Dragonfly is a play based preschool for children ages 3-6. Our mission is to care for and nurture each child’s curiosity, kindle a love of nature, and honor the sacredness of childhood. We believe children deserve a space to play and learn that sparks imagination, welcomes unconventional thinking, and above all honors our belief that how we collectively raise our children has a direct impact on healing our communities and ecosystems. (Learn more about the Child Honouring philosophy)
Mission: A Play-Based Preschool
Teaching Philosophy
Our teaching philosophy is based in constructivist theory, which believes that children actively construct knowledge through meaningful experiences and relationships. While serving the whole child and supporting natural development, we are especially inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. RE includes a particular emphasis on the classroom environment as an educator, views children as collaborators in their learning and as natural communicators who express themselves in a wide variety of manners.
The teacher is a guide, facilitating learning through scaffolding and modeling, while empowering the child/ren to investigate and experience through playful inquiry. RE inspired curriculums are not predetermined for the year, but rather follow the emerging interests of the children, creating learning experiences based on careful observation of what is inspiring to the class at that time. RE classrooms include highly varied learning
materials and opportunities for self expression through movement, drawing, painting, sculptures, words, etc. They are alive with interesting objects that invite open ended discovery and problem solving. RE is also a natural fit for a parent cooperative, as parents are acknowledged as a child’s true “primary teacher” and their participation is deemed essential to the learning community.
Testimonials
“Dragonfly Play School is AMAZING! The nature-focused outdoor setting, art projects and learning themes are magical. Teachers Anna and Claire are thoughtful, kind and extremely skilled at recognizing (and creating) opportunities for learning and practicing social skills. It is a small group, so every child feels seen, heard and appreciated. My 5 year old son absolutely loves it!”
– Heather McClure
Dragonfly is the most lovely peaceful environment. The kids observe nature, explore the “magical forest”, read stories and make art. The majority of every day is spent outside celebrating all kinds of weather and inventing seasonal play. Dragonfly children spend their days as we all wish we could.”
– Corinne Ilvedson.