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About Us
Located in Hale'iwa, Little Groms Preschool provides a safe and nurturing environment for children between the ages of 24 months and 5 years. As a state licensed Family Childcare home, we maintain an intimate ratio of 1:6 and offer each child in our classroom individual guidance. We encourage self-directed, lifelong learning in the natural environment for development of the whole child.
Our Classroom
"There is a great sense of community within the Montessori classroom, where children of differing ages work together in an atmosphere of cooperation rather than competitiveness. There is resect for the environment and for the individuals within it, which comes through experience of freedom within the community." -Maria Montessori
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When you walk into our classroom, you will hear low music and soft voices and you will smell sweet scents used for focus and tranquility. The teacher will be present yet primarily an observer to allow for growth and autonomy. Our prepared environment is a space where children can develop freely and experience independence. It is a safe place where children work together and experience new things about the world they live in through shelf activities, foraging, climbing, and social interactions.
Our Philosophy
Malama i Ka 'Aina
Our school is on half of an acre of land containing fruit trees and a student-led edible garden. Educating children about nutrition and healthy foods at a young age is both important and fun! By letting the children maintain, harvest, and prepare produce for snack, they are given a role in their own nutritional health and become motivated intrinsically. Our children will also learn how to compost their scraps and see how it can be used to continue the cycle of growth within our school.
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Malama i Ke Kai
At Little Groms, we talk about developmentally appropriate conservation concepts and solutions and implement sustainable practices . Throughout the year, there will be many opportunities for field trips where we will participate in beach cleanups, learn about our ocean and it's inhabitants from local marine biologists, and educational outreach programs such as Malama i Na Honu.
Our Curriculum
Believing that children learn best through a combination of indoor and outdoor experiences, the best way I can describe our approach at Little Groms is "nature-based Montessori". Inside, we have shelves of activities relating to practical life, sensorial exploration, art and cultural studies, language and mathematics. Outdoors, children are given the space to learn boundaries and discover their own limits through risky play such as hopping and climbing.
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Our goal at Little Groms Preschool is to help the children in our care achieve self-confidence and self-discipline. Through a combination of a carefully prepared, Montessori-inspired environment and repeated practice, your child will start to regulate their mind and body.
Our expectations are only to protect the rights of each child, not to place unreasonable limits on a child. They have purpose, and those purposes are told to the children in a way they can understand. The classroom is for them, and it is up to them to treat it well. Having this mentality motivates them to want to handle the materials with respect and use quiet voices inside so they don’t disrupt their friends’ work. We will guide our new children as they learn how to master their bodies and become an active member of our community.
