I have a feeling I am going to catch some shit for this, but tomorrow morning I am mailing in Indy's application for the Old Trail preschool. OK, it's pretty nuts, but that place is insanely awesome. Here are a few things that pushed me over the edge:
- 9 students to 1 teacher
- Children play outside every day of the year unless it’s storming. You leave rain and snow gear there.
- Preschooler activities -- gardening, Metropark hikes, the class makes each child a special birthday present for their birthday, daily show and tell circle time, 30 minutes of child led learning at stations, 30 minutes of teacher-led learning at stations, fieldtrips, etc.
- The elementary teachers come in to teach music or art every day.
- They have swim lessons 2 days a week.
- Eighth grade volunteers serve and help preschoolers eat lunch.
- Daily Library time. It’s a fabulous library.
And somehow this all gets done in 3 ½ hours a day.
Now, as far as the whole elementary is concerned, that’s even more awesome.
- Amazing facilities like the pool, Outdoor theater, new gymnasium, and indoor theater.
- Huge emphasis on creativity and arts. Daily art class, foreign language class, and music class K-8.
- 1 Elective class each quarter in things ranging from study hall, costume design, public speaking, pot throwing, piano lab, computer lab, etc.
- 2-day-a-week swim lessons K-8
- Free busing.
- Outdoor recesses EVERY day.
- 10:00 snack time for all kids.
- Smart Dress Code – No uniforms, but Solid colors, collared shirts, and no logos
- All children, all levels of learning are in 1 classroom of no more than 19 kids for each grade w/ a maximum grade size of 57 kids.
- Saw this slow and fast kids together thing in action on the tour twice – once w/ a slow boy in math and in another class w/ slow girl in reading. The process was Really smooth in both cases.
- Kids were enthusiastically interacting with each other and the teacher in almost every classroom we saw.
- I heard laughing in the MATH room. They were learning math w/ geography. Lat and Long, etc.
- Kids faced each other in Quad seating. Boys and girls mixed.
- Elective In-school sport programs and in-school sport practice.
- Mandatory service project each quarter. Examples include Metro Park Cleanup, Kindergarten Buddy program (for 3rd graders), Lunch helpers, etc.
- Science classes conducted in Metro Parks and in their brand new labs. Watched the 4-5th grade class for 10 minutes. Wonderful teacher, kids were having a blast!
I could go on, but who the hell would read it?
- 9 students to 1 teacher
- Children play outside every day of the year unless it’s storming. You leave rain and snow gear there.
- Preschooler activities -- gardening, Metropark hikes, the class makes each child a special birthday present for their birthday, daily show and tell circle time, 30 minutes of child led learning at stations, 30 minutes of teacher-led learning at stations, fieldtrips, etc.
- The elementary teachers come in to teach music or art every day.
- They have swim lessons 2 days a week.
- Eighth grade volunteers serve and help preschoolers eat lunch.
- Daily Library time. It’s a fabulous library.
And somehow this all gets done in 3 ½ hours a day.
Now, as far as the whole elementary is concerned, that’s even more awesome.
- Amazing facilities like the pool, Outdoor theater, new gymnasium, and indoor theater.
- Huge emphasis on creativity and arts. Daily art class, foreign language class, and music class K-8.
- 1 Elective class each quarter in things ranging from study hall, costume design, public speaking, pot throwing, piano lab, computer lab, etc.
- 2-day-a-week swim lessons K-8
- Free busing.
- Outdoor recesses EVERY day.
- 10:00 snack time for all kids.
- Smart Dress Code – No uniforms, but Solid colors, collared shirts, and no logos
- All children, all levels of learning are in 1 classroom of no more than 19 kids for each grade w/ a maximum grade size of 57 kids.
- Saw this slow and fast kids together thing in action on the tour twice – once w/ a slow boy in math and in another class w/ slow girl in reading. The process was Really smooth in both cases.
- Kids were enthusiastically interacting with each other and the teacher in almost every classroom we saw.
- I heard laughing in the MATH room. They were learning math w/ geography. Lat and Long, etc.
- Kids faced each other in Quad seating. Boys and girls mixed.
- Elective In-school sport programs and in-school sport practice.
- Mandatory service project each quarter. Examples include Metro Park Cleanup, Kindergarten Buddy program (for 3rd graders), Lunch helpers, etc.
- Science classes conducted in Metro Parks and in their brand new labs. Watched the 4-5th grade class for 10 minutes. Wonderful teacher, kids were having a blast!
I could go on, but who the hell would read it?
1 Comments:
I think you would be crazy to NOT go there....*I* want to go there now!
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