Journeys›Photograph

Rehearsal Morning at Pacific Primary Preschool

·San Francisco, California·#bay area#spring#kids#preschool#playtime
A line of children stands on a low stage in a large hall with a piano, drums, and an organ.

Drove down to San Francisco to sit in on a morning at Pacific Primary, the preschool on Grove Street, and the main event was rehearsal. The whole class filed into the big church hall and lined up along the edge of the stage — a row of three- and four-year-olds in pink and yellow and Mario shirts, some singing, some staring out at the empty pews, one with a hand permanently at her mouth. A teacher worked the floor below them, coaxing the line into something resembling a line. Afterward they all piled into the front pews for a group picture with two of the teachers standing behind, which took several tries because nobody holds still at that age.

Back in the classroom it was free play. A cluster of girls had a teddy bear picnic going on a red-checked blanket, green basket in the middle, plastic hot dogs and ketchup bottles distributed among the bears. A few boys were running a pizza game at a table nearby, spinning for toppings and loading up wicker plates. Two more had a block fort under construction in the corner, one of them wearing a paper crown the entire time, no explanation offered.

Two adult women and eighteen children pose on and in front of wooden pews in a large, bright hall.Several young children play with toy food and stuffed animals on a red and white checkered blanket indoors.Five young girls play with stuffed animals and toy food on a picnic blanket, with other children visible in the background.Two children play with toy food at a table in a bright classroom with other children and toys in the background.Two children play on a carpeted floor; one builds blocks on a rug, the other wears a crown and holds a toy.Three children play at a table with a toy pizza, spinners, and a puzzle box in a classroom.

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