Takoma Children’s School plants the seeds for a lifelong love of learning.
As a play-based program inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy, we believe that our children come to us as capable, confident learners. As teachers, we seek to be co-creators of knowledge as we work together with children to investigate topics of interest to the whole class or a subset of children. Based on this spirit of inquiry, no year is the same as the one that came before since the various projects the class investigates throughout the year are driven by the children. Language, pre-literacy, social/emotional learning, the basics of mathematics, and science inquiry are all embedded in the children’s daily experiences as they learn through play. With three classrooms and about 50 children enrolled, we are “just the right size.” Our teachers focus on developing strong relationships with the children in their classroom and providing educational experiences.
Differences among children and their families, as well as commonalities, are celebrated. Children are empowered to take on responsibilities such as pouring their own water, setting the lunch table, or watering plants. This empowerment facilitates children’s becoming confident and responsible individuals. TCS children are regularly offered choices, such as “would you like to put away the blocks or the art supplies? ” This satisfies children’s natural desire for a sense of control in their young lives.
Social/emotional development is a focus for children of this age. We recognize that conflict and mistakes are growth opportunities, and we help children understand and learn from them. Children are given the tools and vocabulary they need to learn how to solve problems and conflicts independently. Conflict resolution techniques are modeled and fostered daily. By following class routines and learning how to get along with individuals and in groups, children learn patience, negotiation skills, how to take turns, and how to share. Through modeling, positive reinforcement, and attentiveness to the feelings of others, children develop respect and consideration for adults and their peers.
“We love the philosophy of the school and the teachers! The class size was just right, providing opportunity for our child to play with friends of varied interests. [Our child] also had ample time outdoors to play outside and explore every day.”
TCS Parent
As a play-based program, children are given long periods of time for uninterrupted play to delve deeply into an activity or goal they’ve set. Therefore, while every classroom has weekly music classes, we prefer not to have additional special classes that interrupt the flow of children’s work and explorations. Given time, children will take their explorations to a different level each time they work with a material. We may have enrichment visitors to various classrooms throughout the year, especially to support an investigation that is occurring in a classroom.