You Have To Watch If You Are Or Wish To Have A Play Based Program!

[Unregistered]

What do you think isn't licensed about it? It's the same as the one I went to and that was licensed. She's in CA. It goes by title 22 licensing regs. look it up... is it the water- its supervised at all times... what is the part you are thinking isn't going to pass?

[AmyKidsCo]

It would be hard for me to have that kind of environment because the child care space is also my family's living space. But when I watch videos like this I try to figure out how to do things in a way that works for me, rather than just write it all off under "I can't do it just like that so I can't do any of it." (Not that anyone here has that attitude, but I hear it all the time around me.)

[Unregistered]

My officer would not pass ungated stairs, the pond, the climbers, the nets up top, etc. However the parents are there as well , correct?? Where is this preschool located? I am sure my area has different standards

[Movingforward]

I recently completed a masters degree in early childhood special education. Although parents want to see academics in preschool, current research does not support academic instruction in preschool. The little ones learn best through play.

http://educationnext.org/much-too-early/

They will do well in Kindergarten if they had an enriching/supportive environment, play based learning opportunities, and learned how to get along with peers.

Thanks speed mommy for the article reference. Interesting read for both sides of the argument.
Good to know the children adjusts well to kindergarten!

[Movingforward]

My officer would not pass ungated stairs, the pond, the climbers, the nets up top, etc. However the parents are there as well , correct?? Where is this preschool located? I am sure my area has different standards

It's located in Roseville, CA

[MarinaVanessa]

It's located in Roseville, CA

I find the fact that it's in CA hard to believe. I'm CA and no way the pond inside would pass. We can't even have "water features" like water fountains. I know a provider who had a fountain in her fenced in front yard. The fence was short (about 4") and only fenced off the grass portion. Clients never stepped foot on it, they walked up the driveway to the front door which is not in the fenced in part. Her analyst saw it and gave her a citation because the gate was only latched but not locked (like with a padlock) and they said that a child could potentially open the gate and get inside. They gave her such a hard time about it even after adding a pad-lock that she ended up taking the water out and just filled it with rocks.

[Crystal]

I find the fact that it's in CA hard to believe. I'm CA and no way the pond inside would pass. We can't even have "water features" like water fountains. I know a provider who had a fountain in her fenced in front yard. The fence was short (about 4") and only fenced off the grass portion. Clients never stepped foot on it, they walked up the driveway to the front door which is not in the fenced in part. Her analyst saw it and gave her a citation because the gate was only latched but not locked (like with a padlock) and they said that a child could potentially open the gate and get inside. They gave her such a hard time about it even after adding a pad-lock that she ended up taking the water out and just filled it with rocks.

She is in Ca. Not far from me and I know her personally. I haven't watched the video posted, but I know the "indoor ecosystem" (pond) has been covered with chicken wire due to licensing regs. but it is still there and fully functioning.

[alicia@home]

so many ideas...!

I LOVE THIS! And it will be the perfect philosophy for my son who is a bit of a wild child. But, at the same time, that is my question. He is wild...So, how do they handle disagreements between children?

How do they handle discipline? Children are not always perfect. Does it turn into "little boy justice" and let them duke it out? Idk if that would work...

Also somebody said they leave art supplies out. How does that work? Are there rules?

Somebody was also posting about an alternative learning environment that their child was in, how did they operate?

Any feedback is appreciated!! I really want to make this work for us
Thank you.

[Unregistered]

http://www.rosevillecp.org/faq/

This is the link to the 'FAQ' page on the website of the cooperative preschool the video is about. This addresses guidance and school readiness... If you want to find a school like this in your area, maybe you could google 'cooperative preschool' and the name of your town... I'm sure there will be no duking it out children will be supervised and guided at all times just like a center that doesn't have a parent volunteer component. I'd love to hear if you found something!

[MarinaVanessa]

She is in Ca. Not far from me and I know her personally. I haven't watched the video posted, but I know the "indoor ecosystem" (pond) has been covered with chicken wire due to licensing regs. but it is still there and fully functioning.

The chicken wire over it makes sense since any "body of water" has to be made "inaccessible to children". I was thinking about the video and the pond over the last few days and thought maybe the video might have been an older video which was made before all of our stricter regulations came into place.

I do love a lot of other features her program has. I love that it's developmentally appropriate, that the children have a multitude of opportunities for free exploration, that it's a very natural environment and that it's play based.

It's a little too cluttered for me and hard on my eyes but I think the program is a fantastic one. Makes me wish for more space and more stuff ::

[Starburst]

I think this is a really interesting area of discussion.

How 'prepared' are children from a play-based school versus traditional preschool setting? Or perhaps this questions is better framed as how does a play-based program help to prepare a child for the school system? I'm intrigued enough to look into this a bit more.

I do a combo of both right now but the pressure comes from me and needing to let go of my expectations of what a preschool looks like. My parents are pretty easy going and like the 'others' I do with the kids which gives me some freedom to experiment.

I think the key is balance. In some of the video my anxiety went up because it looked a bit dirty and overcrowded in some areas with all the materials (could have just been camera angles that make the place look smaller and darker) and they didn't talk much about how they discipline as far as setting rules and expectations (since they would just change where they had 'gathering' time to let children finish with the blocks). A lot of this is ideal but at the same time most public kindergartens and elementary schools don't work this way and I can see many children being in for a rude awakening when the schools are all usually teacher lead. And as many others have mentioned, most state licensing departments would not allow most of the things shown in the video (standing water, the open computers, the ditch, ect.).

It's also most likely a co-op since it seems the parents are always present in the class room. While most child development experts would say that is ideal as well, most parents have solid work schedules and cannot be active in the class room everyday; which could make those children feel left out when they see other parents all the time (tough most co-ops require a certain amount of time each week). Also, while the parents talk about the "community" aspect of connecting with other parents, in a co-ops there tends to be a lot of judgement. I did student teaching at a church based co-op and just as with any school there was always 'that kid' that always acted up in class that the other parents wouldn't want their kid playing with or everyone talking about behind their back "She just doesn't discipline him enough", "That kid needs a spanking","I'd never let my kid get away with that", ect.

I plan on when I open mine for it to mostly be play-based through out the day but to have maybe a 1/2 hour to an hour a day of what I call "sit down" preschool (what most call "traditional preschool"), mostly just doing a structured group activity (group reading; science project, social/life skills, quick review of numbers, ABCs, and colors).

[MarinaVanessa]

A lot of this is ideal but at the same time most public kindergartens and elementary schools don't work this way and I can see many children being in for a rude awakening when the schools are all usually teacher lead.

I was thinking about this part particularly because it came up in my own life. I am more play-based and child led and way less strict when it comes to certain things. For example during morning meeting (circle time) I don't mind whether the children sit, lie down, fidget or use a chair if they prefer as long as they aren't disturbing the other kids or the activity. I've always been this way and if a child loses interest in what we are doing I move on or let the child move on to another activity. I've done this for so long that my own kids are used to it.

My son goes to a preschool 2 days a week for 4 hours as a way for him to get more acclimated to the more rigorous structure of transitional kinder which he will be starting next fall. One of his teachers (fantastic program by the way, and religious based) pulled me aside to talk to me about a concern ... that he wouldn't sit criss-cross style. I couldn't help but laugh. I had to explain that he doesn't ever have to sit like that when I do activities and I explained why (that they really aren't ready to sit in any one position for a period of time) but I told her that I would talk to him and work on it at home so that he would know that at "school" it was an expectation.

I mean really, the issue is that my kid won't sit criss-cross apple sauce? Duh, he's 4. Be happy that he doesn't mess with the other kids during circle time ::

[nannyde]

This program is VERY expensive. If you break the calendar down and look at the total number of hours the kids are there per week over the weeks they are actually open it's a fraction of the hours kids are normally in care.

They have 2.5 hours two or three times a week for about 32 weeks. The hourly rate is VERY high AND the parents have to attend one day per week for their kids session PLUS have many meetings, voluntary work weekends, donations to their auctions, clean up days etc. They have SO many adults there every session.

Of course your kid can paint themselves, swing when they want, climb, play with small pieces when there are a TON of adults to host them AND the cost is SO high.

From what I can see they are in session about a month a year in comparison to a full time daycare kid who attends 10 hour days all year around. By the first week of February the full time kid would be in daycare the same number of hours as a Bev kid spends all school year.

It's about $10.50 an hour for the three day a week kids and about $12 an hour for the two day a week kids IF the parent is onsite one day a week and does a TON of off school volunteering.

If the parent doesn't want to work for free it's nearly double that hourly rate.

The parents who work only have a few hours of coverage a week. They have to pay a super high rate for Bevs and pay for full time daycare if they work.

It looks like a wonderful experience but I can't see where a fraction of it is applicable to home child care. We can't command an hourly rate of 10 to 24 bucks an hour and be open an average of a few weeks a year.

Bev hasn't franchised. Why? That model would be nearly impossible to replicate in any normal child care setting.

I don't see it as any different than comparing it to an amusement park experience. It's just way more expensive.

I would LOVE for my kid to have an experience like that but I could only afford it as I could to send him to six flags or disney. It's just too expensive for average people.

[Controlled Chaos]

This program is VERY expensive. If you break the calendar down and look at the total number of hours the kids are there per week over the weeks they are actually open it's a fraction of the hours kids are normally in care.

They have 2.5 hours two or three times a week for about 32 weeks. The hourly rate is VERY high AND the parents have to attend one day per week for their kids session PLUS have many meetings, voluntary work weekends, donations to their auctions, clean up days etc. They have SO many adults there every session.

Of course your kid can paint themselves, swing when they want, climb, play with small pieces when there are a TON of adults to host them AND the cost is SO high.

From what I can see they are in session about a month a year in comparbyison to a full time daycare kid who attends 10 hour days all year around. By the first week of February the full time kid would be in daycare the same number of hours as a Bev kid spends all school year.

It's about $10.50 an hour for the three day a week kids and about $12 an hour for the two day a week kids IF the parent is onsite one day a week and does a TON of off school volunteering.

If the parent doesn't want to work for free it's nearly double that hourly rate.

The parents who work only have a few hours of coverage a week. They have to pay a super high rate for Bevs and pay for full time daycare if they work.

It looks like a wonderful experience but I can't see where a fraction of it is applicable to home child care. We can't command an hourly rate of 10 to 24 bucks an hour and be open an average of a few weeks a year.

Bev hasn't franchised. Why? That model would be nearly impossible to replicate in any normal child care setting.

I don't see it as any different than comparing it to an amusement park experience. It's just way more expensive.

I would LOVE for my kid to have an experience like that but I could only afford it as I could to send him to six flags or disney. It's just too expensive for average people.

The amusement park description hits it on the nose. We have a children's museum here that made me think of this video. It's called the museum of curiosity here in ut and you get an over crowded version of bevs experience there. Super fun

[Unregistered]

It looks like a small child's version of heaven!

In my state, if you provide care for less than 4 hours a day, there is no licensing. I'm sure that's what this preschool (as all of the 1/2 day programs around me) falls into.

My son just finished kindergarten. He had several students in his class that attended a local preschool co-op that operated much like this one. A few students came from the local Reggio Emilio, project based, but all child-led, preschool. Some (like my son), came from mixed age, chiefly play based but not quite as wild and free, environments. And still others did full day, 7+ hours of traditional preK with worksheets and all. Somehow, they all meshed together in kindergarten, and by the end of the year, you couldn't really tell who had had what kind of preschool experience.