Our Program
Mission Statement
At Tauxemont Cooperative Preschool, we believe that early childhood education is rooted in a child's surroundings and inspired by their innate curiosity, the wonder of nature, and trusted connection. Our Little School in the Woods is a place where children thrive, families belong, and community grows.
Values
- We respect children and believe deeply in their capabilities.
- We use a place-based, emergent curriculum shaped by children’s questions and discoveries.
- We support the development of the whole child through developmentally appropriate practice.
- We believe strong relationships with families are the foundation of our cooperative community.
- We honor nature, seasons, and place as essential teachers.
- We value curiosity, problem-solving, risk-taking, and flexible thinking.
- We practice kindness toward ourselves, others, and the environment.
- We are a community of learners—children, families, and educators—growing together.
Philosophy
At Tauxemont, families participate with their children in their first major step away from home. The child feels their family is a part of the school when they help in the classroom, drive on a field trip, build a bookcase, or discuss the programs of the school. This intimacy between child and family, and between family and school, is something quite rare and special that you and your child may never enjoy again to the same degree.
The school offers the opportunity to watch your child interact with children of a similar age, supervised by objective and nurturing teachers, enjoying equipment and materials in abundance beyond the reach of the average home. You may find behavioral problems that loom large at home are normal and transient, and occur in other children as well as your own. You gain perspective by exchanging experiences with other families. But more importantly, you gain an invaluable sense of belonging to a community.
The school benefits greatly from the participation of adults with a wide variety of skills and interests. Some families will participate more than others; all help to the extent of their time and ability. Through this involvement, the school's program and physical environment are enriched to a degree unattainable in a non-cooperative school.
Our Program
Tauxemont Preschool believes that formal education is best begun in the first grade and that our primary purpose is to provide an environment for a child to grow emotionally, developmentally, physically, socially, and intellectually.
Preschool should allow children to:
- Discover that school is a happy place, that learning is fun and rewarding, and that teachers are understanding and stimulating human beings
- Learn how to work and play successfully with other children
- Learn to develop their own skills, talents and interests, and to expand each of these to the fullest extent
- Develop a sense of personal worth and an understanding of the needs and rights of others
- Develop a sense of excitement and interest in the world in which we live and an eagerness to learn more
How we foster child development:
- Provide a wide variety of activities geared to the proper age and skill level of the children
- Emphasize personal standards and pride of achievement and encourage the child to recognize that the process is as important as the product
- Encourage arts in addition to crafts, and dramatic and creative play in addition to organized games and activities
- Consider individual needs and different rates of development in children along with the aims of group activity and socialization
- Recognize that the most desirable discipline is self-discipline, and that encouragement and consistent standards are more effective than punishment in the development of self-discipline
- Offer a developmentally approporiate program with little use of formal devices, drills, and competitive learning