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Dear readers: Please keep in mind that this document is a work in progress, and please come back often to check updates and revisions!
Educational Philosophy and Curriculum
At Honeywood, we believe that a healthy learning environment is one where children's individual strengths, challenges and preferences are acknowledged and where learning can proceed at the child's pace in each area of development. Our curriculum provides opportunities for each child to:
*Develop social, physical, and academic skills at an individual pace.
*Build integrated knowledge in core academic areas (including basic skills such as reading, writing and mathematics as well as content from the natural and social sciences).
*Explore a variety of interdisciplinary activities that spark children’s interests and make learning meaningful, which may be initiated by the teachers, the group as a whole, or individual students.
Developmental Foundations
These are the areas of development in which each child is supported throughout their days at school, regardless of age.
For the youngest of our students, ages 4 to 6, they are the focus of the curriculum.
Sensory-motor development. A child's sesnsory (principally auditory and visual) perception of the world, and the physical activity with which they interact with it, which shape how they learn.
Social and emotional development. The child's understanding of his/her own emotions and behavior, as well as their interactions and relationships with others, are also important aspects of the educational experience.
Oral language, cognitive and metacognitive development. The mental manipulation of concepts and their connections.
Academic Skills
These are the specific abilities that are the building blocks for further academic learning, and the focus of our curriculum for students aged approximately 6 to 9.
Language and Literacy (English): Oral language (speaking and listening), and literacy (reading and writing) are central to our program.
Mathematics - Number sense basics, arithmetic, geometry, and algebra - is part of our core work time on daily basis.
Logic and Critical Thinking - Deductive and inductive reasoning, and the principles of the scientific method are all imbued throughout the curriculum.
Optional: A Foreign Language (Spanish) in all its aspects (listening, speaking, reading and writing) can be gently introduced to the child as part of our daily interactions, at the family's request.
Core Content Curriculum
Part of our learning time each session is devoted to our Core Content Curriculum, "Beginnings". This is material I've created and gathered over the years which integrates the natural and social sciences into a comprehensive narrative. It is meant for each individual student in our mixed age group to work at his or her own academic and developmental level to process and interact with the concept and ideas presented. One of the ways we interact with the content is through oral and written language: for the younger kids,this means simply hearing the unfolding narrative and asking questions, while for the slightly older ones it might also include participating in guided discussions, preparing presentations, gleaning information from books, videos and other materials, writing reports, poems, and creating their own stories based on a specific topic.
Another way for the students to interact with the content is through hands-on, kinesthetic exploration: by observing and participating in demonstrations and simulations, designing and building models, creating visual art and preparing performances that reflect their learning of a particular subject matter.
The following are some wide subject areas we gradually incorporate into our studies:
Part I: The Beginnings of the Universe: An introduction to Astronomy, Physics, Geology, Geography and Ecology
Part II: The Beginnings of Life: An introduction to Chemistry, Biology, Paleontology, Botany and Zoology
Part III: The Beginnings of Humanity: An introduction to Human Anatomy, Psychology, Archeology, and Pre-History
Group Explorations
Alternating with the teacher-led Core Curriculum, we often embark on group "Explorations" of other topics of study, from areas of knowledge such as World History and Cultures, Technology and Applied Sciences. Our approach here is guided by the combination of a long-term vision that includes self-motivated learners, with an educational philosophy that allows us to take advantage of opportunities that may present themselves spontaneously (as a result of a child's experiences in or out of school, exposure to events or information at school, at home or out in the community, which may have sparked their curiosity). The world brings up things that are some times just too interesting to pass up! When this happens, we might put our "programmed" learning on hold for a while in order to seize the unplanned learning opportunities.
Explorations might include simple, short-term activities (such as looking up Route 66 online, after one child got reminded of a song about it when spotting Flagstaff, Arizona on his U.S. map placemat during lunch) or become more involved, long-term projects (such as identifying and preserving our growing collection of leaves and seed pods collected during daily nature walks). This is where some of the most high-energy, motivated learning often comes from, when children are not only allowed but encouraged to bring up their own questions, build on each other's curiosity and skills, and are supported in their investigations.
Personal Projects: Individual Academic Content Extensions
We know children are individuals and as such, particularly as they get older, they may have special interests that drive their motivation, apart from the content of the teacher-led Core Curriculum, and from impromptu group- or peer-led explorations. These passions often provide excellent learning opportunities not just for our older students themselves, but for their educational community. All Honeywood students are encouraged to make these individual connections and, particularly once they are past the stage of building those basic academic skills, are given regular opportunities to delve deeper into those "rabbit trails" that engage their minds. For these older students, our teachers will go out of their way to facilitate their learning through the developing of personal projects that are student-led, independently pursued, and provide a balance to the teacher-led Core Curriculum, and the group-led Explorations. Our vision is that as children mature, they will become increasingly independent learners, with a growing capacity for pursuing their passions, thus building their identities and finding their place in the world.
Thank you for reading our curriculum overview. Please feel free to contact us with any further questions!
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Honeywood Curriculum