“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.” — Maria Montessori
With a great respect for the sanctity of childhood, we say, “let the child be a child!” Our school environment meets the needs of each individual child for the development of their cognitive, physical, social, and emotional growth.
A Love of Learning
It’s inspiring to watch a child engaged in a task, as they put their whole self into absorbing, analyzing and mastering each new challenge that crosses their path. It’s important for us that we provide a school environment that capitalizes on that inquisitive nature and builds a lifelong love a learning. We accomplish this through our Montessori guides who provide individualized instruction to keep each child optimally challenged. The Montessori materials that the children work with are developmentally appropriate and aim to teach them to problem solve and think.
Take a moment to remember back to your your early school year, and surely your friends will be your strongest memories. This is an important time for our children to begin fostering strong relationships outside of the home and to build their social skills. Working together to solve problems and learning to resolve conflicts among friends will be skills they will build on for the rest of their lives. Having a multi-age classroom allows our younger students to learn from their older counterparts, and builds the confidence of our older students as they assist and guide the younger students.
Maria Montessori herself said “never let a child risk failure until he has a reasonable chance of success.” Our school environment will guide and nurture the learning process, ensuring that each student feels safe in taking educational risks and advancing their knowledge.
Health Body, Healthy Community
We are lucky to live on an island that is rich in farmland and encircled by waters full of seafood. Our community boasts farmers’ markets, CSAs, community gardens and talented proprietors selling fresh, local and nutritious meals. Educating children early about healthy food options will impact their long-term health and we aim to provide an environment that supports mindful meal choices. Part of that education will be growing our own vegetables and cooking together.
Play in Nature
To watch a child gently cradling two wiggly worms in her palm, creating a nest in his bucket for a friendly ladybug, and catch snowflakes on their tongues; is a fast reminder of the importance of nature in education. Being in nature can bring a peacefulness to the spirit and inspire the mind with the sounds and smells and colors that so magically shift through the seasons. Spending time outdoors in an important part of our daily rhythm ALL year long and our location enables lessons to flow from inside to out.