A parent tells about her child’s increased ability to focus after several months at Arts in the Garden School:

“He was so focused starting with paper, then painting, then adding  glue, and then punching holes

and running yarn through the holes as well as gluing yarn to the paper. 

This is very different for him, too.  He used to ask to paint, and then paint something quickly 

and be ready to move on.  He is developing this way of delving into what he’s working

on that is really great to see!”

At Arts in the Garden we believe that children learn best though experiences that are meaningful to them

and that incorporate learning through social contexts that reach across the curriculum.

We work alongside children to help support their natural investigations and expand possibilities

as a community of thinkers and learners through both short and long-term projects.

We also believe in respecting children’s individual needs by providing an environment where

play, discovery, imagination, questioning and curiosity can evolve in multiple ways.

We are guided by social constructivist theories of learning that are inspired by the

beautiful and intelligent philosophy from the educators of Reggio Emilia, Italy

who in the late 1940’s began developing this acclaimed approach to educating the whole child.

Known as the Reggio Approach this philosophy encourages children’s inquiries about their world

with a strong emphasis on creative arts, a sense of beauty and environmental inspirations

as a way to nurture symbolic thinking and expression.

The Reggio Emilia approach is studied worldwide by educators and researchers

and incorporated into the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

developmentally appropriate practice guidelines (DAP) among others.

It is an arts integrated project-based learning approach that covers all curricula

and what key educational leaders,

 including Howard Gardner (Harvard theorist of Multiple Intelligences),

claim to be one of the best approaches in early childhood education.

Using documentation that is open to a wide range of media,

learning is made visible as project explorations unfold and children

develop skills that enhance self-esteem, social and emotional development,

and critical and creative thinking across the academic domains.