Part 1:

"The del Sol Difference"

The palpable energy of "The del Sol Difference" is the passionate engagement of our students and teachers pursuing the truth of the above proposition, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." This "Difference" is rooted in del Sol's commitment to the development and integration of the whole child within a "hands-on & minds-on" social constructivist learning philosophy, which has gained international high esteem due to the high quality of implementation shared by Early Childhood educators in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Many preschools in the USA and around the world have been transformed by it and call themselves "Reggio-inspired," including del Sol.

First and foremost, permeating all aspects of our program, is Relationships. Children and teachers build strong relationships with each other, AND with themselves, through daily opportunities for connection, friendshipping, helping, co-operating, negotiating, expressing feelings & needs peacefully, listening compassionately, solving problems creatively, and cultivating inner resources and skills for developing self-awareness, personal empowerment, and moral character.

At del Sol we seek to nurture kind, caring, humane learners who are excited, autonomous, self-confident learners who love school and succeed in their young lives.

The wide array of our rich, developmentally appropriate environment is thoughtfully and intentionally chosen to honor individual growth, creativity, and generate successes which sustain children’s natural enthusiasm for learning. Play-based creative teaching & learning and an emergent, project-based curriculum focusing on relevancy, meaning, children's interests and passions provide the rich soil to support children’s diverse abilities, interests, learning styles, and Multiple Intelligences. Creativity and higher level thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and creative problem solving develop as children apply their expanding knowledge and skills in relevant, meaningful contexts, supporting deep, integrated growth. In such an environment children experience a breadth of human learning -- feeling, thinking, connecting, engaging, creating, transforming -- as the central process of living which supports them interacting with the world with skillful confidence and assurance.