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am i the only one that thinks that the "Barbie Station" is a little unappropriate for education?

post #1 of 39
10/18/10 at 7:36pm
Thread Starter 
I had the following conversation after picking up dd from Kindergarten this afternoon.

Me: "What did you do at school today?"
Her: "Um..I played at the Barbie station."
Me: "Barbie? did you say you played with Barbies?"
Her "Yes, at the Barbie station."

I'm a little confused where playing with Barbies is an appropriate school "station." What happened to blocks, playdough, water table, drawing etc.

I've mentioned this to a few of my friends and they don't seem to understand why it's a big deal to me. I explained to them that if there was a station with little characters that represented family/people, I wouldn't have a problem with that.

My parents were here from out of town last week so we took them to the school to show dd's classroom and my stepmom was also blown away by all the Toy Story paraphernalia cluttering the classroom (not only is it all over the walls, tables etc, but the reading chairs are upholstered in Toy Story print and even their waste basket has Buzz Lightyear on it). When we looked at the toys section there were buckets of Superheros, Matchbox cars etc.

DH says if it bothers me that much I should do something about it, but I don't even know where to start. I'm so utterly confused how this is OK that I don't even know how to go about it without being rude or blowing up at someone.

Am I over-reacting?
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post #2 of 39
10/18/10 at 7:43pm
Maybe ask the teacher what's up?

I know that due to A LOT of kids being TV centered teachers will put up popular stuff (like Toy Story or Barbie) to make them feel comfortable and excited. If they can count with Buzz Lightyear sometimes they listen better...
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post #3 of 39
10/18/10 at 7:44pm
"Hi, dd's teacher, do you have a moment? Great. Why does it look like the Disney store threw up in the classroom after eating a Barbie sandwich?"

My guesses? Either the teacher really likes those things and used them--much the way another teacher might have animals over everything or dinosaurs--or got the stuff free.
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post #4 of 39
10/18/10 at 7:49pm
Thread Starter 
[QUOTE=sapphire_chan;15959400]"Hi, dd's teacher, do you have a moment? Great. Why does it look like the Disney store threw up in the classroom after eating a Barbie sandwich?"

/QUOTE]

LOL
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post #5 of 39
10/19/10 at 12:07am
I have never heard of a classroom that looks like that, but it probably has to do with the budget and what came cheap at the thrift store or free. Maybe you could offer to donate some supplies. Marble runs are only $20 at Toys R Us and they are a lot of fun. Legos are even cheaper. My guess would be that they got a lot of stuff donated and at used stores because the budget is low and the teacher isn't paid enough to outfit her home and the school on her salary.
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post #6 of 39
10/19/10 at 12:15am
Hmm, I'm no fan of Barbie, but I distinctly remember playing with dolls in a dollhouse in kindergarten. So the DOLL aspect of it is not so out-of-the-ordinary. As for the Barbies being the doll of choice, all the Toy Story decor and the superhero stuff (I assume you're talking commercial stuff and not just generic cape and boot costumes or something) ... arg.

I can't say I'd have a problem with the matchbox cars. They're just cars, and some kids LOVE a good road playmat and a wide variety of vehicles to run on them. It's pretend play for the kids who don't like other types of pretend play.
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post #7 of 39
10/19/10 at 3:21am
My son's public school kindergarten only contains educational things, no toys. Lots and lots of books. It's purely academic, except for lunch and recess.
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post #8 of 39
10/19/10 at 3:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pregnant@40 View Post
My son's public school kindergarten only contains educational things, no toys. Lots and lots of books. It's purely academic, except for lunch and recess.
That makes me sad. A kindergarten should have toys and playtime beyond recess and lunch. (Especially if they are long enough to have lunch there.)
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post #9 of 39
10/19/10 at 3:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MusicianDad View Post
That makes me sad. A kindergarten should have toys and playtime beyond recess and lunch. (Especially if they are long enough to have lunch there.)
He's busy enough, believe me. The teacher constructs a lot of activities/games, and the kids find them to be fun. They are exposed to a lot of new things every day, and often break into little groups. Recess is for playing outside, and PE for learning new games or sports. Then there is extra art, science, and garden exposure. It's actually a very exciting place to be!

My child has hundreds of toys at home. Personally, I'm glad that school is learning focused, though developmentally appropriate. He experienced the classrooms full of toys & dress-up in preschool. Kindergarten is just not like that anymore, at least in my district.
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post #10 of 39
10/19/10 at 4:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pregnant@40 View Post
He's busy enough, believe me. The teacher constructs a lot of activities/games, and the kids find them to be fun. They are exposed to a lot of new things every day, and often break into little groups. Recess is for playing outside, and PE for learning new games or sports. Then there is extra art, science, and garden exposure. It's actually a very exciting place to be!

My child has hundreds of toys at home. Personally, I'm glad that school is learning focused, though developmentally appropriate. He experienced the classrooms full of toys & dress-up in preschool. Kindergarten is just not like that anymore, at least in my district.
I don't consider learning all day to be developmentally appropriate for most kindergarteners. Even DD, who thrives on learning, would have had trouble with a kindergarten where they didn't get a chance for free play.
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post #11 of 39
10/19/10 at 10:12am
I agree that the teacher probably got those things cheap or free, though it is possible she is just a Disney fiend. Teachers spend a lot of their own money on things for their classroom. If you are able to provide a substitute (such as family dolls for Barbie) then I'd talk to her about it.
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post #12 of 39
10/19/10 at 10:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by blizzard_babe View Post
It's pretend play for the kids who don't like other types of pretend play.
What? Playing with Matchbox cars is because you don't like other pretend play??? I don't believe that for a second. My son, who has far, far more Hot Wheels than I'd like, plays elaborate pretend games and story-making games. Most don't involve cars, but geez, some days he loves a good race car story.

OP, I wouldn't want a Barbie station and in fact would complain about it loudly. As for the TS stuff, it's possible the school got a grant from Disney/Pixar that was a donation of supplies. Schools seem to be more and more reliant on those types of "donations" to keep up & running. I wouldn't want my children in a room of just character toys because I think generic playthings allows for more creativity and character development.
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post #13 of 39
10/19/10 at 11:13am
"The Barbie Station" ? Hmm, what other kinds of "Stations" are available in the classroom? Is this something the children work with during recess?

What kinds of things do the children do while working at the Barbie Station? Dressing and undressing the Barbies? Role-playing? I'm curious.

Working with any types of materials has the potential to be educational. However, less commericialized materials would probably be more appropriate than a bunch of Barbies or Toy Story items.

That sounds very different from the Kindergarten classroom my son was in last year. The toys consisted of blocks, wooden cars, simple games, puzzles, and a house keeping type area, etc.
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post #14 of 39
10/19/10 at 11:19am
What the heck is wrong with BARBIE? Im a little offended if all of you think that there is something wrong with BARBIE. What did BARBIE ever do to you?????

. Totally kidding. Saw this in new posts and couldn't help myself.
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post #15 of 39
10/19/10 at 11:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barbie64g View Post
What the heck is wrong with BARBIE? Im a little offended if all of you think that there is something wrong with BARBIE. What did BARBIE ever do to you?????


My kids never went to preschool and their current school starts at K. The primary area has toys, but they are open ended ones -- plain wooden blocks, a nice wooden kitchen, etc. Very natural stuff, nothing commercial.

Is the whole school like this Barbie/Disney thing, or just the room your child is in? Could you ask she be moved to a different room? Or are you happy with the program otherwise.
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post #16 of 39
10/19/10 at 11:32am
Thread Starter 
Well as far as the Barbie stuff goes...I do agree that other dolls would be very appropriate play station. I would be willing to donate a doll family if that's what it took to change the Barbie Station. I'm not really sure what the idea of the station was all about??

As far as the Toy Story stuff goes...you really gotta see this. I'll see if I can post a picture. It's like walking into a Toy Story store...absolutely EVERYTHING is Toy Story and unless the donations were NEW, they were not donations because everything is brand new, in fact some of the boxes to the reading chairs are still in the room.

The matchbox cars I really don't have a problem with...but the bucket of Superhero's in my opinion is the same as Barbie. I don't have a problem with kids playing with these things, but school is not the place. In my opinion.

I really don't want to stir up a big kafuffle at the school. And it IS only Kindergarten. But walking through the school and looking in other classrooms, this is the only one that I can see that has all that commercialized stuff in it, so I'm curious how she got away with it, when clearly not "everyone is doing it." There are 2 kindergarten classes this year and the other class doesn't have all this stuff.
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post #17 of 39
10/19/10 at 2:36pm
When my ds was in kindergarten, the teacher had a thing for winnie the pooh. EVERYTHING in that classroom had Pooh on it and she called the kids her Pooh Bears. Granted, Pooh is a literary character so it's slightly different, but I would guess that particular teacher just really likes toy story and has no idea why anyone would have a problem with the room plastered with the stuff.

As for the Barbie, I wouldn't mind if there were a few barbie toys mixed in a doll house/play area but I would also expect other dolls.
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post #18 of 39
10/19/10 at 2:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by weezix View Post
But walking through the school and looking in other classrooms, this is the only one that I can see that has all that commercialized stuff in it, so I'm curious how she got away with it, when clearly not "everyone is doing it." There are 2 kindergarten classes this year and the other class doesn't have all this stuff.

ah but is the Kindergarten part of the public school division??? The school I work in(also in Alberta) Kindergarten is in the elementary school but is NOT part of the school division. They rent space from the Elementary School & may be kicked out of the school soon due to needing the space or more 1-6 classes. The school has ZERO say in what they do or have in Kindergarten. The Kindergarten is part of ECS.
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post #19 of 39
10/19/10 at 2:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by VisionaryMom View Post
What? Playing with Matchbox cars is because you don't like other pretend play??? I don't believe that for a second. My son, who has far, far more Hot Wheels than I'd like, plays elaborate pretend games and story-making games. Most don't involve cars, but geez, some days he loves a good race car story.
No, I don't think I expressed myself well. I pretty much meant what you wrote. Maybe I should have written that Matchbox cars CAN be pretend play for kids who don't dig other kids of pretend play.

But anyway, pretty much what you said.
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post #20 of 39
10/19/10 at 2:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by CarrieMF View Post
ah but is the Kindergarten part of the public school division??? The school I work in(also in Alberta) Kindergarten is in the elementary school but is NOT part of the school division. They rent space from the Elementary School & may be kicked out of the school soon due to needing the space or more 1-6 classes. The school has ZERO say in what they do or have in Kindergarten. The Kindergarten is part of ECS.
oh weird, i dont know. i never thought of this.
oh well, i guess i just let it go for this year - as it is just kindergarten after all. and dd is really enjoying it.

but once she gets into grade school i would expect a little more out of the school system.
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