Duck, Duck, Goose Academy 333 9 th St NE Minneapolis, MN 55418
Chelsea J. Chase Duck, Duck, Goose Academy Dear Parents & Guardians: As the lead teacher in your childs preschool classroom, I would like to take a moment to address some concerns brought to my attention by some of you regarding the structure of our daily routine and curriculum being offered to your children. I hope to clarify some things and reassure you in your choice to place your child in our program here at Duck, Duck, Goose Academy. I understand there is some concern specifically regarding the amount of Free Play time. Id like to begin by explaining what Free Play means at Duck, Duck, Goose. Our classroom is comprised of several distinct areas, each with a distinct focus. We have a sensory corner, The Group Circle, a dramatic play area, The Library Corner, the art station, and some science shelves. Oh, lets not forget the playground & the gym! Each of these areas is designed to facilitate a specific subject or area of learning. The supplies and materials available in these areas of the classroom are toys in a sense, but to your child and our classroom, these are the tools of learning. We take care to spend at least a little time in each area of the classroom every week, ensuring that your child is getting a well-rounded experience with each subject were learning about. I plan activities on a daily, weekly, and monthly scale that teach literacy, science, math, motor skills, art, health, physical education, and social skills. Some of those activities are group activities that are guided by me with help from my assistants and involve the whole class at once. Other activities break the class into smaller, more intimate groups guided by me and the assistant teachers. These activities may, in fact, be games, or may otherwise seem like play. Your children may thoroughly enjoy them! This is because the activities are designed to keep your childs attention, to be engaging and interesting as well as educational and developmentally progressive. Then, of course, comes free play. If Free Play were translated to high school or collegiate terms, it would be most like Independent Study. During this time, the children are free to engage in any of the activities available to them by accessing any of the distinctive areas of the classroom. They may choose to spend this time exclusively in one area, or they may choose to divide their time among as many as they choose. They continue to engage in activities that help them to process the knowledge they already have, which includes things theyve learned during guided activities, observations theyve made about the world around them, and things theyve been taught at home. Sometimes children will choose to play togetherlike a collegiate study group or club. They define rules for their activities, assign leaders, become imaginative and inventive, and they often seem to grow up or develop as individuals right before our eyes! What am I doing with my assistants during Free Play? Were observing. Were drifting in and out to provide guidance from time to timejust like we would if these freely chosen activities were planned and structured like the others, were setting up for the next guided experience, were cleaning up from the last one, maybe were adapting our activity plans to better suit a class that were observing to have different educational or developmental needs than weve anticipatedwhich is something we wouldnt have a firm grasp of without the time to observe the children as they interact with the classroom on their own. I understand it may be difficult to fathom your childs learning process when it looks so different than what youve come to associate with education. I assure you that I am doing my best to cater to the needs of the individuals in my class, and that your child will leave my classroom at the close of the year having grown, developed, progressed, expanded their horizons, and learnedand they will have done all of that through play. If you have any questions or concerns after reading the following information, please feel free to email me at mz.chelsea.j@gmail.com or schedule a private conference. I would be more than happy to talk with you further about your child(ren)s care and education. Sincerely,