Our Philosophy

We believe that all children have the right to love and to be loved.

We believe that parents are the most important people in young children’s lives; we partner with parents to develop a shared appreciation of each amazing, unique child. Not so very long ago, communities took on the responsibility of raising children together as families lived nearer to one another and day to day support was more available. We are a small program and a close-knit community that emulates the value that each of the children in the group is “our child.” Diversity, equity and inclusion are central to our values and we embrace the similarities and differences we have to share with one another. A Birchsong education is an anti-bias education.

We believe that the early years of life are vital to the development of the mind, body and spirit of a healthy human being; they should be relished and never hurried. Life is short and childhood is shorter so let’s do this right.

We believe children have tremendous sensing abilities and deserve to have pleasant qualities in their environment: beautiful, natural materials, the aroma of tasty things in the air, healthy, wholesome and delicious food on their plates.

We believe children have the right to challenging and interesting curriculum. We believe that young children have fascinating ideas and tremendous abilities. We believe they have the right to express themselves in many ways, through many mediums. These may include (but are not limited to) speaking, singing, dancing, acting, story writing, drawing, sculpting with clay and painting with watercolors, laughing with friends, nursery rhymes, natural sciences, developing an understanding of mathematics, cooking, playing, puppetry, poetry, playing games and digging in the sandbox.

We believe that being in nature makes us more present, self-regulated and connected to our wild and precious world. Children are invited to be still and active in nature, and to develop a meaningful relationship with all that lives and grows.

We believe that one of the ways children learn is through imitation and modeling. Therefore, caregivers participate with the environment of the classroom and outdoors engaging in cooking, gardening, cleaning and setting a positive example of being in the world. We believe that as privileged caregivers we have the responsibility of behaving in the ways we want children to behave in speaking with respect and kindness, sharing a responsible work ethic, providing a positive attitude toward plants and animals and generally working toward peace in the world.

We believe that each child has an individual sense of self-worth that should be respected and nurtured in a loving and peaceful environment. Concurrently, we believe people learn through interactions with other people and gently guide the children (both in individual and group work) in the development of multiple intelligences.

We believe in Education for Peace.

Mostly, though, we just relish in the opportunity to develop relationships with the children and families who come together to grow and learn during this wondrous time of life.

Welcome to Birchsong, where Children’s Natures are Nurtured.