Respect, Play and Community
The driving values of Respect, Play and Community are not unique to the Dewey School, but our distinctive perspective and approach is.
Respect
Children are capable individuals who thrive when treated with respect and encouragement. By recognizing their potential to face challenges and master new skills, we foster an where they can grow and succeed. Let's celebrate accomplishments and support their journey towards confidence and competence. Together we can cultivate a brighter future for our children.
Play
Play embodies freedom, allowing individuals to explore their interests while enhancing problem-solving skills and learning. It invites joy in discovering the natural world encouraging the ability to take physical risks and understand personal limits. Embracing play fosters growth and resilience, creating a space where learning thrives through exploration and experience.
Community
At Dewey, we believe that every child deserves a supportive community where learning thrives. Our spaces fosters respect and collaboration, equipping our children with essential skills in negotiation and conflict resolution. Together, parents and teachers create a strong network that connects and empowers our children, ensuring they have the village they need to grow and succeed. Join us in building a nurturing environment for all!
What is a Nature-Based Pre School?
Dr. Patti Bailie, a pioneer of research on the nature preschool movement who currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of Maine at Farmington, and Ken Finch, Founding Director of Green Hearts Institute for Nature in Childhood, offer three main criteria to distinguish nature preschools:
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Nature is the central organizing concept of the program. That is, nature is the integrating thread that intentionally ties together the preschool’s philosophy, methodologies, classroom design, outdoor spaces, and public identity.
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The program of a nature preschool is based on high-quality practices of both early childhood education (developmentally appropriate practices) and environmental education (the North American Association for Environmental Education’s “Guidelines for Excellence in Environmental Education” and principles of interpretation), requiring its teaching staff to have skills and experience in both early childhood education and environmental education
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A nature preschool program uses the natural world to support dual goals that address both child development and conservation values. These include the development of the world of the child (in all domains – cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and aesthetic) and the development of an ecological identity or environmental ethic.
Benefits of Nature-based Learning
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Improvement in gross motor skills
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Cultivate stewardship for our planet
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Connection to nature
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Children who play regularly in natural settings are sick less often.
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Stimulate children's imagination.
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Children who spend more time outside tend to be more physically active and less likely to be overweight.
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Encourages creativity
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Improves language
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Builds self-confidence and competence through confidently negotiating risk
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Children who play in nature have more positive feelings about each other.
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Bullying behavior is greatly reduced where children have access to diverse nature-based play environments.
What is Reggio-Inspired?
Developed by Loris Malaguzzi in the post WWII era, Reggio is an approach; an educational philosophy, not a “program.” Born from the philosophies of Froebel, Dewey, and Montessori, Malaguzzi’s Reggio Emilia Approach (REA) to education is rooted in the following understandings:
The child as a protagonist. The Reggio approach emphasizes the importance of having a strong image of the child. This means believing that children are capable and curious. Children have a natural desire to explore the world around them and make sense of it. With the Reggio philosophy, children are encouraged to become researchers and to explore their environment and world around them. What could be better than exploring the hundreds of acres of grounds at the Village, watching the seasons unfold around them, being influenced by the symmetry of the building architecture, and feeling the legacy of peacefulness?
The child as a collaborator. REA is focused on children collaborating with each other, with teachers, and with parents on projects and activities. Children are able to construct their own approaches to learning by collaborating with their peers.
The child as a communicator. The Reggio approach promotes the concept that children have “The Hundred Languages” through which to express themselves.
The environment as the third teacher. “It has been said that the environment should act as a kind of aquarium which reflects the ideas, ethics, attitudes and cultures of the people who live in it. This is what we’re working toward.” ~Loris Malaguzzi
The teacher is partner, nurturer and guide, as opposed to the disseminator of knowledge. The teacher is a co-constructor of knowledge, assisting children in developing questions of the world around them and pursuing the answers. The teacher is the supporter of the competent child.
The teacher as a researcher. The teacher observes and listens to children discovering clues and developing strategies that support the learning of their students. This is a continuous process as all children approach learning in different ways and in their own time frame.
Documentation is communication through photographs. Displaying student activity, transcriptions of student remarks, and representations of their thinking enable learning to be visible. This documentation is organized and displayed for students and parents to see and guides the work and experiences of the children.
The parent as a partner in their child’s education. Family and parent participation is expected, supported, and essential for student success.
