What is a Progressive Nursery School?
Progressive preschools are also known as Developmental, Child-Centered, or schools following the Bank Street Model. Here are 10 features of a progressive school: 1) The philosophy is that children need to explore and learn through imaginary play, art, and block building. Play is considered the “work” of children and is taken seriously. 2) The progressive classroom is usually set up as a series of “centers” where learning can take place using open-ended materials. There might be a fantasy play area, a cluster of easels with paint, a block corner, a water table, puzzle area and more. Teachers set these environments up in response to what they see the children are interested in. They move among the areas and encourage the kids to pursue their own projects and ideas at these centers. 3) There is no pre-planned curriculum. Since teachers are following the children’s lead, what kids learn from year to year and between the morning and afternoon sessions may be different. 4) Children work at t
