At Cocoons we believe that each individual child, regardless of age, is unique and has his or her own temperament and learning style. Each child at Cocoons is treasured for being themselves. We all learn not only by being told about the world by older people and peers, but more importantly through our own actions and interactions with people and things. We learn by testing our ideas about the worl
d and adjusting our thinking based on our discoveries. At Cocoons children experience structured learning coupled with blocks of time to explore and reflect, both indoors and outside. We believe that the ideas that children construct about how the world operates can be developed best by providing children with a wide range of opportunities to actively explore, manipulate, question, and discover. As children continue to meet their goals, they are encouraged, but never pressured, to continue to reach for the stars. In order to foster independent thinking, careful continuous attention is paid to constructing the environment, posing appropriate questions, and making viable choices available to children. Children are encouraged to take chances while learning. Every child's ideas are honored as being important. Social and moral reasoning is a cornerstone of Cocoons' philosophy. Conflict resolution is a complicated skill that is only perfected over time and with experience interacting with both peers and adults. Children must be consistently encouraged to use their words. Being a good friend to family, friends, and teachers; taking care of our magical planet; and believing that school is a fun place to be are all primary goals of Cocoons.
