Seedlings aims to nurture a sense of community and belonging among children, families, and the land we belong to. Drawing on a deep understanding and continuous exploration of early childhood, and inspired by the teachings of Edward O. Wilson, Rudolf Steiner, Paulo Freire, David W. Orr, and many others, the curriculum is developed with respect for the developmental process and unique unfolding of each child.

to love something we must know it

Seedlings curriculum is designed to mirror the seasons and other observed changes of the land around us. The food we prepare and share together is, whenever possible, local, organic, and fresh. The stories we tell, the songs we sing and games we play reflect the natural events unfolding around us. Crafting and play materials are enriched by seasonal objects found on the land. In these ways, all of the child’s senses are engaged and become attuned to the natural rhythms of the place where they live.

The young child learns primarily through exploration and imitation. Natural, simple, and open ended materials protect and nourish the child’s senses, enliven the imagination, and allow for creativity to spring forth in the child’s play and work.

Entering into meaningful activity out of the natural inclination toward imitation allows the child to develop her will and her skills towards a sense of confidence, accomplishment, and self-worth. Seedlings’ staff endeavor, in our manner and our own purposeful and lively work, always to be mindful of the child’s imitation. Together, we build, paint, sew, garden, grind our grain for baking, and most importantly, we play. Further, caring for ourselves and our surroundings is fostered through regular cooking, crafting, making and care-taking of classroom materials.

As language helps to shape the way we understand and engage the world, an environment rich in beautiful, lively, and meaningful language is a gift to our children. Our daily activities are enlivened with songs, verse, and story and the environment is infused with a general delight in the use of language. Transitions are initiated gently with song and verse. Conflict or changes in behavior can be addressed with stories that help diffuse and transform a given situation. Circle is a time to join language and movement, allowing for the songs and verses to truly live in the child’s body. Storytelling, puppetry, and plays allow the children to create their own images, an exercise of the imagination and a vital precursor to healthy literacy later in childhood. Further, the repetitive telling of a story over a span of two to four weeks allows the child to awaken and develop remarkable powers of memory, and allows the stories to be taken deeply into the child’s being.

Lia Grippo has been an early childhood educator since 1989, serving Santa Barbara area families since 1991. In that time Lia has worked in a variety of settings including preschools and kindergartens, a parent co-op, a former incarnation of Seedlings, and a thriving wilderness education program.