Educational philosophies

We truly are unique at 10 Acre Wood, and it is important and fair that families considering enrollment at 10 Acre Wood understand this.

 

These beliefs are all rooted in respecting children for who they are and where they are in their journey. With everything we do we ask ourselves "does this respect the child?". One thing we do to respect children is continually educate ourselves further in our practice of early childhood education. Another is in the way we handle behavior guidance at 10 Acre Wood. We rely on building a relationship with the child, modeling appropriate behavior, helping children to label and handle emotions in a positive and constructive way to teach appropriate behavior in a way that is developmentally appropriate for a preschooler. 

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10 Acre Wood relies on three core beliefs for our educational philosophy. The first is that 10 Acre Wood is a child-led program. Much like a Waldkindergarten program or Montessori model of education, our philosophy is that all activities, discovery and exploration will occur intrinsically without adult intervention or formal instruction. Another important belief is the belief in utilizing the outdoor classroom as much as possible. Finally, the third core belief at 10 Acre Wood is that preschool aged children should be focused on developing social-emotional skills that will benefit them the rest of their lives. These skills can only be developed during this short window in their lives. 

 

While academics and assessment are present at 10 Acre Wood in their own way, the primary objective of a child’s education here is for the child to develop an empathetic bond with the natural world and to provide a safe opportunity to interact with other children and adults to develop important socio-emotional lifelong skills.