In Kelly Stevens' kindergarten classroom, each day begins with circle time for what sounds like a menu of lesson options.

Students — or "friends" as Stevens calls them — can read at the green table, they can build boats or make things out of clay, among other options.....

.....Play-based activities like this one at Curtis Guild School are part of a new curriculum that Boston has been rolling out over the last five years. It's a deliberate shift away from the "kindergarten as the new first grade," way of thinking that's become common in early childhood circles.

The thinking is that play, student-led activities and lots of choices work just as well for older kids.

"I used to be very regimented and structured," explains Stevens. "I didn't like the blocks because it was messy and it was loud."

Stevens has been with the Boston public schools for almost 20 years. For most of her career, she was in the front of the classroom, while the students watched and learned in desks and seats. Now, her room is filled with play stations; there's a jungle corner, a painting area, even a mini kitchen.

"Instead of this sort of top-down approach where the teachers have the knowledge, you have to let the kids explore," says Jason Sachs, the district's director of early childhood education.....

.....So, is all of this effort actually making a difference? That's what a group of researchers at the University of Michigan, Harvard and MDRC are investigating in Boston.....

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