History and Mission

Brown Play School serves three and four year-olds in a two-year preschool program. The central goal of the school, in partnership with families, is to guide children as they build the foundation for a life of learning. Such a life requires them to be open-minded, creative thinkers who are intrinsically motivated and who will continue to question and seek knowledge as they grow and mature. Because this is also a crucial time for social development, we feel it is essential for us to provide a climate that will help children become self-assured, empathetic, and socially well-adjusted.

Brown Play School was founded by members of the Brown University community in 1950. It was originally a cooperative nursery school located on the East Side of Providence. It is now a partnership school, where parents participate in their children’s education but are not expected to fulfill specific teaching duties. In February 2000, the school moved to Rumford, RI, where we have three large rooms which contain an art studio, a manipulative area, an investigation area, a block area, a housekeeping area, a library, and a circle time area. There is also a large, fenced play yard and a greenhouse behind the school. The school is licensed for 26 children and has two Co-Directors/Head Teachers, an art teacher, and another teacher, who are with the children every day. We also have a woodworking teacher, a music teacher, and a yoga teacher who come on a regular basis to teach these special subjects.

The Brown Play School curriculum is inspired by the highly regarded philosophy of the schools in the Reggio Emilia region of Italy. The fundamental components of the Reggio approach are described below.

• All children have the potential to construct their own learning and are not simply empty vessels to be filled with knowledge.
• There is a strong connection between the home and the school, and the teachers and families work closely together to strengthen the children’s education.
• The school environment and curriculum are designed to foster an intrinsic love of learning. The environment encourages activity, engagement, discovery, and use of a variety of media.
• The curriculum is emergent, meaning it is child-centered, follows from the children’s interests, and allows the children to return again and again to a project to add new insights.
• The teachers collaborate daily to engage the children in long-term projects based on the children’s interests. The projects are carefully documented, by the teachers, through observation and recording. This documentation provides a window into the children’s learning and highlights for them the value of their thought processes and work. Time is not solely dictated by the clock.
• The teachers respect each child’s pace and time table. The teachers are with the children for two years, so the teachers know each child very well and the children have the opportunity to develop and maintain a secure, consistent attachment through which they can thrive.