Music
Each week, singer and early childhood music teacher Lilo Gonzalez comes to TCS with his musical instruments to engage each class in singing and movement. Children develop a love of music as they sing, dance, and discover their own creative musical expression. Learn more about Mr. Lilo on his website linked here.
Field Trips & Special Visitors
Field trips are often chosen to expand on an investigation and promote community outreach on the part of our families and neighbors. TCS’s exceptional location near downtown Takoma Park and the Takoma metro allows for walking field trips to such places as the post office, fire station, stores, restaurants, parks, and libraries, as well as metro trips with parent chaperones to a host of interesting locations, including the Smithsonian museums, the National Zoo, and Discovery Theatre. We also have specialists visit the school, and very often parents will visit to share their expertise in a specific topic.
Birthdays and Holidays
Takoma Children’s School celebrates diversity and acknowledges a variety of holiday traditions as they relate to the interests and experiences of the children. Holidays celebrated by the families of the children in each class may be recognized in a secular context, with the values of the culture emphasized. While holidays are often a topic of conversation among children, and we invite parents to visit their child’s classroom to celebrate an aspect of a holiday, holidays are not expressly celebrated throughout the school. Birthdays, on the other hand, are celebrated by everyone! Each child’s birthday is recognized and celebrated by the class as a whole. Parents provide a fun birthday treat and the children sing Happy Birthday and celebrate together.
Each family is invited to donate a “birthday book” (often one of the birthday child’s favorite books) to the school, placing a bookplate in it to commemorate the gift for years to come. Parents are invited to read the book during the birthday celebration, or one of the teachers will read it with the children.