The Circle School (Harrisburg)

🌱✨ There’s something special about the first day back after Spring Break.

The campus fills again with familiar faces, shared laughter, and the quiet excitement of reconnecting. Friends find each other, stories begin to unfold, and the community comes back to life in its own rhythm.

We return to the Circle not just refreshed, but changed — carrying the experiences of time away. The places we explored, the conversations we had, the moments we noticed. All of it is part of how we practice life.

And with that comes new curiosity — new questions, new ideas, new wonderings waiting to be followed.

We’re so glad to be back together again in the Circle.

“Children who take the greatest delight in each moment of childhood grow up to be adults who take the greatest delight in each moment of adulthood.” -Jim Rietmulder

At The Circle School, we believe childhood isn’t something to rush through — it’s something to fully experience. When children have the time, freedom, and space to explore, play, connect, and follow their curiosity, they learn more than academics — they learn how to enjoy their lives.

Joy isn’t a distraction from learning. It’s at the heart of it. ✨

What does a day at The Circle School actually look like?

It might start with a conversation, turn into a game, shift into a project, and pause for a community responsibility. Along the way, students are making choices, solving problems, building relationships, and following their interests.

No two days look exactly the same — because no two learners are the same. And that’s where the magic happens. 🌿

“You learn from everything. You do learn but in a different way.”

Curiosity is a powerful teacher. When students are free to follow their questions, learning doesn’t need to be assigned — it naturally takes shape through experience, conversation, and exploration.

At The Circle School, students aren’t just absorbing information — they’re engaging with the world around them, discovering how things work, and building understanding in ways that truly stick. 💡🌱

“If there’s no curriculum… how do kids learn?”

It’s one of the questions we hear most often — and an important one.

At The Circle School, learning isn’t delivered — it’s discovered. Students read because they want to understand the world around them. They write to communicate ideas. They use math to solve real problems.

Without a prescribed curriculum, learning becomes something deeper: self-motivated, meaningful, and lasting. 🌱

Some of the most important learning doesn’t happen at a desk.

Climbing, exploring, imagining, building, observing — when students are outside, they’re engaging with the world in real and meaningful ways. They test ideas, take risks, collaborate, and adapt.

Play isn’t separate from learning here — it is learning. 🌎

What happens when you give students space to ask big questions?

You get conversations that stretch across subjects — science, math, history, ethics, imagination. You get collaboration, debate, research, and creativity.

More than anything, you get students who are engaged — because the learning starts with something real: their curiosity. 🌱

Learning here doesn’t follow a single path — and that’s the point.

In one afternoon, you might find a student building something from scratch, another deep in a book, and a group negotiating the rules of a game. Each moment is filled with problem-solving, communication, creativity, and critical thinking.

When learning is driven by curiosity, it doesn’t need to be forced — it unfolds. ✨

“At seven years old, my daughter is more clear and passionate and informed about the freedoms and responsibilities that come with a democracy than most adults I know. Her everyday practice of life and responsible citizenship is the most valuable education she can receive.”
– Hannah Smith-Brubaker, after two years

At The Circle School, democracy isn’t a chapter in a textbook — it’s something students practice every day. Through shared governance, real decision-making, and meaningful responsibility, children grow into thoughtful, engaged members of their community.

When young people are trusted with real voice and real responsibility, they don’t just learn about citizenship — they live it. 🌿

One of the most remarkable things about self-directed education is watching learning unfold naturally.

At The Circle School, reading isn’t assigned — it emerges. A child deciphers the rules of a new game. Another dives into a favorite comic. A checklist for a field trip turns into writing practice. Learning becomes a tool, not a chore. 📚✨

As students grow, so do their skills — guided by curiosity, passion, and purpose rather than pressure. This is what learning looks like when kids are trusted to follow what truly interests them.

Curiosity is at the heart of life at The Circle School.�Questions aren’t something to rush past — they’re something to live inside.

A question we pondered in January was:�“How many trees could fit (alive and growing) on Earth if there were no buildings or roads?”

A single question like this opens the door to so many paths of learning — science, ecology, math, geography, history, imagination, and ethics. It invites research, conversation, debate, creativity, and wonder. There’s no single worksheet answer — only exploration.

When students are encouraged to ask big, open-ended questions, their minds light up. They learn how to think, how to connect ideas, and how to follow curiosity wherever it leads. That’s how learning becomes meaningful — and joyful. 🌍✨