I interviewed Julie Wolf, Director, First Five Learn and Play, about this new facility. Here is a transcript of our discussion.
What makes First Five Learn And Play different? First Five is built specifically for the first five years of life. We are one-stop shopping for BOTH education and fun. Often teachers and parents believe they have to choose between something that is educational or something that is fun. We don't believe they are mutually exclusive. Another point of differentiation is First Five is about the whole family. For example, the issue of separation affects not only the 2-year-old but also the parents. If there are younger siblings, separation is happening in their world too.
How did First Five begin? The owners of the company were moving to Armonk and have two children under the age of five. They couldn't find a place that met their needs and First Five was born. We really fill a gap in the community. We did extensive research with moms and dads in the area to find out the challenges that face parents in this community, and are evolving our program to meet those challenges. We are not a cookie-cutter facility.
What type of classes are available for your youngest children? We start with classes for babies as young as 2 months called Baby Steps. This class is as much for moms as it is for the babies. We start each class with baby massage and singing songs -- encouraging moms to bond with their babies. We introduce sensory information -- light, sound, and touch -- in a calm way. We will focus on different areas each week, for example, one week the focus will be tactile, the second week the focus will be senses, another week -- auditory or visual tracking. We create easy exercises that moms can replicate at home. We also dedicate time for moms to ask questions -- no question is out of bounds! First-time moms need a place where they can ask anything and not be judged or have 50 people respond like you get on social media.
What is the next level of class? At 6 months, we begin our Steps Classes and these classes run through age 5. Classes are set up in a circuit and designed to build physical stamina, cognitive, social and emotional skills. For example, by having the children participate in a circuit that demonstrates things happen in a certain order, we are teaching cause and effect and sequencing. Classes are specific to the age of the child so for an activity like parachute and bubble time at 18 months children will be working on gross motor skills but at 2 years of age we might introduce a specific element that also develops fine motor skills.
What kind of specialty classes do you offer? We have classes in music, art, drama, and S.T.E.A.M. The music program was my passion project -- music is the one thing that lights up the entire brain at the same time. Music is a proven tool for growth and development. Even at a young age, we see tremendous growth from day 1 to the end of the semester. In our classes, children engage with music, not just have music played for them. If a teacher is holding an instrument, then the child is holding the same instrument as well. In our art classes, we believe strongly that art is about the process, not the product. We don't tell kids "the nose goes there" -- we want them to create art in their own way. Too often kids are told how it is "supposed to be." Kids can make choices and truly be creative. We also believe strongly in introducing a tactile element. With technology today, kids are often working or playing on a smooth keyboard and not being exposed to tactile stimuli. Art is a beautiful way to introduce feeling something new. Kids will get dirty here! As children progress to collaborative art, the focus shifts to exactly that, collaboration. Children work both on individual elements of a project and together as a group on the project as a whole. Our theater program starts with My First Stage. This class is literacy based. We start with a story and make a game of it. We introduce theater vocabulary and provide each child with an "actor's toolbox" so that children learn how to tell a story, how to sequence a story, how to use their bodies and voices and, ultimately, how to act out a story.
It seems like you have a lot of variety in your classes. Was that important to you when developing the curriculum? Yes! Boredom is the death of education. We also wanted to offer a variety of classes for parents-- to create a one stop shop for educational fun. Additionally, we tweak the curriculum throughout the semester based on the needs of the children in the room. This flexibility again differentiates us from the cookie cutter programs out there.
What special programs do you have for older children? My First Classroom begins for the 2's and progresses through 4 and 5-year-old children. This class is structured like a pre-school but different in that parents can decide the days that the child will come. If a parent wants a class on Tuesday and Friday and we have the room, we can make that happen. We have small, intimate classes with a maximum of 10 students per class. There are two teachers in each room and a floater. The curriculum for My First Classroom introduces S.T.E.A.M type projects. We also introduce handwriting in a non-stressful way. We do ask for a commitment of a semester at a time so that the child is guaranteed the same teacher and can experience the weekly themes of the class. One week might focus on transportation and all the activities will have that theme that week.
How are your semesters structured? The Fall Semester is September -- December; the Winter Semester is January -- April and the Spring Semester is April -- June. Each semester is about 15 weeks. In the summer, we run a great summer camp.
Thank you Julie for all of this great information. For more information, visit the First Five Learn and Play website or call 914-295-9255.
