Education FAQs
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A PLAY-BASED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT?
A play-based learning environment creates happy children. Children are free to choose what and whom they want to engage with which makes their learning meaningful and enjoyable. As they are playing, they are unknowingly developing numerous skills. They develop critical thinking and problem solving skills, they enhance language development and communication skills. Children learn to collaborate with their peers. They have opportunities for cognitive, emotional, social and physical development. Children can be creative and imaginative which results in an overall positive attitude towards learning. As Maria Montessori said: “Play is the Work of a Child”.
WHAT ARE THE CHILDREN LEARNING?
Every day the children are free to choose which learning areas they want to engage in and how much time they want to spend in each area. Click here to get an overview of the learning areas. Every two weeks we introduce a new unit as an overarching theme which gets developed during circle time. That theme also gets tied into the different learning areas. Click here to see an overview of our curriculum with the learning units we cover in a school year.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A MIXED AGE GROUP?
Mixed-age groups are wonderful. This model is Montessori-inspired and practiced in German preschools. Older children act as role-models for younger children which builds confidence and younger children learn from older children as they observe them and play with them. A mixed-aged group is the most natural setting, too. It acts more like a family where each member has their function, place and responsibility. Children develop differently so a mixed-age group allows every child to develop at their own pace.
HOW ARE THE NEEDS OF EACH CHILD MET?
Our goal is to keep the large space of over 3000 sq ft. as open as possible to allow much movement and freedom of choice for the children. So at times all students will be in the same classroom. However, we divide the children in groups and each group will have their own schedule. The division will depend on the ability and developmental level of the children. So for outside time, circle time, and learning time, the children will be working in their respective group while the other group will be on another schedule.
DO YOU TEACH THE ALPHABET AND NUMBERS?
Yes - playfully. Children are constantly, playfully exposed to academics. Children will find letters, numbers, shapes, and colors sprinkled in the different learning areas. As they are engaging with the playing materials they are also interacting with alphabet stamps, number cookie cutters, etc. Academics is also a big part of circle time where we work on letter recognition, counting, number recognition, sorting, matching and many other skills.
DO YOU HAVE AN OUTSIDE SPACE?
Yes. Children have direct access to the outside space and each group goes outside several times a day. The space includes a playhouse, two sandboxes, a mud kitchen, planters for children to do gardening and observe insects, a ball and bike area, an easel, benches to eat and write on, and other engaging areas. The space could be bigger but it contains several meaningful, natural, and engaging areas to maximize the usefulness of the space and make it as engaging as possible for the children.