Phase-In.

Starting something new is always exciting and it can make you feel a little anxious. The first weeks of school are dedicated to slowly adapt and adjust to the new situation. The developmental psychological process we follow at Wurzelkinder is called phase-in.

Phase-in is a collaborative process between the educator, the parents, and the child. Wurzelkinder tailers each child’s phase-in depending on their individual needs. Each child takes a different amount of time to feel comfortable being dropped off for the whole day.

A successful phase-in paves the way for excellent personal growth and learning at Wurzelkinder and beyond. Imagine you would not feel comfortable with your coworkers at work, would you be able to reach your full potential? We gradually increase the amount of time the children spend with us during phase-in and collaborate with families to set up their child for success.

Anti-Bias education.

Children want to feel like they belong. Anti-bias education is interwoven in our educational style, it shapes how we build our curriculum each day. We believe in the importance of equity, social justice, diversity, and the dream for each child to achieve all they are capable of. Each child should bloom and reach their full growth. We embrace the 4 main goals of anti-bias education: identity, diversity, justice, and activism. Our role is to create a community that embraces all aspects of human differences (but not limited to): language, culture, learning style, ethnicity, family structure, race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender.

Children’s rights.

Children’s rights are a treasure we all have to keep safe. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international agreement on childhood, describes childhood as a special, protected time, in which children must be allowed to grow, learn, play, develop and flourish with dignity. We want our Wurzelkinder to grow up in a family-like environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love, respect, and understanding. We prepare our students to live an individual life in society, and in the spirit of dignity, tolerance, freedom, peace, equality, and solidarity. 

Collaborative education.

We believe that education happens in a collaboration between the child, the educator, and the environment around them. Listening deeply, responding with interest, leading with questions, and authentic engagement, all foster in-depth learning for life. We thoughtfully observe our students and discuss their interests. We enhance their surroundings to meet their individual needs by providing choices. We live and learn alongside each other. We create new experiences, through hands-on learning. This is how projects are born at Wurzelkinder.

German Immersion.

We apply the German Immersion concept. The German language is not systematically taught but rather used for everyday activities in the classroom. Our highly educated German teachers received their degrees in Germany.

Participation and democracy education.

We encourage our students to be active participants in their education. Together we experience firsthand, what democratic values are and what it means to live in a democracy. Sharing ownership in our daily routines, and collectively deciding on the focus of our curriculum is a powerful tool to instill democratic values.

Conflict management.

We give your child the tools and strategies they need to solve conflicts through effective communication. Here’s what this looks like in practice: “it seems like you are overwhelmed, you can say, stop that is too wild for me.” or “I see you are very angry, I can’t let you hurt your friends, let’s sit together so you can calm down and we can think about another way of managing your frustration in the future”.

Self-directed learning.

We create a deeper and more meaningful learning experience, that will last beyond the memorizing of content. We believe that life activities and classroom experiences have to be connected. As a result of self-directed learning, the teacher is a guide, a supporter for the child to explore the world around them, asking exploring questions and testing hypotheses together. Self-directed learning at Wurzelkinder is not a one-way street.

Sustainability and environmental education.

Starting early on, we want to be part of educating a new generation who feels responsible about the impact we as humans have on forests, air, water, and animals. We engage your child in natural processes that will not only make nature and growth more real for them but also instill a sense of responsibility. For example, our children will plant seeds, observe their growth, nourish them, and discuss the process and how it compares to their own growth.

Wurzelkinder is powered with 100% pollution-free electricity powered by Green Mountain Energy. That reduces greenhouse gas emissions and shrinks our carbon footprint.