Research-Based Enrichment
At Sunhouse Nature School, our research-based curriculum provides students with novel learning experiences every day, with activities tailored to advance their cognitive, motor, and social-emotional development. We gift children with a foundation of numeracy and literacy skills while nurturing their imagination by offering a balance of both structured learning and child-led exploration. Our teaching philosophy follows the best practices of developmental and educational psychology, and is built on the principles of inquiry-based play, as accredited by BC’s Early Learning Framework. Our program integrates the tenants of Montessori with our skill-building activities and mixed-aged classes, the values of Reggio Emilia with our collaborative learning projects, and the philosophy of Waldorf with our experiential education curriculum.
Learning Journey Newsletters
Sunhouse Nature School families enjoy our weekly Learning Journey Newsletter, which highlights the incredible curriculum learning that their children enjoyed during the week, along with wonderful photos of the memories that they made. Families also receive an overview of what their children will be learning about during the following week, along with some conversation-starters to easily connect with their children's experiences after each class. At Sunhouse Nature School, children enjoy new activities every week, and we are proud to share our thoughtfully developed pedagogy with families.
Kindergarten Preparatory Learning
Families should not have to choose between the incredible developmental benefits of nature-based enrichment and the foundational skills of curriculum learning. Sunhouse Nature School is proud to offer a research-based program that provides both. Our outdoor program integrates literacy learning and hands-on numeracy games to build foundational skills that set children up for success. Through engaging games and hands-on applications, we empower children with early reading and mathematics skills without them even realizing they're learning.
Enhanced Classrooms
Outdoor learning provides endless opportunities for children to discover new challenges, connect with nature, breathe fresh air, and move freely. Each day brings new weather, wildlife, and plant growth - which encourages children to inquire about the world around them and bond through shared adventures. Our small groups of five mean children have the chance to form a meaningful sense of community while still having their needs met attentively. Each group is formed to honour different personalities and learning styles, so that children are set up to learn in an environment that is balanced and supportive.
Healthy Social Skills for Life
Sunhouse Nature School goes above industry-standards when it comes to our social-emotional education policies, because we know that modeling positive relationship skills in early childhood is essential to children’s lifelong well-being. We implement evidence-based policies that empower children to recognize and model healthy relationship dynamics, develop positive self-esteem, and build resiliency.
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Inquiry-Based Learning
Inquiry-based learning involves recognizing children’s curiosities and encouraging them to meaningfully investigate their questions about the world. Instead of simply answering children's big questions for them, we offer guidance and resources so that children may embark on their own investigative projects to uncover these answers for themselves. This not only lets children develop a deeper understanding of the topic, it also allows for a more engaging and motivating learning experience, one that is full of exciting experiments and imaginative ideas. This approach allows children to follow their interests and make increasingly complex discoveries.
Play-Based Learning
Play-based learning recognizes that children's innate drive to learn is expressed through play. Instead of limiting children to the standards of adult learning, educators are able to apply the scientifically-backed approach of play-based learning in the classroom. Children’s ability to process complex problems and ideas through play ensures that their learning is meaningful, enjoyable, and challenging.
Pedagogy of Listening
Active listening is a fundamental tool in supporting children's early learning. A pedagogy of listening involves engaging attentively with children's thoughts, feelings, and expressions in order to identify their strengths, curiosities, and areas for growth. This requires educators to first cultivate an atmosphere of trust and respect, where children's perspectives are valued, so that they feel comfortable sharing their experiences, ideas, and concerns. In response, educators can then provide each child with a truly meaningful, challenging, and collaborative learning experience.
Social Skills & Safety
Our mission is to create a new standard for how children are protected in the early childhood education industry. Through evidence-based practices, our organization is structured according to the values of transparency, accountability, and collective responsibility towards protecting children. This involves instilling children with protective factors against maltreatment, such as building positive self-esteem, modelling age-appropriate boundaries and communication, respecting the right to bodily autonomy and privacy, dismantling social intimidation and secret-keeping, and empowering children to voice their needs. We teach this by modelling these practices as a core part of our class policies. These practices seek to build children’s long-term protective factors against maltreatment, but they are also the building-blocks of positive social skills that children will use to build respectful and caring friendships.