Our Values

Inspired by the educational philosophy of the Preschools and Infant-Toddler Centers of Reggio Emilia, Italy, Laurelwood Community Preschool believes children are innately competent, capable and curious. Laurelwood enriches this curiosity by the following:

Respecting the child;
Building relationships with the child, the family, the community and nature;
Listening;
Providing a rich, complex, and safe environment for children to expand on their previous knowledge of the world around them;
Seeing children, teachers and parents as equal partners in the child's education, and;
Carrying out research to complete projects based on the children's interests and needs.

Research

Children are researchers.
Teachers are researchers - preparing documentation of their work with children.

Respect

For each other.
For others' ideas.
For materials.
For nature.

Relationships

With other children.
With the family.
With the teachers.
With the environment of the school.
With the community.
With society.

Listening

Adults actively listen to the children's ideas . . .
With their ears, their cameras, their tape recorders, written dialogues and notes of their conversations;
hearing their interests, joys, frustrations.
Children listen to each other . . .
Sharing ideas.
Collaborating.

Children, teachers and parents as partners

Parents have an active role in their children's learning experience.
Teachers listen and observe children, ask questions, and discover children's ideas, hypotheses and theories to be partners in learning.

A rich and complex environment

The school environment offers encounters, communication, relationships.
The environment is rich with many different open-ended quality materials.
The environment encourages choices, problem solving and discovery.

The child as competent person

Children have natural curiosity, potential, and interest in constructing their own learning. Children are not thought of as empty vessels that need to be filled with knowledge - they are capable and competent people. Adults can learn as much from children as children can learn from adults.