Mission and Philosophy
We believe children are strong, capable, resilient, and rich with wonder, curiosity, and ways of knowing.
Our Mission
Our mission is to establish a community that offers children authentic learning experiences within interesting contexts. We aspire to deepen their curiosity by providing the tools and opportunities for independent exploration, encouraging a sense of wonder.
Our team of educators collaborates with the children and families, consistently working to elevate essential skills. These include honing abilities such as focus, perspective-taking, negotiation, effective communication, establishing connections, problem-solving, risk-taking, and fostering self-directed, engaged learning. Throughout this process, we maintain a profound belief in the image of the child as a capable, intelligent, powerful, and peaceful human being.
We aim to create an environment that goes beyond conventional teaching methods, focusing on empowering children to participate actively in their own learning journey. By instilling a love for exploration and discovery, we seek to spark a lifelong passion for learning and an understanding of the world around them. We are fostering these qualities that extend far beyond the classroom and into their future endeavors.
“Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water. Through an active, reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning and how to learn.“— Loris Malaguzzi
Philosophy
Our educational philosophy draws inspiration from the works of influential thinkers such as Loris Malaguzzi, John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and Jerome Brunner. Our approach, grounded in social constructivism, underscores the significance of community support and active parental involvement.
In our learning community, teachers assume diverse roles that extend beyond traditional American preschool norms. We embrace the roles of learners, co-researchers, observers, documenters, and relationship builders, fostering a dynamic and collaborative environment.
The physical environment itself serves as an additional teacher within our preschool. Thoughtfully designed, it informs and engages the children, creating an atmosphere conducive to exploration and discovery.
Long-term projects take place based on the interests of the children, which will ensure a more profound understanding. Children are encouraged to develop hypotheses, test them, and create new theories based on the outcomes. Exploration and discoveries take place regularly. The children learn to work productively in large and small groups as they co-construct knowledge, fostering a sense of community and shared understanding.
The children are encouraged to use a variety of languages to express their ideas: drawing, sculpting, painting, constructing, representing, dramatic playing, moving, music playing, and many others. This multi-faceted approach recognizes and nurtures the diverse ways children communicate and understand the world around them.