Play Smart, an early learning facility, is launching the region’s first play-based, hands-on, phonics-focused kindergarten in August 2021.
The kindergarten will join Play Smart’s all-day preschool, where children receive 30 minutes of group therapy with licensed speech-language pathologists and licensed occupational therapists once a week. The preschool also offers free speech, language, and fine motor screenings once a year.
“The kindergarten is Play Smart’s next step in continuing to build an inclusive, engaging learning community for children and their families, one focused on emphasizing social-emotional skills through a Social Thinking curriculum, and one rooted in sensitivity to children with developmental disabilities,” according to a release.
The kindergarten’s class sizes will be limited to ensure hands-on learning and engagement with peers, as well as to foster “a life-long love of learning that prepares them to succeed in elementary school and as individuals in their families and communities.”
Trina Pryor and Jill Payne are co-owners of Play Smart, which was established in 2018 and is located at 1512 Frederica Street.
“After seeing the struggles of our own children in their kindergarten years with unrealistic expectations, desk work, and standardized testing, we decided to expand upon our play-based preschool and open a kindergarten classroom,” Pryor said. “We want kids to enjoy coming to school and to lay the foundation for a love of reading. We want to not only teach them academic skills through play, but also give them the social and emotional tools to be amazing human beings.”
Alongside Pryor and Payne, the kindergarten will be led by Jennifer Stauffer.
Stauffer holds certifications from The National Association for the Education of Young Children in Focus on Kindergarteners, as well as the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators Course. She is pursuing continuing professional education focused child development and social-emotional learning.
Stauffer, who has been part of the Play Smart community for the past year, has a diverse background in facilitating classical education, volunteering in Montessori classrooms, and has worked extensively with reading programs including Orton Gillingham and Lindamood-Bell LiPS, among others.
Academically, Stauffer said, children need a solid foundation of reading, reading comprehension, and mathematics that prepares them to enter elementary school with confidence.
“Personally, they develop friendships, respect for each other, learn how to problem-solve, and think creatively,” Stauffer said. “I think young people learn through everything they do, including play.”
Those interested can register at here, email [email protected], or call 270-240-3310 with questions.
