At One School, a Push for More Play Time

Some kindergarten parents at Public School 101, a graceful brick castle in Forest Hills, Queens, wanted more free play time for their children; so they decided to do something about it.

Gone were the play kitchens, sand and water tables, and dress-up areas; half-days were now full days. Instead, there were whiteboards, and the kindergartners, in classes of up to 27, practiced reading and math on work sheets on desks at P.S. 101, also known as the School in the Gardens. 

Time and space for imaginative play in city schools seem to be shrinking as the academic emphasis on reading and math grows, the school also organized an effort to win money from an online competition to fix up a disused outdoor area into a garden it is calling a “kinder” (rhymes with minder) garden.

The goal is to use the garden as an alternative learning site that creates an enriching outdoor learning environment instead of an all-day confined classroom model.

The School in the Gardens has a rigorous academic curriculum, and it is the sort of place where homework assignments by third grade can stretch to an hour.