Vision
Our image of a child is that of: a competent, curious and capable being that is able to construct knowledge in a world that is meaningful to them.
Mission
“50 years from now, it won’t matter what car I drive or house I live in, but that I was important in the life of a child.”
Early childhood is a momentous and signinifcat part of a person’s life. This is during these years that the child becomes who they will be for the rest of their lives. Proportionally, early childhood is but a speck in our lives, however perhaps the most important. It is during this time that children enter the social world beyond their family and establish themselves as members of the community. This is a time when the child will reach important decisions about who they are. This in itself places a very special responsibility on those people involved in caring for and developing young children. We feel privileged and take this responsibility very seriously at Mollys House, in partnership with the family.
Philosophical Grounding
We are inspired by the philosophies of the world renowned school for young children in Reggio Emilia (Italy) (www.reggioaustralia.org.au ) and from theories of the constructivist and social constructivist and creative thinking of Lev Vygotsky, Howard Gardner, Rinadi , Montessori and Jean Piaget (www.montessorica.com/interest www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/social-development )
Mollys House philosophically holds and values the ideals of
- Close teacher/child/parent bonds
- Support and fostering of the personal and social being to become all they can
- Support as a small community
- Play based learning
- Negotiated interest based curriculum
- Engaging and genuine dialogue with the child as a window to their perception and understanding of the world
- Universal access, open and discovery learning
- Scaffolding of learning and building social capacity through multi-age grouping
- Real life experiences and genuine conversations
Through this co-construction, a firm knowledge based grows and continues to evolve as it is fostered through close and responsive relationships and then afforded by a rich learning environment that facilitates enquiry and engagement. We believe in listening to the child and hearing their words as an insight to their thoughts and learning and vehicle to deepen their learning through negotiated interactions and collaborative planning for learning. (Reggio Emilia- Italy)