Zeno's Bar & Grill

No more blocks, no more dress up: what is Kindergarten coming to? A recent article in the NY Times describes the trend toward academics at the expense of fun in the lowest of grade levels.

How sad is this? “The play kitchen, I had to remove it to make space for the math station and the reading station,” says one teacher interviewed for the article.

These things are being done with the best of intentions, aiming to close the achievement gap, but there’s value in the social aspects of those less lofty pursuits. After all, negotiation is an important skill, and how better to learn it at an early age than by quibbling over who gets to wear the treasured single pair of gold lame dress up shoes in the box?

--Melanie & Kelly