WHY CHOOSE FIDDLEHEADS URBAN FOREST PRESCHOOL?
Early childhood is the most important time in life for building a strong sense of self, belonging, creativity, and connection to the natural world. At Fiddleheads, children lay the foundation for these life sustaining connections through outdoor play. Nature study, immersion into seasonal rhythms, and interpersonal relations are the core tenets of our program. We believe in encouraging children to explore freely while focusing on mindfulness, awareness, observation, and empathy. Our philosophy is built around connection to both the natural and human worlds. We weave early literacy and number sense into our program, and prepare children to move with confidence and grace on the next steps in their academic journey. WHY NATURE BASED? The years of early childhood are the most formative of any person’s life. Children are undergoing crucial brain and personality development every moment of every day. Research at some of the most successful school systems on the planet (particularly in Scandinavia and Northern Europe) has shown that early childhood education that addresses the whole self is the most effective in a play-based, nature-based setting. Young children are forming an understanding of themselves in the world. Exploring socialization on their own terms in a natural environment, children come to understand their place in the world through each other as well as the other species that surround us. Exposing them to nature on a daily basis helps to expand their sense of self, sense of purpose, and sense of community. Our goal at Fiddleheads is to endow your child with the gift of deep appreciation, understanding, and gratitude for the natural world. Through this process, they will also gain a life-long advantage in problem-solving, patience and confidence. These gifts, we believe, are invaluable. |
What Parents Say:
“As humans continue to struggle with re-finding our place in the natural world, I am grateful for a preschool like Fiddleheads where my daughter’s intuition to appreciate Nature has been supported by the daily outdoor exploration provided by the school which has her sliding down rainy mudslides during the wet season at Mt Tabor, growing food in the school’s backyard garden to become their future snacks, and developing an awareness of her surroundings through learning to recognize bird calls.” - Jesse Narens "Our family feels so fortunate to have found this beautiful school. Our son is highly sensitive, and was going through a big year with lots of changes - a new baby brother, friends moving away. After a year at Fiddleheads, we've seen such strides in his confidence and emotional growth, and I know it's in part due to the nurturing environment and attentive care he receives at Fiddleheads. Jessica has created a thoughtful, lovely space for children to grown, play, and learn, and she and her staff care about each child and their individual needs. Our little one has loved the vegetable garden, daily trips to explore Mt. Tabor Park, and learning about nature in a small group of kids. I can't say enough good things. This is preschool as it should be. Every kid should be so lucky." - Stephanie Smith "I cannot imagine a more enriching preschool experience for our daughter who thrived in the forest as much as she did during indoor time. Teacher Jessica and staff bring a dynamic and immersive curriculum around nature and science together with a warm and grounded social/emotional early learning environment. My daughter is very well prepared for Kindergarten and notices more things in the Forest than anyone else in our family, from naming different kinds of trees based on leaves she finds to identifying hidden nests. My daughter also has excellent body awareness that I attribute to both the mindfulness work as well as the outdoor time that she had daily at school. We also enjoyed the Fiddleheads online program which begins with a very sweet morning circle and provides interesting seasonal activities for the day. The days during the pandemic when we followed the online instruction were, by far, our best days. I would recommend Fiddleheads to any parent looking for a contemporary, whole child and high quality approach to early childhood education that simultaneously maintains those most wonderful traditions of seasonal celebration and childhood magic that we rejoice in passing on to our children." -Emily B.
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