Willow Roots’ mission is to cultivate a safe community of inspired learners through a curiosity-driven and project-based learning approach. Our focus is to inspire our children to acknowledge and embrace their self-worth and to empower students to become responsible citizens, creative and critical thinkers, while nurturing empathy and emotional intelligence.
We’re also committed to inspiring a life-long dedication to environmental stewardship. In our natural learning environments, our students learn the connection of all life and how our actions influence the world around us.
Project Based
Children should be able to actively participate in their own educational development. Project based learning allows just this. Over the course of an extended period of time - anywhere from a week to an entire semester, the student explores a real-world problem or complex question based on their interest. As they gather newfound knowledge, they will then present their findings with their peers, strengthening communication skills. In comparison to a lecture-driven classroom, the facilitator participates along with the student as the student does their own investigating, and moves away from the “memorization and regurgitation” type teaching found in most traditional classrooms. Project based learning encourages creativity and critical thinking within students and facilitators.
Mixed Age Grouping
Mixed age grouping is an essential aspect of learning at Willow Roots. Having students of all ages learning together in the same environment promotes leadership and nurturing skills, as well as teaches responsibility among older students. The younger students learn from the older ones by watching them perform more complex tasks. This stimulates curiosity in younger students and they will want to try to work these tasks out by themselves. The older children also provide a model of behavior that younger children can emulate. As basic skills need to be acquired, children are grouped into small, temporary developmental groups - as opposed to grade levels based on age alone.
Emotional Intelligence
The Institute for Health and Human Potential defines emotional intelligence as “being aware that emotions can drive our behavior and impact people (positively and negatively), and learning how to manage those emotions – both our own and others.” This subject is not often found or talked about in traditional schooling. Our goal is to incorporate the teaching of emotional intelligence into our daily life at the school. How to process, regulate and express emotions is such an important lesson for people of all ages, but can be transformative in a child.
Explore Nature
It’s difficult for adults to be inside for long periods of time. So then why do we expect this of our children during school hours? Being in nature provides endless opportunities for learning, creativity, discovery and so much more. It stimulates their ever-curious minds by requiring them to think, question and make hypotheses. Learning in and experiencing nature decreases stress levels and encourages social connection to their peers, and establishes a connection to the natural world. Improvements to eyesight, nutrition and physical activity also are connected to time being spent outdoors. At Willow Roots, our goal in nature as much as possible. We want to inspire a generation to value environmental stewardship and land ethics by experiencing the abundance that nature provides in our daily lives.
Student Led
What student led learning doesn’t mean is giving the child free reign over their own education and adults are absent. It simply means being flexible enough to allow a child to learn in the way that best suits them. Using materials and methods that captivate and motivates them. Children should have a say in their own education. If they are able to study subjects that interest them, it will inspire cooperation and a desire to learn. The student will be more aware of the way they learn best (auditory, visual, kinesthetic), their interests, and personal strengths and weaknesses when leading in their own education.
No Standardized Testing
Test scores heavily weigh on a child’s confidence. A simple number can vastly affect the labels students give themselves. Test scores are so much more than our kids, but are often seen as the sole judgment of their abilities in school. They just do not provide a true picture of what a student’s ability truly is. And on the other side, it limits so much of the creativity that public school teachers attempt to incorporate into their classrooms. At Willow Roots, we want our students to know that a standardized test can’t predict their future success, and that they are so much more than just a number.