Kindergarten Parent
In a year filled with challenges and unpredictability, we are so grateful for the experience Wheeler has provided. In our search for an Early Childhood program, we prioritized a place that aligned with our own values and what we hope to install in our children at home: a curiosity and appreciation for the world around them, exposure to a diversity of perspectives and experiences, and a sense of pride and confidence in their own individual differences. Wheeler has provided that and so much more.
Beautifully expressed through the Kindergarten class’ motto: Open Minds, Kind Words & Grateful Hearts, these values are instilled in every aspect of the class. Our five-year old comes home each day proudly sharing stories of their gratitude tree, class discussions on the beauty of diversity, and the day’s latest outdoor adventure. These lessons are artfully weaved into the class through song, literacy, and mindful moments of peace and gratitude.
In particular, we have been tremendously grateful for the opportunity to have the program on the Farm this year. The nature-based learning approach has allowed for each area of instruction to come alive through hands-on activities, such as observing and sketching their surroundings, using bundles of sticks to engage in estimating and counting, gathering leaves and rocks to write about in their Science journals, and History lessons about the land on which they are on. Our daughter’s new favorite activity is to bring us to the Farm to show us the class’ newest discovery. The biodiversity of the Farm allows countless opportunities for imagination and creativity to run wild. As a class, they’ve created playgrounds from sticks, crystal shops, fairy homes, the list goes on. We are incredibly grateful for our “calm from the storm” in this trying time, knowing that our daughter is not only cared for, but is growing tremendously in developing her own sense of self, as well as an appreciation for the greater world around her. Particularly in a time of such division, we are appreciative of the Wheeler community and their strong commitment to approaching each decision with a sense of thoughtfulness and togetherness.
– Kindergarten Parent
