When my daughter and I were shopping around for a preschool, we made unannounced visits to several in the area. We saw some with fairly formal classroom arrangements adapted from elementary schools. We saw some that were glorified babysitting services.

We stopped by Spring-Mar.

As we opened the door to the school, we saw two little girls dressed up in long white skirts and flying about, pretending they were fairies. We saw children roller-skating in the hall and giggling. We had come at Center Time, when the children play in whatever room they choose and do whatever they choose. The rooms in other schools had numbers. The rooms in Spring-Mar had names: the Block Room, the Art Room, and the Housekeeping Room. The teachers at other schools seemed to consider teaching just a job. The teachers at Spring-Mar seemed terribly excited, as though there were no place they would rather be. My daughter spotted a puppet stage, an indoor sandbox, and a real live guinea pig. She discovered some climbing equipment in the Block Room. I found that getting a kid to go into Spring-Mar was not a problem. The problem was getting her out.

Some of the other schools seemed to have good programs and good teachers. But Spring-Mar was different. Spring-Mar was Kid Heaven.

Have you ever noticed that when you take your kids on a really expensive vacation, to see the most awe-inspiring natural wonders and the most magnificent cathedrals, they run off and play in the dirt? Spring-Mar Preschool, a nonprofit parent cooperative for ages 2 to 5, teaches children by understanding how they really are - how they think, how they learn, what is fun for them. The basic tenet of the school is "learn through play."

There is more to that idea than meets the eye. We human beings are taught that we must work hard to take care of our basic needs. That is good. But our definition of "needs" seems to be ever-growing, and we seem to be working hard and frantically for no particular reason. We can forget what it is like to take pleasure in what we do. A teacher at Spring-Mar once pointed out that the children had no particular interest in their artwork when it was done. It was the process of creating the artwork that they enjoyed.

Your child will love Spring-Mar not only because he or she gets to play all the time, but also because he or she belongs there. Every child is important and accepted and secure. Because parents actively participate in the program, there are parents everywhere in the building making sure every child gets attention. Heated debates occur, of course, among the children. But they are dealt with, not ignored. This is the place where children make the first friends of their lives. Many children that are comfortable and outgoing at Spring-Mar would have been ignored and withdrawn at a larger, more impersonal school.

The parents and teachers of Spring-Mar go through great pains to ensure that the children feel at home. For instance, before the school year begins, teachers make visits to the children's homes . Then the school holds an open house that both children and parents attend. The first week has shortened sessions. After all this preparation most of the children wake up early in the mornings, rearing to go (now if they would only get dressed on time!).

The school day begins at 9:15 A.M. and ends at 12 noon, and unfolds like this:

9:15-9:30 Manipulatives
This is a fancy word for "playing with cool stuff." The teacher provides one or more activities - games, crafts, puzzles, etc. - and the children play at their own pace.

9:30-10:00 Circle Time
In a fairly structured setting, the teacher leads the children in stories, show and tell, music, reading and math readiness skills, or similar activities.

10:00-10:15 Snack Time
Children seem to need refueling at this point.

10:15-11:00 Center Time
Children play in the room and at the activity of their choice. They can choose the Block Room, which has large blocks and climbing equipment; the Housekeeping Room, with its costumes, make-believe kitchen, dolls, and stuffed animals; the Activity Room - water and sand tables, musical instruments, puppet theater, and woodworking benches; or the Art Room, which has an art project of the day, collage corner, clay, and easels. All the rooms also have small manipulative games, books, blocks, and science activities.

11:00-11:10 Clean-Up
Children clean up what they were using during Center Time.

11:10-12:00 Playground
The children play with swings, monkey bars, sandbox, tricycles, and other outside equipment. On days that the weather is uncooperative, the children remain in the centers until 11:15, then clean up and return to homeroom.

While your child is busy playing, he or she is also busy learning, in the most absorbed, efficient way possible. By studying animal footprints, your child starts learning anatomy. By measuring ingredients for bread, your child starts learning fractions. By gluing collage pieces, your child starts learning design. These activities teach subjects he or she will someday study more fully: science, language arts, mathematics, music, visual arts, social studies, and physical education. He or she discovers that studying something is a source of delight and satisfaction. Your child also finds out that he or she is intelligent and creative and physically strong.

Your child learns all this because Spring-Mar's teachers know what they are doing. The school was established in 1963, and is accredited by the National Association of Early Childhood Programs. A board of directors composed of parents carefully chooses and monitors the teachers. Turnover is unusually low. Staff members keep up with their profession by participating in several professional organizations: National Association for Education of Young Children, Virginia Association of Early Childhood Education, Northern Virginia Association for the Education of Young Children, the Cooperative Teachers Association of Northern Virginia, and the Potomac Association of Co-op Teachers.

The fun stuff comes naturally. But the children learn some things that do not come so naturally, such as How to Clean Up Your Toys (worth the price of tuition right there), How to Share Toys, and How to Pay Attention. Teachers set limits on behavior quietly but firmly, and use discipline methods appropriate to the age group. The very young child that misbehaves might be distracted or "redirected," while the older child is handled in a more straight-forward way. In all cases, Spring-Mar teachers emphasize and reward positive behavior.

What if someone told you, when you were growing up, that you would join a profession that requires you to be on-duty 24 hours a day, costs you hundreds of thousands of dollars, and provides no income? And yet here you are.

Might as well do it right. Ever wonder how to get children to quiet down and pay attention? Find out from the teachers at Spring-Mar. Want to know what games and songs will get a child the age of yours excited? Be observant on your next co-op day.

And do you want to ensure that your child has the best possible education, one in which you have a very active voice, one in which there is no bureaucracy telling you how to raise your child? Then join Spring-Mar. If you think the children should learn soccer, then teach them soccer. If you think the children need new playground equipment, build it. It takes parents a few months to adjust to the fact that, unlike their workplace and their government, there is no "they" to answer to. There is only "we." Parents own and run Spring-Mar. You have the best possible school for your child because you helped make it that way.

You will not lose touch with your child as he or she grows older. Because of co-op days, meetings, newsletters, and the bulletin board, you will know what happens at school. You will know your child's friends and teacher almost as well as he or she does. You will know your own child better, because he or she acts differently at school, and will probably surprise you.

You will also become a better parent because you will no longer be alone. Something special unites the Spring-Mar parents, something that encourages them to baby-sit each other's children, provide meals when someone is sick, and stay in touch long after school is closed for the day.

Students registering for a class for 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, or 5-year-olds must be toilet trained. The children are grouped by age: Young 2s, Older 2s, Young 3s, Older 3s, Young 4s, Older 4s, and Young 5s. Each class has 8 to 12 students.

School begins approximately one week after Fairfax County Schools begin and ends two weeks before Fairfax County Schools end.

You will need to take your child in for a physical before school begins. You, as a participating parent, need to document a negative tuberculosis test.

You will sign a contract obligating yourself to certain responsibilities. Think about this long and hard. A parent cooperative school is not for everyone.

1. You will work in your child's classroom as a teacher's aide on a rotating basis (for example, in a class of 10 students, a parent works once every 10 class days). On that day you will provide the food and drink for snack time. If you are interested in joining but cannot work in the classroom, you may be able to "buy-out" by paying $30 per assigned co-op day. This is available to 20% of each class.

2. You will drive on approximately four field trips per school year.

3. You or your spouse will work on two Saturday morning work parties per school year. Families with more than one child enrolled work one additional work party per additional child.

4. You will participate on one of Spring-Mar's committees: Health and Safety, Fundraising, Parent Education, Publicity, Education, Hospitality, Property, Membership, Room Mothers, or Newsletter.

In addition, you are responsible for your child's transportation to and from school. Many members form carpools.

Returning Spring-Mar students, alumni, and Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church members may register between February 17 and March 6, 1998 for the1998-99 school year. On March 9 Spring-Mar opens registration to the general public. In some cases classes fill up quickly, and in others there are still openings when the school year begins. Please register as quickly as possible, but be sure to call regarding openings at any time during the year. Students sign up on a first-come first-serve basis. When a class is filled, applicants are placed on a waiting list.

You will pay an application fee when registering and a nonrefundable yearly supply and field trip fee on August 1st. You will then pay tuition the first of each month. If more than one child in a family attends Spring-Mar, the older child pays full tuition and additional children receive a 25% discount. Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church members receive a 5% tuition discount.

May tuition is due August 1st due to high opening-the-school costs. Those enrolling after August 1st pay May tuition and the supply and field trip fee with the first month's tuition. You may terminate your contract with a thirty-day written notice.

Registration Fee
$55 New member
$45 Additional child of new member, returning member, alumnus
Registration fee is refundable until March 31, 1998.

Supply and Field Trip Fee
$80 per child, due August 1, 1998

Tuition

If your child’s birthday falls in an overlap month. please call Spring-Mar's Education Director at 569-6864 for a recommendation on which class is appropriate for your child.

Please bring your registration application and registration fee to the membership file inside Spring-Mar or mail to:
Tammy Karas
6417 Charnwood Street
Springfield, VA 22152
(703) 569-3498

Virginia's Department of Social Services licenses child day programs, setting health and safety standards regarding adequate play space, the adult-to-child ratio, play equipment, curriculum, record keeping, and more. The state also requires criminal record checks and certain qualifications for staff members. The facility must meet fire, health, and building codes.

The Department's licensing staff makes announced and unannounced visits to ensure compliance. It also receives and acts upon any complaints by parents.

For additional information about the licensing of child day programs, please contact your Regional Office of Social Services: Fairfax Licensing Office, 3959 Pender Drive, Suite 320, Fairfax, VA 22030, 703-934-1505.

To arrange a personal tour of Spring-Mar, or to obtain further information, please email the membership committee, or call the school at 569-6864 weekday mornings.

Spring-Mar Cooperative Preschool
8336 Carrleigh Parkway, PO Box 2395
Springfield, VA 22152

Spring-Mar will be relocating for the 1998-99 school year. The new facility is at the Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church near the intersection of Burke Lake Road and Fairfax County Parkway.

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