PLAYMATES INC
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Mission Statement
Playmates Cooperative Nursery School has offered families a supportive and creative learning environment for over 60 years. Located in the Sunset District of San Francisco, we are a non-profit, nonsectarian, cooperative organization formed by parents and experienced staff. We work together to foster the creative, social, physical, emotional and cognitive development of children 2½ to 5½ years of age.
About This Cause
The History of Playmates Cooperative As World War II drew to a close, women began entering the workforce like never before. This societal shift created a need for childcare, and in the basement of a small church in San Francisco, a cooperative spirit was born. Incorporated in 1950, Playmates later became affiliated with San Francisco Community College when it provided Playmates with a salaried director. The director developed evening parenting classes, which were eagerly attended by parent members. The nursery school’s daily program became the “lab” for the weekly adult classes. During the 1970’s Playmates received more applications than the morning session could accommodate. An afternoon program was added along with another director and two new teachers. Outgrowing its financial association with the community college, Playmates independently funded its own afternoon program and Playmates school fundraising program was born. By 1980, Playmates netted an impressive $40,000 from tenacious bake sale and rummage sale efforts. In 1981, without notice, the church basement space was reclaimed. Playmates’ previous efforts provided the financing for the sudden and unexpected relocation cost. Playmates found an empty public school bungalow in the Sunset district and parents got busy. Renovations were not cosmetic there was no plumbing, electrical, flooring, or interior walls! The final result was a large building with separate adult and children bathrooms, a kitchen, an office, two main play areas including a loft for the children, and mailboxes for the sometimes 90 member families. The outside yards include a large paved area for bikes and ride-on toys, walk-in cages for bunnies and chickens, gardens at the entrance and along the site’s side perimeter, and a gracious sand area with two climbing structures and swings. Starting over with an empty bank account and a new facility, Playmates has, for many years, continued to flourish at this site. The co-op now offers two half-day programs, full-time extended care, and a pre-kindergarten program called Young 5. Playmates has grown from four staff members to eight and six families to 90 families. The fundraising is more sophisticated with ample funding for facilities and staff and scholarships for families available. Unchanged over the years is the family atmosphere, which remains strong, and which members indicate is a very appealing co-op trait. Parents and children find Playmates is a fantastic community for family development and social interaction. Playmates’ founding director, Emily Stone, was a woman of vision with a true understanding of what children need. Her basic philosophy has endured: a child-centered environment shall be fun, creative, and hands-on. At Playmates children and parents alike dig in the dirt, play in the water, plant the seeds, make the Play-Dough, touch the bugs, sing the song, and dance the mood. What is Play-Based Learning? Play-based learning is defined simply as learning that is done in the context of play. Children of all ages learn best when the activity is fun and exciting. Very young children are easily taught concepts such as math, science and literacy through a variety of activities including circle time, dramatic play, creative expression, manipulatives (i.e. blocks, Legos, play dough), and the day-to-day explorations of the world around them. Older children are able to expand upon the knowledge they receive during the school day by applying it to more creative and independently driven projects. Because play is the natural activity children engage in, it is our responsibility to make it as enriching and exciting as possible! We aspire to provide a program rooted in best practices, backed by research, and measured by our achievement of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) guidelines. - Staff and parents organize indoor and outdoor environments to encourage children to learn through play. - We meet the age-appropriate and individual needs of the whole child by providing a hands-on environment that enhances cognitive, language, physical, and socio-emotional development. - Children experience learning as a discovery process, not as the completion of a product. - Children in our programs experience active transitions, exploration, and routines that reflect the scope of our hands-on, play-based early childhood curriculum. How are our staff and parent teachers ensuring that children are engaged in play-based learning? - Staff and parent teachers ask children open ended questions during activities, such as: What do you think? How does that feel, smell, taste? What do you think will happen if…? - Children are encouraged to focus on and discover the process, not the end product. - Rather than relying on a specific model or sample of artwork for the children to copy, staff and parent teachers explain the activity to the children and then let them explore with the materials provided. - Staff and parent teachers interact with the children during their experiences, engaging with meaningful dialogues about the activity or project they are working on. - Staff and parent teachers present activities created with purpose or objectives to challenge and stimulate each child at their individual level. - Children are encouraged by staff and parent teachers to choose the activity or area of study that most engages them, and then follow-up on their interests.