Transferring play into real life conditions

February 3, 2019February 3, 2019 / dorothysnot / Leave a comment

We do offer a DIY class in kindergarten, in order to introduce 6 y.o. children into creative thinking & problem solving attitude.

For example: by constructing a hydraulic robotic arm from scratch, children transfer their play into real life conditions by engaging in the following. They:

Derive the plan
Measure the dimensions
Cut the wood
Trial and error to make the junctions work
Understand how the hydraulic pumps work
Team & coordinate to make the arm move in all three dimensions

While the above consist the most fascinating play, yet encourage children to develop numbers of skills and engage deeply into creative thinking and innovation.

But most of all it’s just freely selected & non-directed play. Adults do not direct or impose, only inspire and facilitate. It’s not by coincidence that, when such a project is over, children rarely play with the outcome. They have enjoyed most playing during the construction!

What’s on the catwalk?

April 10, 2017May 3, 2017 / dorothysnot / Leave a comment

Pre-Ks on the runway of Plefsis dance studio, in Athens! Actual life-derived learning.

So much learning on fruit play

February 18, 2017 / dorothysnot / Leave a comment

Talking about winter fruits in our English pre-k class. We introduced new vocabulary by giving fresh fruit to the children to feel, smell and taste. With their eyes closed they were able to identify and name them all!

Then, we made a fruit salad. After we ate it all we played games in the yard.

We rolled plastic fruit to see how far they can go…

….hang them high and tried to hit them with improvised bats.

We also had a real grocery store set up in our dramatic play area!

The next day we decided to make smoothies. We came up with a recipe….

….executed it and decided whether we like it or not!

(by Claire Hadjinikolaou, English teacher in Athens school)

Why use flashcards instead of real fruits?

January 24, 2017 / dorothysnot / Leave a comment

Blindfolded taste challenge. Is it a pear, an apple or a tangerine?

Why use flashcards when we can have some real fresh fruit that we can touch smell and taste?

(by Claire Hadjinikolaou, English teacher in Athens school)

Let it snow in Athens!

January 10, 2017 / dorothysnot / Leave a comment

Living in a hot Mediterranean city like Athens, snow is a rare thing to see, downtown. But today, it was one of these days!

Being unfamiliar with snowy weather, the Municipality of Athens advised all schools to remain closed. However, a brave play-based school like Dorothy Snot is not afraid of some snow flakes!

The sure thing is our kids loved it. Being able to play with snow in the heart of the city is such an unusual experience down here. Not to mention that most of our 4 and 5 y.o. had not ever seen Athens in white!

Play in life-derived conditions is always the most exciting thing for children. And we are dedicated to keep providing this kind of play!

“Can we have one more party tomorrow, please?”

January 9, 2017 / dorothysnot / Leave a comment

Returning from Christmas Holidays, pre-Ks started describing how they spent Christmas time. Each one had a story to tell about relatives visiting his/her house or about a beautiful gathering at a friend’s home.