“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” ~ Albert Einstein
“What is your genius?”
According to Abraham Maslow, foundational needs must be meet in order for a person to reach their learning frontier. At Flower Farms Microschool, we believe (and have directly observed) that each child has a unique learning style, talents and abilities that unfold when we ensure their foundational needs are secured, including:
basic needs of food, water, adequate sleep, physical movement and exercise
a sense of safety, security and routine
a sense of belonging, relationship and being a part of a community
a feeling of accomplishment and self-esteem
creative outlets and problem-solving opportunities
Particularly in periods of cultural stress and social uncertainty, young people genuinely benefit from a loving educational environment that provides safety, promotes belonging and nurtures the natural unfolding of the whole human being.
Connect
We hold space throughout our daily routine for students and guides to connect with one another. This connection helps nurture a sense of belonging, readying our heart, bodies and minds for learning to take place. We hold space at the beginning of each day and throughout the day (through physical activity, meaningful conversation prompts, play and/or animal care) to help each person transition from home to our social life at school.
Wonder
Wonder is the capacity to experience the world with fresh, new, clear-eyed with a sense of awe and excitement. It is crucial to strong emotional and mental health. In a highly technological world, our sense of wonder is dimmed (in most) before we reach adulthood. Holding a space for wonder and offering opportunities for human creativity can help protect our children from distraction, disengagement and disorientation. Experiences of wonder hold space for our children to feel alive and connected within our natural world while they discover and strengthen within their unique gifts. The sense of wonder opens us all up to greater understanding, compassion and harmony within ourselves and for our fellow human beings so that we may thrive in an ever changing world.
Age Appropriate Learning
Age appropriate and developmental learning approaches consider age and maturity level (particularly during early childhood) while introducing concepts that prepare the ground for children to excel at learning in their later years. Because we offer a small, personalized learning environment, our students have the opportunity to study and master subject matter that meets them where they are. As they grow in their ability to absorb new material on a more routine basis they become more engaged. More importantly, they gain in self-confidence and self-identity while growing into empowered learners prepared to excel throughout their learning experience.
Healthy Risk Taking
Taking healthy risk is a skill that is be learned. In the practice of taking risk, children interact in physical and social activity where they observe their surroundings; evaluate and repeatedly test (natural/social) boundaries; strengthen and fine-tune their abilities.
Healthy risk such as: playing with heights and speed, rough play, playing around elements or using tools, offers children natural opportunities to fail and try again. Risk helps young people build physical strength, skill, spatial awareness, patience, perseverance, resilience/adaptability and self-confidence. Risk promotes that feeling of aliveness, increases mental wellbeing while reducing the potential for impulsivity or anxiety.
Peer Mentorship
We offer small class size (12 students/1 guide) in a multigrade learning environment. We encourage our students of varied ages and experience levels work and play together to help each other grow. Such relationships are less formal, yet, we've observed that these learning experiences are meaningful and mutually beneficial.
Recess is an integral part of our school day as it naturally promotes social and emotional learning that fosters a sense of belong and the overall health and wellbeing of our children. We encourage play in an open recess environment where students from all ages can weave in and out of active play, games and social life. Open recess offers opportunities for greater autonomy, cooperation and conflict resolution. Our students (grade K - 8) form strong bonds that feel closer to family than the ordinary school peer relationships.
Collaborative Work and Play
We embrace a collaborative work and play model of learning where students are not only encouraged to work in project teams, they engage in student-directed play with their peers of a varied age range (from age 6 to 14). During this type of work and play, our students enjoy the space and freedom to:
explore and discover their world together in wonder
take risk together and challenge one another
test physical and social boundaries
grow in their sense of agency (the ability to act or to choose what action to take)
practice conflict resolution
As mentors of collaborative work and play, our educational guides also work collaboratively on co-instructional lesson plans and other school activities modeling this process for our students.
Expectational Learners
Here at Flower Farms Microschool, we believe every member of our community brings a special gift to our community. We believe in inclusivity and equality for everyone. Our curriculum approach naturally lends itself to helping students discover the tools and strategies they need to be successful academically and social/emotionally. We work in partnership with speech and occupational therapy consultants to offer space for our exceptional learning to practice and strengthen social and academic abilities.