Drop-off begins at 8:30, and the school day officially starts at 9am. Pick-up for the half-day program is at 12:30pm. Pick-up for the full-day program is at 2:45pm. Your child must be picked up by 3pm.

We do not offer any before or after care options. Co-op members sometimes make arrangements to swap care in their homes after school, as needed.

Because our program is child-led, it may be a good fit for children who struggle to adapt to a teacher-directed classroom. On the other hand, some children may not do as well with a less formally structured environment. We have had children in our program who received early intervention services for speech, fine motor delays, and sensory processing disorder. We have also had children with food allergies. We have not had a lot of time to figure out how our program may or may not accommodate children with special needs. It would be best to have an honest conversation with our Membership Coordinator and our teacher about whether Playschool would be a good fit for your child.

Unfortunately, we do not allow visits during the school day prior to application. We do host open houses and playgroups to give interested families the opportunity to see the classroom and meet current members. There will be an opportunity for a school-day visit during the enrollment process.

Tuition and helper commitment is dependent on the number of days your child attends. The rates (per four-week block) for the 2019-20 school year are below. Rates for 2022-23 have yet to be determined. Click to Enlarge

We offer a flexible schedule to help make our program accessible to families at all income levels. There are also opportunities for members to volunteer for additional helper days in the classroom for tuition credit.

No. We are a child-led program and do not push toilet training before children are expressing interest. We do have child-sized toilets in the classroom and offer all children the opportunity to try using the toilet, but diapers (and/or potty seats from home) are fine.

Each day after lunch (at about 1:00pm) all children have a quiet rest time of approximately 20 minutes. If they do not fall asleep, they rejoin their classmates after the 30-minute rest period. The teacher and parents decide together which option is appropriate for each child. Members must provide a nap-mat for their child, and are responsible for regularly washing it.

The Community Center has a large fenced yard with grass and trees where the children can play. Children have a morning play time outdoors every day from 11:00-12:00. Outdoor time is valued in our community, so we rarely miss this opportunity unless the weather is severe. Children should have appropriate rain, snow, and water play clothing and shoes when needed, and we ask all parents to provide a change of clothes to be kept at school. On fair weather days, we are often outside for drop-off and pick-up, as well as an additional afternoon play time. On very pleasant days, we sometimes stay outside for the entire day (except quiet time).

Due to allergy concerns and Parks and Rec regulations regarding prepared food, we do not provide snacks or lunch. Families are asked to provide a morning and afternoon snack, non-refrigerated lunch, and a water bottle.

South Philly Co-op Playschool is child-led and play-based. This means that we do not follow a prescribed curriculum or set specific educational goals for the children. Instead, we believe that play is the work of childhood and that children are driven to play in the ways that are most meaningful to them. We attend not only to children’s cognitive development, but also to their social and emotional development, meeting them where they are, through their own interests, explorations, questions, conflicts, and challenges.

Our teacher does select themes based on the emerging interests she observes in the children’s play, and creates invitations to play that encourage further exploration of those interests. For example, when the weather became warmer this spring, many children were incorporating “trips to the beach” in their play. The next week’s theme became “the ocean” and invitations to play included foamy water in the sensory bin, seashells and drawing materials on the light table, a sand box and digging toys, making glittery ocean slime, and a selection of books about ocean life. In addition to the week’s themed invitations, children always have access to a rotating selection of dramatic play items such as a play kitchen, dress-up clothes, dolls, building materials, vehicles, musical instruments, puzzles, and art-making supplies. Children are free to explore the invitations to play, or to ignore them completely. Some children become engrossed in a particular invitation to play, others sample here and there, and others choose to pursue their own games outside of the theme. Most of the invitations to play are very open-ended and process-oriented, and require little adult support or guidance, so children are still directing their own explorations. ​ For further reading on child-led playschools, we encourage you to explore the writings of Teacher Tom and Denita Dinger on their respective blogs. This post provides a great start: http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/teaching-play-based-curriculum.html

Our day does have a predictable routine and structure. The schedule is roughly: 8:30am – Drop-off free play outdoors or in another room 9:15am – Enter the classroom. Children are invited to join a morning circle on the rug. Circle time is a little different each day, but typically involves group discussion, mindfulness activities, books, and/or songs. Children who don’t want to participate in circle time may color at the tables instead. 9:30am – Free play in the classroom or outdoors – It is during this time that children are free to explore any “invitations to play” or other toys and materials of their choosing. Children may eat their morning snack when they wish. 11:00am – Outdoor or gym time for running, jumping, chasing, climbing, digging, wrestling, and other gross motor activities better suited for outside the classroom. 12:00pm – Bathroom, handwashing, and lunch 12:45pm – Twilight Story time 1:00pm – Quiet/Nap time 1:30pm – Free play in the classroom or outdoors - Sometimes morning play is extended in the afternoon. Sometimes new invitations are brought out. Children may eat their afternoon snack when they wish. 3:00pm – Pick-up

Our program does not include any formal teaching of letters, numbers, colors, shapes, days of the week, and so on. Children find many opportunities to build their oral language, understanding of print, number sense, and general knowledge, all through their own self-directed play. Children at Playschool are encouraged to write when it has meaning to them (e.g., a note to Mom when missing her, a sign to add to their pretend play, a list of who is waiting for a turn with a favorite toy). They gain phonemic awareness through songs, rhymes, and word play. They use spatial reasoning in building with blocks. They measure, count, and work with fractions in cooking. They learn myriad things that we would not even think of teaching them, all through play. A recent Washington Post Article points out “How Twisted Early Childhood Education Has Become”: “Naming letters and numbers is superficial and almost irrelevant in relation to the capacities we want to help children develop: self-regulation, problem solving ability, social and emotional competence, imagination, initiative, curiosity, original thinking — these capacities make or break success in school and life...” Again, Teacher Tom and Denita Dinger articulate the ways in which our kids learn through play: ​ http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2016/07/but-how-do-they-learn-to-read.html https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fKYnu4-JIb6pyrCVedw5JS7_dsB25ttA6T7JXNe5A30/view

It is important to understand that one of the unique aspects of our Playschool is that we view conflict as an opportunity. In many preschool programs, adults make rules and manage children in ways that prevent conflict as much as possible. When conflict arises, traditionally, teachers intervene, solve the problem for the children, and punish as they deem necessary. At Playschool, we believe some of the greatest gifts we can give our children are the ability to communicate with each other, firmly establish their own boundaries, work through conflicts, understand consent, and develop empathy through that process. Adults’ role is to model the behavior we wish to encourage and support children in their learning. It can be very difficult to allow conflict to unfold in this way, and the social learning can seem excruciatingly slow at times. However, it is simply amazing to witness the results when children are empowered, confident, and articulate in their communications with one another. ​ When children are in conflict, we: Stay calm. Get to the children’s level if possible. Gently but firmly prevent any physical violence. "Sportscast" the situation: ​Say what happened. ("It seems like two kids both want the same toy.") Name the emotions. ("It seems like A is really frustrated and B is feeling angry.") Ask the kids what they could do to solve this. ​Wait. Give them time. Listen. If needed, suggest a possible solution. Give them time. If needed, decide on a solution for them, tell them the plan, and help them follow through. ​ One of the hardest things for parents to deal with is when your child is the recipient or the aggressor in conflict situations. Be assured that your child will be both. Because of this we verbally alert the teacher or another helper when there is a conflict involving our own child. So far this is the best way that we have identified for our own children to benefit from the school's philosophy when we are present in the classroom. ​ For more information about how we deal with difficult situations in the classroom, please see our Protocols and Helper Guidance. ​ For an excellent example of the value of allowing conflict to happen, please read Teacher Tom’s blog post The Second 15 Minutes .

We believe that the best discipline is self-discipline. We offer guidance and redirection. We often have a child “replay” a situation the right way. For example, “I can’t let you throw the truck because that could hurt somebody. Please pick it up and hand it to Joey nicely.” If a child’s behavior is harmful to himself or others, and redirection has not worked or the child cannot be engaged to discuss the situation, an adult may take the child aside for a cool-down and talk. We try to abstain from time-outs and other forms of “punishment” or humiliation. We give children information and allow them to experience natural consequences: “I see that your stick is starting to get close to other people and I’m worried someone might get hurt. If the stick hits someone, you’ll have to stop playing with it. Would you like to move over here, away from people, so you can make sure everyone is safe?” We also put an emphasis on empowering children to set their own boundaries and stop a situation they don’t like so that they don’t always rely on adults to rescue them. Often a firm limit set by another child is respected by their classmates without adult intervention. We also recognize that developing empathy, impulse control, and self-regulation takes time, and trust that children want to behave well and will eventually develop these skills with frequent modeling and reinforcement. ​

Helper shift requirements are outlined below. Each family may designate up to three adults to fulfill helper shift (for example, mother, father, and grandmother). Click to Enlarge

Co-op members serve as classroom helpers a few times per month, depending on their child’s enrollment. Classroom helpers are responsible for monitoring play in a specific area of the classroom, helping children with requests for materials, ensuring that no child’s play is interfering with another child’s play, redirecting or relocating children as needed, helping children to mediate conflict, assisting children with self-care such as toileting, washing, and dressing when needed, cleaning and maintaining the classroom, reading, facilitating art making, and playing with the children. Co-op members are always welcome to contribute their unique talents and interests, from leading a music or story time, demonstrating a hobby or skill, bringing in special items to show, or just sharing conversation and humor. Most co-op members find their helper days to be both rewarding and exhausting. Be warned that often our children are their worst selves when we are present, and it can be taxing to witness all of the normal daily struggles our preschoolers face. Some days are loud and chaotic and full of fires that need to be put out. Other days are calm and full of new discoveries and wonderful friendships. We get to know all of the children very well, and it can be amazing to watch how they grow and progress. Much like parenting our own children, we share in all of the children’s trials and achievements, and there are moments of frustration and worry, as well as moments of pride and delight. Serving as a classroom helper is one aspect of our Playschool that makes the experience completely different from any other preschool, in both positive and negative ways.

The school is for preschool children 3-5 years old at time of enrollment.