaying and vacationing, all very lovely and restful-ish (click here for my thoughts from last year on being a parent of three young kids during school vacations). In related news, I'm actually very happy to be back at work. Hope my kids and yours feel similarly about their first day of school in 2012.

I was yet more pleased to read "The Central Falls Success," an op-ed in today's New York Times by Joe Nocera on the great work that The Learning Community is doing in Central Falls. When I, and many others, talk about the need for all kinds of schools (charter, public, independent) to identify challenges in our communities and develop collaborative solutions and ongoing partnerships, THIS is what we're talking about. Kudos to The Learning Community for wider recognition!

And for those of you with names at the start of the alphabet and kids heading toward kindergarten, today's your day! Providence Public Schools kindergarten registration starts today and runs through February 10. Click here for a past Providence Schools and Beyond post on this year's kindergarten registration and visit the district's registration web page here.

PPSD's site also tells us that there's a gathering planned for 1/5. 6:30pm at the Student Registration Center at 325 Ocean Street for incoming kindergarten families - click here for the flier in English and Spanish. The district held a couple other such meetings at the end of last year as well; having informational meetings to help parents get up to speed on the registration process is a new and very welcome thing for PPSD. I am wishing all the best to everyone involved in the process this year.

MLK Elementary tours!

As I mentioned in the previous post, along with other family members, students, and staff members, I'll be giving tours of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School at 35 Camp Street in Providence during the coming weeks. Please come and see the school in preparation for kindergarten enrollment, which is happening between 1/3/12 and 2/10/12. Visit http://www.providenceschools.org/inside-ppsd/registration for more information about registering your child for kindergarten (and other grades).

We welcome you on a tour if you're curious about the school for a child in any grade or in preparation for school for your little kids in years to come. Click on the image for a larger version of the flier, and please share this info.

The tours of King are happening as follows:

(tomorrow!) Wednesday 12/7, 5:00pm

Friday 12/9, 11:00am

Friday, 12/16, 11:00am

Friday, 1/6, 11:00am

Friday, 1/20, 11:00am

Friday, 1/27, 11:00am

Friday, 2/3, 11:00am

With the exception of tomorrow evening's tour, all tours are led by fifth grade students with support form parents and include a meeting with school principal Derrick Ciesla. Please contact MLK Elementary at 456-9398 to sign up for a tour.

If any readers know of PPSD elementary school tours happening at other schools, I'd love to share that info here - let me know! Thanks.

Info sessions for Kindergarten: tonight and 11/28

This morning, PPSD's Office of Family and Community Engagement shared the flier above that shares dates for information meetings for families with children who will be entering Kindergarten in the fall of 2012, and I am happy to help spread the word. You'll see that there was already a session today, and there's another tonight, with more on Monday, 11/28. Definitely go if you can to get answers to any questions you may have about registration!

PPSD Kindergarten Registration for 2012! January 3-February 10, 2012

Heads up to families looking at kindergarten: Providence Public Schools will be registering children for kindergarten and first grade from January 3 to February 10, 2012. The registration is done alphabetically; click here for a PDF of the schedule. You can vist the Providence Public Schools' website's registration section for details about registration requirements and assignment policies.

Please spend time during December to visit schools, both those in your neighborhood (remember, Providence has a neighborhood school enrollment policy for general education students) and those outside your neighborhood that interest you. Open Schools week is 12
/5-12/8, as described on this PDF flier.

In an upcoming post, I'll revist and refresh thoughts about the value of visiting schools and how you can interpret and understand information about schools in our community. If you're curious now, check out the posts that share the labels I've given to past posts. You'll notice that in previous years, Kindergarten registration was much later in the year. It's fanstastic that registration is earlier now, and I hope that means that the process of assigning students and notifying families of those assignments will happen commensurately earlier as well. Last year (which was complicated due to the school closures), we received verification of my kindergartner's school assignment (MLK Elementary) at nearly the end of the school year. Here's hoping that families will find out much sooner and be that much less anxious during what should be an exciting time of transition.

Worries about what may happen aside, the earlier start to kindergarten registration is a great start toward improved operations. Way to go, PPSD!

Welcome to Mamapedia readers!

Hi to all, new readers from Mamapedia, which today features "Heading to Kindergarten," a version of the starting kindergarten post I shared here recently. And to returning readers, too, of course. Thanks, nice people at Mamapedia!


"Heading to Kindergarten" refers to a photo of my son Elias that didn't make it onto the page, so here he is! Rather, here he was - this little kindergarten kid is now a tall, confident sixth grader starting middle school.

If you're wondering what's up with no recent posts here: getting three boys ready for and launched into the school year plus, you know, life/work/everything has been what's up. It's been one of those weeks when the business of actually having kids in school has expanded into any available time to write about school.

New posts are coming on subjects that will include the recent education goings-on here in Providence and beyond, helping kids stay organized and motivated in the face of homework, transportation policies and kids' safety, making family decisions about thoughtful interactive technology use, and more.

Getting Ready for Kindergarten

Last night, we participated in Henry's Kindergarten orientation at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School in preparation for the start of the school year on August 30. We feel oriented, ready for Kindergarten action and very excited!

Conversation on the playground while we were there reminded me of a Kidoinfo.com article that I wrote a couple of years ago. The original is here, and I've adapted it to reflect a few minor developments. Enjoy and please share with other incoming Kindergarten families!

--

This fall, for the third--and final!--time, I am sending a child off to kindergarten. We are very excited and a little nervous. Whether you are preparing your first child (and yourself) for kindergarten or you’re readying the next one on deck, here are some strategies to help ensure that your family is ready for this transition.

Read about it. We have a much-loved copy of Rosemary Wells’ My Kindergarten that is the star of the bedtime book routine right now. We love how My Kindergarten takes a careful look at what happens in the lives of a kindergarten student, her teacher, and her classmates throughout the year. It’s useful at all year long, and has given us a lot to talk about to help our kids visualize what life in the classroom might be like.

Visit. If you can, visit your child’s school. Each school will have its own policy, and some may welcome visits more readily than others. This time of the year is a key time for teachers to do preparation for the start of the school year, and they may not have much time to chat. But if you have not already, see if it’s possible to visit the classroom that your child will be in. Look at where the coat hooks, cubbies and bathrooms are. See where the outdoor play space is, if the school has one, and what the door that your child will enter looks like. Take a picture, if you can, to make the school feel familiar when the year begins. Many schools also offer kindergarten orientations, kindergarten playdates, and other ways for kids and parents to meet each other and their teachers before the official first day. Go if you can, and if you see your kid making friends with others, take a moment to swap phone numbers with parents so it’s easy to set up play dates once the school year is under way.

Ask questions. The school may have sent you a lot of information about transportation, food, classroom routines, but if it has not, or if you have additional questions, give the school a call. Find out when lunch is and how to pay for it, how to talk with the school nurse if your child has health concerns, what the bus schedule is like, and anything else that you may need. You may not get all of the answers you seek, but the school office is a great place to start, and a great place to make friends with the staff members who are there to make sure your kids are safe and that school is running smoothly.

Make a study space. Homework? In kindergarten? Well, maybe a little. Different schools will have different policies, but nearly all kids will benefit from having a quiet, organized space to work, think, read, draw, store valued work from school and, yes, do a little bit of homework from time to time. An orderly, well-supplied study space will become more important later on, but establishing it in kindergarten makes your little kid feel big and like she belongs in the world of big-kid school.


Don’t forget to take a picture! I often get so caught up in the first day of school frenzy that I forget to take a picture of the big event! This photo shows my son Elias saying goodbye on his second day of school, because I was so excited about getting him there on the first day that I completely forgot to take a picture. So take a moment to get your big kid’s first day on film (and hey, if it’s the second, close enough!).

Talk about it…but not too much. For us, the parents, our kids’ kindergarten debuts are thrilling milestone. And for many kids, it’s a pretty great day. But remember, many kids locally have at least a week left of summer vacation. As much as it’s important to take time to get ready, it’s also important to enjoy this time, to let your children sleep a little late if they are so inclined, to spend a lot of time outdoors, to do all the fun end-of-summer kid stuff that they can. For some kids, transitioning to a mostly-inside, fairly structured routine can be a bit of a challenge. So for now, talk about what’s coming, get ready, but also enjoy the last few weeks in ways that allow all of you to face the first day well-rested, happy, and confident that your child’s entry to kindergarten is the start of a great adventure of learning, making friends, getting to know a new place, and having fun.

News and no news about PPSD student assignments.

Sorry that it's been quiet around here for the past couple of days. Blogger, the host of this site, was being weird. But now all seems to be better for now.

This is old-ish news now, from Wednesday's ProJo: "Providence offers plan for schools' displaced students," which likely to be:

Asa Messer Elementary School: All students and staff will be transferred to Bridgham Middle School, which will become an elementary school.

West Broadway Elementary School: Less than a third (about 111) are going to Bridgham, and less than a third (about 101) are going to Carnevale Elementary School. The rest of the children -- 136 students -- will be sent to Fortes/Lima, West and other schools.

Windmill Elementary School: About 98 children are going to King Elementary School; about 62 are going to Veazie Elementary School; about 61 are going to Kennedy; about 51 are going to Carnevale and about 34 are going to the Fortes/Lima Elementary School complex.

Flynn Elementary School: About 110 are going to Lauro Elementary School; about 119 are going to Fortes/Lima; about 77 are going to other schools; about 32 are going to Carnevale; about 30 are going to West and about 11 are going to Bailey Elementary School.

Bridgham Middle School: About 183 are going to Del Sesto Middle School, about 71 to Bishop Middle School, about 49 are going to Greene, and about 13 are going to Hopkins Middle School.

Approximately 62 special education students will be assigned their new schools at a later date, after consultations with parents.

As far as I am aware, this news is just about the numbers. Parents of students from schools that will be closed have not yet received notification about the schools to which their kids have been assigned. I know I can speak for the Parent Teacher Organization at MLK Elementary to say that we welcome incoming students from Windmill with open arms, and we're looking forward to meeting the new families who will bring their energy and dedication to their kids' success in school to MLK. We want to do all we can to make MLK accessible to incoming families, and as soon as we are able to know which families will be sending their kids to MLK, we'll have an open house, invite new families from Windmill to our year-end PTO meetings, and do anything else that we can to support good transitions for these incoming students.

It's worth noting, too that parents of any incoming middle schoolers who submitted school choice forms in December 2010 as part of the regular process have not yet found out our kids' middle school assignments, nor have those of us with incoming kindergarten or first graders registered during March and April - though per regular PPSD practice (not good practice, but as it has happened at least since 2005), we would not yet have heard about elementary school placements.

I called PPSD registration on Monday to inquire about when we will hear about middle school placements and learned that letters should be send out next week or early the week after. In the meantime, I suggest calling the student registration office at (401) 456-9297 to try to get someone on the phone to share the info that they have about the status of your kids' registrations. In fact, I just tried to do so; no one picked up (lunchtime? Friday? who can say why?) and I was left to attempt to reach staff members there by trying their extensions (on this page - handy to have it in front of you before you call). I tried two staffers whose voice mailboxes were full, left a message for a third asking for the registration status for my incoming middle schooler and incoming kindergartener.

PPSD kindergarten registration field report

Yesterday, I stopped by Providence Public Schools' Student Registration and Placement Center to register my youngest child for kindergarten. In and out in 25 minutes. The staff confirmed that 4:00 in the afternoon on weekdays is a great time to stop in if you can; in our case, it was the only hour I had available that has been designated for children whose last name starts with the letter of the alphabet with which my youngest son's last name starts.

Much was the same as when I registered my second child three years ago: too-loud tv blaring in ther corner, blank empty room, lots of chairs in rows. A shelf or two of books and games for kids would be lovely, and perhaps a DVD featuring performances and learning in action in Providence Public School classrooms would go far to making the wait (brief in my case, but longer for many) more pleasant.

Nevertheless, the process itself was easy. Filled out the various forms, presented birth certificate, health records, and proof of residency (this kid's circumstances don't require extra steps of ESL assessment or IEP processing), a chat with the registration staff member to confirm or supply information, and that was that. As I was registering my son for a school which a sibling attends, I received verbal confirmation that he would have a kindergarten seat at that school as long as his immunization records were up to date.

In past years, the process included meeting with a school nurse to review health records. Not this year - the registration staff member I met with reported that they're swamped and no longer do those individual meetings. A nurse will review kids' immunization and health records and be in touch if anything is missing or awry.

So that was that. 25 mostly low-stress minutes from start to finish. I do not expect that everyone will have an identical experience, and I continue to suggest you enter into the process informed about which schools you wish to choose as a first choice and the implications of those choices. Read this post on registering your child for kindergarten and first grade in the Providence Public Schools for thoughts on those matters, and for more advice.

The only caveat to the ease of the experience--well, the only caveat in addition to the blaring tv in the waiting area--is the uncertainty that all parents share about which schools are likely to close. The announcement of which schools will be closed, originally slated to be released yesterday, was delayed--here's Mayor Taveras' statement on the reasons for that delay and the criteria that decisionmakers are using about choosing which schools to close. The timing is terrible, of course. Parents may well be choosing schools that will soon be closed, or finding that the school that they chose will be significantly different due to increased student population or other unknown factors. I asked the registration staff member who assisted me how this would impact her work and she sighed in a way with which any one of us prepared to put in many long, difficult hours at work would sympathize.

Registering for Providence Public Schools, Kindergarten and First grades, 2011-2012

This rundown of what you need to know to register your kids for kindergarten or first grade in the Providence Public Schools appeared on KidoInfo.com last week and I am delighted to share it here.

In what is now an annual tradition, Kidoinfo offers tips and guidelines to help you have a successful experience as you register your child for the Providence Public Schools as a kindergartner or first grader. This year, I’ll be among those signing my child up for a kindergarten spot as Henry, my youngest son, will be entering kindergarten at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School. How my little baby is now old enough for kindergarten will be a mystery best explored in another article, so let’s dive into registration-related matters.

Information provided here is based in part of Kira Greene’s expertise, which was part of Kidoinfo’s 2010 Providence Public Schools registration overview. Kira, whose kids attend Vartan Gregorian Elementary School at Fox Point, has spent many hours helping families navigate the Providence Public Schools District (PPSD) registration system.

For the 2011-12 school year, enrollment for PPSD kindergarten begins on Monday, February 28, and runs through Saturday, April 9. Grade 1 registration for students who are new to the Providence public schools will happen on the same dates. Consult the kindergarten and first grade registration calendar for specific information about when to register your child. For students who are new to the district enrolling in second through twelfth grades, registration begins May 5, and information is available here. The processes to choose middle schools and high schools run separately.

Registration must happen in person at the Student Registration and Placement Center, 325 Ocean Street in Providence (Map it). If you’ve been there before, it’s in the same location, though with a different street address. Families are requested to register children on certain days according to the first letter of the child’s last name, and make-up days are available during the last week of the registration period. To be eligible for kindergarten, your child must have been born on or before September 1, 2006, and reside in Providence.

Here is a list of documents you need to bring:
- Birth certificate, passport, green card, or I-94 card
- Child’s immunization records from pediatrician’s office
- Proof of physical exam, vision screening, and lead test results
- Proof of Providence residency (utility bill or lease/rental agreement)
- For special education students only: bring your child’s current Individualized Education Program (IEP) if s/he has one.
- If a language other than English is the primary language at home, your child will need a language assessment, available by appointment.
- Families of first grade students also need to supply proof of registration in an accredited kindergarten program.

Note that you don’t need to bring your child! You certainly can bring him or her, but it is not required. As you head into this process, please know the guidelines and details as described in PPSD’s Student Assignment Policy. Here are some important considerations specifically related to how and whether to choose a neighborhood school:

Providence public elementary schools are defined as neighborhood schools (this doesn’t apply to charter schools, which have enrollment processes that are separate from the public schools). The school assignment policy provides families with a choice of schools while encouraging neighborhood school enrollment. This means that you need to know which schools PPSD defines as neighborhood schools for your child’s primary address, and that you need to be prepared with school choices at the time of your child’s registration. All children in the city of Providence have two neighborhood schools, which are the two closest schools (as the crow flies) to where your child lives. Unfortunately, there is no map online to illustrate this for you. You must call the Student Registration and Assignment Center  456-9297), provide your address, and ask for your “two neighborhood schools.” When you request this information, and any other information, make a note of the date and the name of the person with whom you spoke, along with the information you received, so you can have good records should anything go awry. If registration is like last year, you will receive a sheet with four choices. It is important that you write your first choice on the first line!

For those families who are registering students at a non-neighborhood school (that is, not one of your two neighborhood schools), here’s some advice based on Kira’s experience. Because the Student Assignment Policy states that “80 percent of the general education seats in each school will be reserved for students who listed the school as a first choice and live in the neighborhood,” it appears that if you list a non-neighborhood school as your first choice, you are not automatically guaranteed your neighborhood school as your second choice. Therefore, if your first choice is a “non-neighborhood” school (for your address) that is popular and difficult to get into, you may not get into your neighborhood school of choice if it is listed as your second choice. Therefore, unless you are dead-set on choosing only one school, your first choice may need to be your top preference of those schools that are likely to have space for your child. Remember, this does not apply to families for whom their first choice is also their neighborhood school.

Another implication of the assignment policy’s stipulation that 80 percent of the seats are reserved for neighborhood children is that most of these seats are often allocated in kindergarten, so if your heart is set on a particular school, kindergarten may the best time to take advantage of that policy. Parents who register their children for first grade may not get their choice of schools because seats at neighborhood schools are limited.

Here are a few more tips to make sure that the registration process results in a good outcome: Registering your child in the Providence Public Schools can feel bureaucratic and cumbersome. Remember that your experience at registration will have nothing to do with your experience at your elementary school of choice. Please keep this in mind as you go through this process, and also remember that PPSD processes registrations for thousands of kids each year. Therefore, we recommend that you know the registration policies and advocate for your child! Kids can fall through the cracks and mistakes happen.

After you have registered your child, if you are concerned or just need confirmation, call the Student Registration and Information Center and ask them to repeat the schools you have applied to and what category (neighborhood/non-neighborhood) your child falls within. At the end of the registration period, you can even ask, for example, how many neighborhood children applied to the school for which you registered your child. If this number is below 80 percent, you know you will get a spot.

For many families, the process goes smoothly, but occasionally mistakes happen, and again, we emphasize the need to advocate for your child and to ask for help if you need it. If you are having any difficulty or are worried that the practices do not meet up with the policies, call the principal of the school at which you wish to register your child and reach out to other parents whom you may know at that school or the leaders of the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization (if there is one) for advice.

Student Registration and Information Center
Telephone: 401-456-9297
Fax: 401-278-0553
Main web page: http://www.providenceschools.org/inside-ppsd/registration.aspx
Contact information (including information for speakers of languages other than English): http://www.providenceschools.org/inside-ppsd/registration/contact-us.aspx
Address: 325 Ocean Avenue (formerly 650 Prairie Avenue) in Providence, behind the BJ Clanton School Complex/Woods and Young Schools.

Providence-area charter school open houses: a not-comprehensive post

I am gathering info about the various charter school open houses that are happening in/around Providence this week, and thought I'd share, in case anyone else is seeking same. This isn't comprehensive, as you will soon see; I'm looking just at the five charter schools that accept kindergarten students from Providence, and am in middle of gathering info*. There are other charters, of course - see the current list at the Rhode Island League of Charter Schools for the full rundown.

A few of these open houses have had to be rescheduled already due to the horrible weather. I would check directly with the schools about all of the following info to make sure that these dates/times are actually a go.

• The Learning Community: tomorrow! Thursday, February 3, 8:30-10:00am. Nope - will be rescheduled due to 2-hour delay due to bad road conditions. If I can make it whenever it's going to be rescheduled,  Reschedule! Tuesday, February 15, 5:30-7:00pm.  plan to be there.
• Paul Cuffee School: Tuesday, February 8, 6:00-7:00pm. I hope to be there.
• Highlander Charter School: Saturday, February 5, 10:00am-12:00pm
• International Charter School: no open house listed on website, which says to contact the school to set something up. I will call tomorrow and will share whatever info I get. Open houses are Friday, February 11 at 6:00pm and Saturday, 2/12 at 10:00am.
• Times2 Academy: Open house/info session already happened. Perhaps there will be another? I will call.

Important dates at all of them vary - applications aren't due at the same time nor are lotteries on the same day. Check with each school for specifics.

I would love, love, really love to hear any thoughts or impressions that visiting families have had about these schools - and others, of course. Please share - it's so useful, especially for those families that might be interested but can't get to the open houses or to the school for a tour.

*For those who might know my family's situation: our two oldest kids have been doing very well at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, a public school in Providence, and I expect that our third kid, due to enter kindergarten in the fall, will go to King as well. That said, I sure do owe it to him to be aware of options, and to think carefully about the best opportunity for him. Given the competition for charters, a seat at any one of these five may not actually be an opportunity, but I am looking and thinking about it nonetheless.

"Kindergarten Freak Out" panel discussion, Saturday 1/29

On Saturday, January 29, I'll be participating in a panel discussion hosted by Child's Play Preschool. Titled "Kindergarten Freak Out," it is, of course designed to forestall any possible freakouts through the power of sharing good information. It's a discussion featuring me, Kira Greene (a PPSD parent who knows all and everything about registering your kid for school - here's an article that Kira and I co-wrote last year for Kidoinfo.com on the nuances of the registration process - stay tuned for an update sometime in the coming weeks) and Deborah Gutman, a local MD familiar with the educational needs of students with special needs. As a parent with an incoming kindergartener myself, and as a person demonstrably obsessed with the process of choosing schools, I am, of course, looking forward to it!

"Kindergarten Freak Out" will take place on 1/29, 9-11am, at Child's Play Preschool, 269 Angell Street. We've been warned that parking is challenging, so now you are warned. The organizers are asking for a $5 donation to cover costs and breakfast will be served.

Click on the image of the flier for more details and registration information.

"Play is the work of children." -Captain Kangaroo

Let there be no maximum to the number of pots and lids in service of fun!

"Effort to Restore Children's Play Gains Momentum" appeared in today's New York Times and is worth highlighting in connection with "Recess, Play, and Learning" posted here earlier this week. Yeah, it has some hallmarks of a trend story, but it resonated with me, and was also a little bit sad, so here's my two cents (really, more like one and a half. It's been a long day and I am nearly played out.)

This article explores the role of parents/family members in instigating, promulgating, and promoting imaginative playtime for kids, and it hits on some key truths. Adults in kids' lives need to create the right conditions. For kids to have imagination-driven fun, they need to shut down the screens. Though, of course, television and other media can be powerful generators of play, as exemplified by my own kids' elaborate Clone Wars and Wipeout games. And we need to be cool with messiness. Not a problem in our house. Messiness abides.

The article drives by and briefly pauses on the subjects of school recess and the rigidity of kindergarten. I don't think that the majority of parents comply with reduced recess time during the school day as submissively as the article suggests. The parents and family members that I know do not, though we need to be more present in discussions about the role of play/downtime/recess in the school day. A topic for the near future.

At the same time, not all of the parents and family members I know are prepared to take up the play slack in the ways the article suggests; I resist the notion that play in schools is no longer worth fighting for and it's up to us at home from henceforth. It's not either/or. It's both. It has to be, because there are plenty of kids who don't live in households that are prepared to get messy, who don't have parents/caregivers who have any kind of time or energy to teach kids how to play capture the flag (not that I could do so - in fact, our dinner table conversation last night was nearly completely devoted to Leo and Elias explaining the rules and strategies of capture the flag to me) or build couch forts. We can't give up on play during the school day for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is that it definitively enhances learning and academic performance. 

What do you think? Do you play with your kids? How do you do it? Do you believe you need to teach them ways to play? How chaos-tolerant are you in the midst of kids' play? Do you think that the increased intensity of school/more media/more structure/perceptions and realities of less safe outdoor environments have affected kids' play? Share your thoughts in the comments? Thanks!

Three final notes:

1. Thanks to Lisa Belkin for the great Captain Kangaroo quotation.

2. As I was Googling for this post, I ran across The American Journal of Play. Is that not awesome!

3. If you're not yet hip to Lenore Skenazy's Free Range Kids blog, now's your chance to fix that. Skenazy busts up myths and unfounded anxiety that get in the way of kids' ability to play, imagine, have some place, explore, and, you know, be kids. Have fun.

Update:


Save Recess came across my radar just this minute. It's a blog created by a parent in Florida arguing against reduced recess at her kids' school. Looks like she has a petition and is prepared to stand up for her kids' right to, you know, be kids. So, there's one example of parent/family activism on behalf of recess per se, as opposed to play at other times of the day (which is also necessary but not a replacement). Share more with me, if you're aware of any.

Upcoming Providence Elementary School Tours at King and Gregorian

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School and Vartan Gregorian Elementary School, the two public elementary schools that serve the greater East Side of Providence and students throughout the city, are offering school tours for prospective families. The King and Gregorian Parent Teacher Organizations are sponsoring the tours at their schools and hope that you visit both schools in order to determine the best fit for your child.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students and is located at 35 Camp Street. Tours at King are on the following dates:

Friday, 1/7, 9:30am
Friday, 1/21, 9:30am
Friday, 2/4, 9:30am
Tuesday, 2/15, 6:30pm
Friday, 3/4, 9:30am
Friday, 3/18, 9:30am 

Please email mlkpto@gmail.com or call the school at 401-456-9398 to sign up for a tour of King.

Vartan Gregorian Elementary School serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students and is located at 455 Wickenden Street. Tours at Gregorian are on the following dates:

January 11 at 10:00 am
February 1 at 10:00 am
March 1 at 10:00 am

To sign up for a tour, please email vgprospectiveparents@gmail.com or call Kathy Crain at 787-3678.

Kindergarten registration is coming up soon! Click here for a Providence Schools blog post from last month that provides a link to the registration calendar and overview of the process.