SKIP gives students a step up

photos by jill russell

JUDY BARKER HELPS A GROUP OF FIRST-GRADERS PLAY IN A TUB FULL OF COTTON BALLS. The students are practicing hand-eye coordination by picking up the cotton balls with tongs.

On Sept. 4 at 9:30 a.m., a group of first-graders from Discovery Primary School were embarking on a new educational experiment.

It is called Social Kinesthetic Interactive Play, or SKIP, and it challenges the students to work on their social and fine motor skills and language development with lessons built around play, movement programs and choice activities.

Judy Barker, a former kindergarten-turned-SKIP instructor, led the group. She told them to sit on a bee-themed carpet and explained their schedule. After a quick two-minute discussion, the children were free to explore a room filled with toys, books and dress-up stations.

A few boys descended on a box with hundreds of tiny building block pieces. Others decided they would rather play pretend post office. What may seem like chaos to the untrained eye could be considered early childhood education at its best.

“Children play, that’s how they learn,” Barker said. “Over the years, that idea has kind of gone by the wayside.”

Barker said that Discovery does not have the same standardized testing pressures as other schools in the Fife district because students are only enrolled up to first grade. However, she noted that educators are under increasing pressure to prepare students at a much younger age for those future tests.

“We have just implemented a mandated 90-minute reading block and a 30-minute math block,” Barker said. “In the past, that is not how early childhood education has been done. Nowadays, kids are not getting that time to take something apart or paint a picture.”

Discovery Primary School Principal Julie Bartlett shares Barker’s concern and that is why she favors the SKIP program.  

“The kindergarten of today can look more like a first grade of yesterday,” Bartlett said. “With the pressures from No Child Left Behind and an early academic focus, comes more and more pressure on children and teachers for children to concentrate on academic skills, which involve fewer choices from students and more paper and pencil work at a younger age.”

Currently, Discovery has two separate programs that address specific learning areas. Bartlett said both programs address the grade-level performance requirements. The movement program will focus on dance, music, theater and physical education. The SKIP program will focus on grade-level standards for the arts, language and communication skills and social skill development.

Bartlett explained there is a growing body of research that indicates children need more time to play and make choices and the lack of time to do that can lead to frustration and behavior issues. Using the SKIP program, she hopes teachers and students will have a chance to break the mold of traditional learning and give children more education choices.

“Children at this age are developing the motor skills that will help them to be able to write, read and sustain a task,” Bartlett said. “Sometimes there is so much pressure on early literacy skills that children aren’t having time to play or make choices.”

There is no additional cost to the school district to implement the SKIP program, albeit there are minimal materials fees, which can be paid for through the school’s building budget. Additionally, because SKIP’s focus is individual and adaptive learning, special education classes and students with disabilities could easily participate in the activities.

“The beauty of this program is that it’s designed to meet the individual needs of each child,” Bartlett said. “As children show interest in a certain activity, the teacher engages with the children to help them build their ideas and skills.”

Back in Barker’s class, a bell rung and the first day of the SKIP experiment was over. A harmonious moan was heard coming from the first-graders, who understand that playtime is over and it is time to hit the books again.

“Next time, I’m gonna play with these,” a rambunctious student named Ruben told his classmate, pointing to a set of LEGOs. Across the room, blonde-haired Emmi placed a baby doll in a crib with a blanket.

While gathered on the bee carpet for a reflection time, a student named Anthony asks, “Will the post office be there next time?”

Barker replied with a smile, “Yes. It will be there.”

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