Our Approach
Our mission is to guide and support children’s early development so that they may grow stronger into the confident, expressive and thoughtful human beings they are meant to be. We provide a safe, nurturing and beautiful space where children can thrive and support children’s early learning and growth through creative experience, exploratory inquiry and documentation. We aim to nurture young children's innate interests, curiosities and capacities by listening to them and co-creating experiences with them. Our methods utilize the environment, documentation, story play, materials exploration, art, poetry, music, and dance to develop a truly child-centered, developmentally appropriate, emergent curriculum.
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." - W.B.Yeats
Child-centered and Inquiry-led Perspective
Children deserve to be listened to and encouraged to pose their own questions. This enables them to work through solving problems and challenges them to engage in reflection as they develop their own ideas. We celebrate the unique proclivities and the integrity of each child! Honing the strengths of children supports positive self-awareness as they grow. Our program aims to teach children to appreciate their own abilities, knowledge, experience, and feelings and, in turn, come to appreciate the abilities, knowledge and experience of others.
"Play is the highest form of research."- Albert Einstein
"Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning". - Mr. Rogers
We support children best by following their natural curiosities and inklings and by setting up wondrous environments whereby they are free to play and create. We intertwine the expressive arts, play and the environment to teach and engage the whole child. Our practice is engaging, child-centered and developmentally attuned to individual children. Creative “flow” and being in community lie at the heart of the deepest learning. We value the integrity and dignity of all children and we celebrate the diversity of world experiences they bring with them. Because our philosophy is child-centered, play-based and project/process oriented, we can develop emergent curriculum. Thus, our curriculum is ever changing and expanding with each new group of children in our care. We view learning as fun and the process as an exciting, wondrous adventure.
"Creativity takes courage."- Henry Matisse
Our Curriculum
Our curriculum centers on interdisciplinary arts. We try to integrate visual arts, music, creative movement, dramatic story play, puppetry, light and shadow theater, nature and science exploration, sensory play, adventures in group planning and social skill development.
Our philosophy is child-centered, holistic and inquiry based. We believe that children thrive when given permission to explore sensory rich materials, to direct their own learning, and to share their thoughts and feelings. Guided play, provided by caring, interested and listening adults, lies at the heart of our practice. We know that every child is unique and filled with potential and therefore we focus our attention on children's strengths. Our teachers are fun and dedicated to making the learning experience a positive one for every child.
We are influenced by the Reggio-Emilia approach, the play theories of Lev Vygotsky and many other leaders in the importance of play and the multi-modal arts in early-childhood development. These approaches aim to help children develop a sense of self and the executive functioning skills fundamental to becoming life-long learners. At Willow Nest Studio, children develop their potentials and skills needed for school readiness in a holistic way. It is our goal to serve the whole being of each child so that they may be helped to grow their potentials as innovative thinkers and caring citizens of the world.
