What Do Children Learn in a 3-K Classroom?

3-K for All brings free, full-day, high-quality early education to a growing number of three-year-old children in New York City. If you have ever wondered what young children learn in 3-K classrooms, now you can find out by viewing the first in our new “DOE 101” video series!

Some highlights from a day at Learning Through Play in the South Bronx:

• School staff welcome children and families to build connections upon arrival.
• The children then eat breakfast as a group, giving them opportunities to develop their language skills through conversations with fellow classmates and teachers.
• Then the class moves to a community-building time like listening to read-alouds and singing songs.
• Children spend a large portion of the day in “centers”—workstations like the art center, the library, and water and sand tables—where they make their own choices while exploring, creating, and asking questions.
• During a typical 3-K day, children also play outside eat lunch, snack, and take a nap. Engaging in these routines helps children learn how to take care of themselves.

In 3-K, learning with each other through play helps support children’s social and emotional development, language and literacy, cognition, and even physical development. If you have a child born in 2017, you can submit your 3-K application for the 2020-2021 school year starting on February 5! Families can apply online at MySchools.nyc, over the phone at (718) 935-2009, or in person at a Family Welcome Center; the online application is available in 10 languages and families can apply over the phone or in person in over 200 languages. Find out more about 3-K for All here.