1. Nurturing the right values
Helping each other, guideline enabling freedom, creativity
Our mission is to provoke and inspire children and provide an environment that is safe, developmentally appropriate, and joyful. We believe that children are naturally capable, confident, diligent, and inquisitive. We will support their emotional, physical, social, and cognitive development through observation of play and child-led discussions, leading to inquiry-based child directed projects. Through regular documentation, we help children, parents, and teachers track their learning so they can enrich and deepen their understanding of the world they live in.
2. Involving the parents
nurturing environment, confidence building community
Participation in the education of their children is a parent’s right and important responsibility. Our teachers are committed to establishing and sustaining strong and respectful relationships with parents, famiies, and other caretakers in our children’s lives. Parents and families are invited to participate in every possible way. Some examples would be: becoming a member of the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association), volunteering to work in the classroom, attending activities, attending field trips, doing community service together, assisting with workshops and parent education classes, teaching “special interest” lessons, donating to the school, and many many more! The participation of local community members is also strongly encouraged and expected. At Villaggio dei Bambini, education is viewed as a community responsibility and we welcome any suggestions from the community on how to better integrate school and community.
3. Facilitating rather than “teaching”
enable self-discovery of man-made and natural systems
At Il Villaggio dei Bambini, teachers co-construct learning as guides to self-directed inquiry-based activities. They are partners with the child, mentors, and caretakers of the “third teacher”—the classroom environment which inspires children and scaffolds their learning. They are also researchers and documenters who listen to children, document their learning journey, and collect evidence of growth and development to make this learning visible. As guides, teachers also expect much of the “teaching” to come from the children themselves, as older or more advanced children assist peers in learning concepts they have already mastered.
As a member of the beautiful nature-infused Lam Tsuen, Villaggio dei Bambini is also devoted to exploring the third teacher found in the natural environment outside the classroom as well. Our program fosters children’s understanding of, and relationship to, our Earth and the natural world through exploration of and meaningful interactions with natural materials such as water, wood, and soil, both inside and outside the classroom.