What happened to play in public school kindergarten? Think back to when you were in kindergarten. If it was anything like my school, it looked much different than it does now. You probably spent much of your day playing in centers. Recesses were long, and you might have had multiple recesses in a day. Many of you had a naptime. Some of you attended only half of the day. Most of you learned how to tie your shoes in school. I can just about guarantee that your literacy program was introductory and fairly basic.

Fast forward to today and you would hardly recognize kindergarten. Most public school kindergarten programs are full day with no nap. Many districts don’t even have play centers, and those that do use them sparingly. Recess is often 20 minutes or less once a day, including transition time. Common core and statewide curriculums have implemented developmentally inappropriate standards and expectations. We label students as “at-risk” within the first couple of month of school. District requirements for instructional time often include up to 120 minutes of literacy instruction and 90 minutes of math.

When you factor in time requirements and standards that must be taught, it’s easy to see that there is hardly time for bathroom breaks, much less for adequate playtime, basic independent skills such as tying shoes, or social and emotional skills. Literacy is pushed to a ridiculous degree, despite the overwhelming evidence that early literacy instruction is not linked to long-term academic success, and in fact, might dissuade students from the desire to read in the long run. (See this University of Cambridge article for some great research!)

So it isn’t unusual for people to be surprised when I tell them I try to implement play-based learning in public kindergarten. I often meet other teachers who agree with play-based methods fundamentally but don’t understand how to reconcile that with growing pressures from administration, districts, and states on data, assessment, and literacy requirements. I frequently get asked how I manage to keep up with the “rigor” (side note, if you want to see the world’s biggest eyeroll, mention the word rigor in front of me…but that’s a post for another day.)

So, how do I do it? Melding my personal education beliefs with my job requirements as a public school teacher is not easy. Sometimes oftentimes I come home and cry in frustration because I have to do things in a way that I believe is wrong. However, every step I do make towards a play focused classroom is worth the frustration. If you are thinking of taking on the challenge, know that it is a beastly one. But if you brave it, I promise it will be worth it!

Here are some tips on how you can manage to maintain play in the kindergarten classroom:

Set realistic expectations

I would love to have a classroom that is 100% student-led and based in play. And if I want to have that classroom, I will have to leave public school. If I had come in day 1 of my first year and refused to teach literacy, let the children play all day, and chucked my district requirements out the window, I would no longer have a job. I am fighting a decades-long system that is backed by corporate money, the government, and a society that is paranoid about America “falling behind” in education.

It is a fight that I know I will never fully win. When I decided it was worth the challenge, I knew it would always be an uphill battle. I had to be okay with that. I might very well give up eventually and leave the public sector, but for now, I accept this and stay.

If you want to make any changes in the system, you have to play the game to a degree.

I try to set two major goals each year in terms of shifting my classroom style to be more developmentally appropriate. One year I focused on convincing my principal to let us extend recess and extended my center time. The next year I begged for two recesses and implemented morning play boxes in place of traditional morning work.

If I only accomplish my two major goals I am happy. Of course, I try to do more, and usually do, but keeping my goals realistic allows me to actually dent the system in my district little by little without becoming overwhelmed or downtrodden.

Find supportive administration

Although I have to work within the system and make concessions in order to make play work in public school, my principal knows exactly how I feel and what my true ideal classroom would look like. He agrees with me in many areas and allows me to implement practices that I am sure would scare a very data-driven administration. My administration took a leap of faith to support me in my endeavors (as long as I adhere to my first tip and don’t go too crazy!)

I cannot stress this enough: if you do not have an administrator who is on your side, GET OUT and go find a different school. Otherwise, you will spend all of your time in conflict, you will lose, and you will be devastated. The goal is not to be a martyr; it’s to help the kids.

Research, research, research

You already have a supportive administration, hopefully. (If not, please see above, or all of your research will fall on deaf ears). Now you need to have go-to research, statistics, and evidence on hand to provide to them, or to co-workers or even parents who take issue with what you are doing (I assume there are parents who would push back, and I am sure I will come across them eventually. So far though, all of my parents have been extremely supportive and appreciative of my efforts.)

My principal and I share a folder on Google drive where I frequently drop articles about play and realistic literacy practices. If you are going to ask for some leeway, make it obvious that you are a professional who is well educated on the subject.

Make centers and recess a priority in your schedule

In my classroom, centers are not something we shove in at the end of the day if we have time. Recess isn’t something that “academics” can cut into. If you want to set the idea that play is learning, it can’t be treated like a break in the day.

Instead, those things are built into my schedule and are non-negotiable. If recess begins at 10:00, we are walking down the hallway at 9:55. If centers come after literacy and I am running behind in my day, literacy gets cut short.

This keeps me on track with the importance of play and sets the precedent for my students that play is part of our learning.

Incorporate play into lessons

In public school, you are going to have to do some direct academic teaching. But if you want to maintain a student-centered classroom, you don’t have to separate play and academics. Find as many opportunities to build dramatic play, hands-on exploration, and student-centered projects into your “academic” blocks. The possibilities here are endless-puppet shows to act out concepts or stories, going on outdoor hunts in science, playing games to reinforce math concepts, building dramatic play centers that go along with your academic standards for that unit…as long as you can connect it to a standard you can justify it, and therefore sneak in more and more play!

Finally, and most important,

Never give up, never give in

As long as I remain a public school teacher, I will be incorporating play into my classroom. I will take as many strides towards bringing kindergarten back to a developmentally appropriate environment as I possibly can. If the time ever comes where I can no longer affect those types of changes, I will know it is time to leave the public sector. For now, I believe that I can push back.

Children deserve play and they need advocates in public schools. Every child that gets to experience more play and less rigorous academics makes it worth it. It is a daily struggle and it can be exhausting. Seek help, stay strong, and remember what you are fighting for!

 

 

Posted on: June 23, 2018, by : admin