Education, Naturally. Arts based hands-on learning in a warm atmosphere. Caring for the heads, hearts, and hands of children from birth to 12 years old.
Educational Statement:
LittleLeaf llc School offers curriculum that is culturally and artistically diverse, academically challenging, using hands on and group activities through a whole child approach and can attach NYS Standards in the academic areas: Visual Arts, Music, Physical Education, Arithmetic, Mathematic experience, Science, Geography, U.S. History, Health Education, Home and Career Skills, Language Arts: Literature, Reading, Spelling, and Writing.
LittleLeaf llc. School will create and implement lessons that utilize a child’s interests, intrinsic motivation, historical significance, and real world practical applications. Each Monthly Lesson Unit will be a called a Main Lesson Block that focuses on one academic area while bringing in other academic areas to connect all areas for a whole understanding of the material being studied. Child led work time is also offered each day so that the student may choose to strengthen their education within their own interests. School Day length: 6 hours; 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. In attendance 173 days or 1,038 hours a year (23 days or 138 hours more than required by NYS).
Educational Philosophy:
LittleLeaf llc. School will follow a Waldorf and Montessori - inspired approach to education based in the theory of Multiple Intelligences.
Learning is interdisciplinary, integrating practical, artistic, and conceptual elements. The approach emphasizes the role of the imagination in learning, developing thinking that includes a creative as well as an analytic component. Our educational philosophy's overarching goals are to provide young people the basis on which to develop into free, morally responsible, and integrated individuals.
This type of education is unusual and perhaps unique in the consistency, thoroughness and creativity with which it implements curriculum that is based upon children's academic, emotional and physical development; its underlying principles continue a pedagogical tradition initiated by Comenius, Pestalozzi, and Herder. Its methodology encourages collaborative learning. The structure of the educational pedagogy follows theories of child development based on Piaget and Steiner, which describe three major developmental stages of childhood, the two that are imperative to 4-10 year olds are summarized below:
-In early childhood learning is largely experiential, imitative and sensory-based (age 4-6). LittleLeaf llc. emphasizes learning through practical activities, play, imagination, story telling, circle learning, artistic expression and basic, successful lessons in mathematical experience and language discovery.
-During the Elementary school years (age 7–9), learning is artistic and imaginative, and is guided and stimulated by creativity, artistic, and practical applications of knowledge. LittleLeaf llc. emphasizes developing children's emotional life and artistic expression across a wide variety of performing and visual arts integrated through academic areas to create connected and whole learning.
Vision
Our vision is to nurture children to become life-long learners, ambassadors of nature, and morally responsible students by developing the unique potential of each child through creative academics, time out of doors, community life, and fostering mutual respect guided by dedicated and loyal teachers.
Mission
LittleLeaf llc School provides a curriculum that is culturally and artistically diverse, academically challenging using hands on and group activities through a whole child approach. LittleLeaf llc. School creates and implements lessons that use children’s interests, intrinsic motivation, historical significance, and real world practical applications.
LittleLeaf Homestead School is based on honoring each child and their unique potentials. We educate the whole child using the LittleLeaf natural educational approach. This includes multi age classes using a blended curriculum of Waldorf inspired main lessons and stories, Montessori works, handwork, woodwork, yoga, music, the arts, hands on practical application/projects, out of doors exploration, survival and homesteading skills. The multi age groupings of children have more complex play dynamics and thus stimulate cognitive abilities, physical skills, and allow the children to learn in their zone of proximal development.
Education: art classes, children's yoga, preschool, homeschool classes, kindergarten, summer program, out of doors education.
