As a parent, I entered the Pre-K years still trying to figure out my 'new' self as a parent and not confident in my needs and parenting values because I was so afraid that I was probably wrong and I might mess up my child in some way no matter how hard I worked and how diligently I tried not to mess up
Finding Little Sprout Academy for our family has been amazingly life changing in so many ways. Honestly, this review is probably more about mine and my husband's growth as parents through LSA, as much as it is about our child's experience. They and their staff are part of a small group of people in our life who have provided a path through these early years of parenting that allowed my husband and me to flourish for our kids - they gave us space and support that built our confidence and allow us to say on a daily basis, "yes, we can do this and, as a matter of fact, we ARE doing this!"
We started our pre-K journey with our first son at a different school, it was a wonderful experience for our son, he learned a lot and made wonderful friends. However, my husband and I never felt like it was a perfect match for us, but we had no idea why. We thought Pre-K wasn't about us anyway and it was a great school, so we needed to maybe get over ourselves
However, when my work schedule changed and I needed support for my other son who was too young for our current school, we discovered Little Sprout Academy somewhat serendipitously. The moment I met Ina, I all of a sudden understood myself as a parent, like poof - a magic wand. I wanted to hug her. She made me like myself as a parent and feel capable and "successful." I could go on and on with stories and examples, however for the sake of a "review length" narrative. I will note the things that I now recognize are most important in Pre-K education for me and our family.
-Healthy food is a huge part of their day! Ina uses as much organic and local food as possible and everything is cooked for them daily. She also has a deep knowledge and interest in food and manages the total picture of what they consume during their school day - not just analyzing each item out of context. I witnessed one lunch and saw the teachers assist with their food, i.e. they monitor that the kids are eating a balanced meal and not just consuming the 'kid friendly' items like pasta. They eat veggies and protein first and get a reasonable amount of other items. They eat family style so they all eat the same (with accommodations for diet restrictions). The kids bake, cook and eat their self-made food often. My son eats such an amazing variety of food and rarely refuses to not try things.
-The kids get dirty! The kids investigate everything. They get their hands into their projects both inside and outside. They spend a lot of time outside in the wonderful space in the back.
-They get clean! Ina approaches process from a slow and mindful place. There is time and attention to the kids learning good processes and caring for themselves to stay healthy moving forward, such as hand washing skills (and especially around food), changing clothes for their nap time (committing to the task at hand), indoor/outdoor shoes, etc.
-Sustainability and global mindfulness is central to our experience there. It is not advertised in their marketing - one might think this is just a simple Pre-K experience based on the website, however there are so many things connected to sustainable practices, a healthy planet and raising kids who can discern need versus want and the global beauty and need of our world. The kids are taught about food waste, taking only what they need, they celebrate EVERYTHING at school - presenting every cultural experience and aesthetic as valuable and beautiful, their art work is expansive yet modest and meaningful, i.e. they work on projects at school across a variety of artistic mediums and come home with a manageable display of their work for parents to enjoy (and parental archiving). The work that does come home is usually a half sheet of paper with art on both sides - fully explored and recyclable.
-They support the parents as much as the kids. We have no local family. Sometimes life gets chaotic and really challenges our sense of 'being' as a parent. Ina is one of the calmest, kindest, and strongest people I have ever met. To run a school with that many families and new parents, never wavering in her values and purpose, and while providing the parents so much space and support while we all figure it out, to me, takes one extremely special person. She focuses on the most important items, the kids, her values/purpose, and the families as a whole and does not get bogged down with the ancillary items. I find she therefore creates a cultures that respects this and one another - everyone knows we can't have everything nor do everything. read more
