In short, because Wildflower is committed to helping children develop their social and emotional skills, we chose a forest school, Reggio Emilia-inspired approach. We believe these two educational philosophies best support children as they navigate the early years. Research is solid that time spent in nature supports mental health and well-being. Similarly, the Reggio Emilia approach values the importance of relationships and fosters relationships early to provide a foundation for children to create a joyful life. The combination of the forest and Reggio approaches is ideal for creating an environment where children thrive both intellectually as well as emotionally. This combination is absolutely essential for human development.

 

Knowing the alphabet is great, but if a child can't develop authentic friendships, practice empathy for self and others, practice learning from peers and using her imagination to resolve challenges creatively, knowing the alphabet really won't matter very much. Early knowledge of the alphabet certainly does not increase a child's sense of well-being.

 

Wildflower deeply values children's competence and ability to learn. We recognize that children's play is their serious work. We do not subscribe the belief that earlier is inherently better but believe that supporting children's natural interest in traditional learning inquiries (reading, math, etc) is the most effective means of inspiring intellectual curiosity. We follow the research every step along our learning journey with children.

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Wildflower stands apart from other forest schools because we prioritize supporting children as they learn the social and emotional skills they need to love themselves and others fully and joyfully. Children do not spontaneously develop tools for living - these tools are thoughtfully taught. When these skill-building experiences are not intentionally and consistently offered to them by adults adept at practicing and teaching these skills, children are unable to effectively navigate relationships, conflict, and strong emotions. Wildflower places emotional intelligence and intellectual curiosity above academics and other learning objectives. We believe that academic learning is best built on a foundation of self-awareness, self-regulation, a sense of safety and trust in the world, empathy and relational skills. 

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Give your child the head start that really matters. Give them a Wildflower education.