The philosophy behind the Watering Whole is based on my 11 years of teaching and the collective research and education both Inger and myself have received up until this point. It is focused on the understanding that:

• Every child is unique and different and should be treated as such.
• Children learn through relationships and need be respected, loved and feel safe in order to learn and grow optimally.
• Children learn through imitation and from absorbing from their environment, so will watch and imitate the adults/people and things going on around them.
• Children learn through play and hands-on, sensory rich, interactive experiences where they move and explore using their whole body.
• Children do not learn in a linear fashion, but rather through repeated exposure over time.
• The primary focus of these foundational years should be on the richness of the soil and strength of the roots not the size or aesthetics of the plant…In other words these preschool years are focused on building that strong foundation which is the base on which all other learning in years to come will build upon.

So what exactly are all those foundational concepts we are working on in our curriculum?

For the next few weeks will will start to explore what may be considered three main formal learning areas that are covered in education. You may have heard the term the 3Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic) introduced back in the 1800’s by Sir William Curtis as the basis of education; and whilst a lot has evolved in education since then it is still very clear that these 3 skills are all incredibly important basics in education from which many other skills are learnt. During these early years a lot of this learning is done through experiences that provide indirect subconscious preparation, as the foundation is being laid for these skills to later develop.

We hope you enjoy our Winter Themed curriculum as we share with you some thoughts and ideas on how to lay a solid foundation for reading and writing skills to develop in your little one…