Ways We Play

Play is the real work of childhood. Through play children learn about themselves and the world around them. When children are playing in an environment that feels safe and secure they can become sure of themselves. Rhythm, ritual and repetition are three ways that children can achieve this feeling of safety and surety.

From season to season, on each day, and throughout each day, we use our daily rhythm (rather than a clock on the wall) to allow each day to be smooth, with little need for redirection or interruption in a child’s sense of wonder, expectation, or flow. Just like you do in your own home, some activities like nap and meals, need to happen at roughly the same time each day, but we can be more flexible with other activities. Too cold to play on the play ground? Let’s read an extra story and pretend to be bears crawling through the forest instead! Did the children discover a bird’s nest? How lovely to spend extra time watching the mother bird care for her children instead of insisting on coming inside at the appointed hour to read a book about birds!
Even so, it is helpful to have an idea of how the day may go:

Daily Schedule

• 8:00 A.M.: Early Care Starts
• 9:00 A.M.: Day Care Starts
• 9:00-10:00 A.M.: Free play outside 9:00 A.M. till 10:00 A.M.
• 10:00 A.M.: Morning Chores
• 10:20 A.M.: Morning Circle
• 10:45-11:00 A.M.: Morning Snack 10:45 till 11:00
• Library Time
• 10:30-12:00 P.M.: Activity Time/Creative Play
• 12:00-12:30 P.M.: Lunch
• 12:30-1:00 P.M.: Clean Up and Story Time
• 1:00-3:00 P.M.: Resting time
• 3:00-3:15 P.M.: Afternoon Snack
• Free Play Time / Outside (weather permitting)
• 4:00 P.M.: Pick-up Time
• After Care pick up by 5:30

As we flow through our day, we use ritual to allows teachers to impart the deep meaning and respect for tasks that are sometimes taken for granted. Singing the same song each time we gather the eggs, using a bell to begin clean up time, or greeting one another in the same way are all ways to bring ritual to our day.

One of the rituals you will experience at the farm is our morning drop off. Families check-in and send each other off for the day. You might create a simple drop off ritual for your family. As teachers we will greet children each day using their name, making eye contact, and a hug or high five.

Our program is designed to allow for a period of exertion and play followed by quiet and restoration. We call this a “breath out” and “breath in.”

As parents depart, children and teachers gather on our farm play ground or on cold days in the farm house’s designated play space. This is a “breathe out” with exercise, exploration, and play time around the farm. After a period of free play with our friends, we gather to do our morning chores. Gathering eggs, giving hay to the goats, or feeding the bunnies are typical chores. Sometimes we have heavy work to do like carrying a watering can to the tomatoes. We greet the animals and check on the clouds. After our morning explorations we return to the comfort of the farm house, “breathing in” as we come together for a morning circle of story, songs and games, and settling in for a parent provided snack.

Library time works on the important literacy skills of being able to choose and explore a book on your own, telling yourself a story based on the pictures. Recommending books and sharing the story you see in the picture all readies children for a successful lifetime of good reading habits.

Repetition empowers young children to learn skills by building on what they already know and allowing them to try new things as they are able. Repetition is used often during the morning circle and in our activity times. Although the children will experience this time as pure fun, our circle and activity times are designed to meet the purposes of developing the children’s senses, their large and small muscle development and their gross and fine motor skills. We typically have a theme or a concept that we are learning about. It might be a season like Halloween, an animal like a chicken or a skill like drumming. We know that doing an activity once with a child is almost like having never done it at all, so children will be led to explore an activity many times.

Creative play is fostered by the beautiful and carefully selected toys in our play space. Many are made with natural materials. All are chosen because they challenge and deepen a child’s ability to use their imaginations.
Lunch is provided by parents. Refrigeration is available but no heating sources are used. Children are taught to clean up their own lunch spaces.

After lunch is rest time. Most children of this age need and love this quiet time. We get out our mats and select a stuffy and book for quiet mat play in case we wake up before others. As the children wake, we gather for our nourishing parent provided afternoon snack before we “breathe out” again for our last round of afternoon play and the return of loving parents for pick up time.

We offer M-F play-based day-care, Tuesday/Thursday 2 day Enrichment Care, and a M-W-F 3 day Enrichment Care Program. Day Care and Enrichment Care are for potty-trained children age 2 ½ to school age. We also offer Summer Camp programing and Petting Zoo Birthday Parties. We follow the Poudre School District Schedule.