About the Nonprofit
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In 1963, several families came together to form a cooperative school for the purpose of providing a quality preschool and kindergarten experience for their children. (At that time, Fairfax County Public Schools did not offer Kindergarten). The founders of Spring-Mar firmly believed in the “whole family” approach and thus, Spring-Mar was “born”!
Back then, the school was located in the Bren Mar area of Springfield near Edsall Road. Several years later, the school moved to Kirkwood Presbyterian Church and adopted the name Spring-Mar Preschool Association, Inc. After thirty-two years at that location, the school moved again in 1998 to our present location at Accotink Unitarian Universalist Church in Burke.
This year marks our 61st year in operation as a non-profit, parent-owned, and parent-operated preschool! We are thankful to the many men and women who have worked hard through the years to keep this school an exciting place for young children to grow and learn.
Spring-Mar classroom curricula are rooted in the belief that play-based study is the most effective way for early learners to experience science, language, arts, mathematics, music, creative art, and social studies. Countless educational organizations, including the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), recommend this developmental approach over a traditional skills-based program to provide children with the best foundation for future success in school.
But what does “play-based learning” really mean?
A simple definition would be “learning by doing”. This means children use hands-on activities to formulate an understanding of the world and learning concepts rather than being instructed in rote academic details.
How does the play-based approach look different from a traditional approach in the classroom?
To illustrate this model, we’ll excerpt some information from Erika Christakis, Lecturer on Early Childhood Education at the Yale University Child Study Center, and Nicholas Christakis, social scientist and physician, who compared both philosophies.