FOUNDERS OF THE GAIA (EARTH) EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY™
In essence, our Gaia (Earth) Education Philosophy® is a complete immersion of our centres’ principles and practices into Buildings & Environments that live, breathe and self-energise to mimic natural eco-systems of the Earth, as well as Values, Curriculum & Outcomes for children that model and connect with Nature and Earth systems (which has been around for 4.6 billion years). We are inspired by the existing philosophies of Nature based, Forest preschool, Reggio, Montessori, Emmi Pikler, RIE, Friluftsliv (open air) Scandinavian based forms of teaching and learning as we deepen and connect all of these approaches with common ground principles of Gaia (Earth) itself.
Our publication about our fully immersive Gaia (Earth) inspired education approach has been widely peer reviewed by panels of academics and education practitioners at the following international forums:
- International Conference for Education, Research & Innovation, Seville, 2018 (one of the largest Education forums in Europe),
- International Conference for Future Learning, Barcelona, 2018
- World Forum on Early Care and Education, Macao, 2019
- AGU100 – Engaging Preschool Kids into Earth and Space Sciences, USA, 2019.
We have adopted the Ministry of Education’s key framework for the NZ early childhood curriculum, which is based on a weaving of
Learning outcomes for your child
A) Core Learning Principles:
EMPOWERMENT – Empowering your child to develop confidently by themselves, to understand their ability and be proud of it.
HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT – Learning about things in a “whole picture” view, and allowing your child to see the interlinking connections between different things, how the item can fit into the whole world, and its relationships in the world.
FAMILY AND COMMUNITY – Learning about the support network of family and surrounding community and environment and how it all blends to work together so your child can make connections and understand the world they live in and relationships they form.
RELATIONSHIPS – Learning about relationships, through responsive and reciprocal actions, behaviour and words. This applies to people, places and things, and their feelings and actions between your child and them.
B) Key Learning Areas:
Our key learning areas are as follows to prepare your child for school and beyond:
– Communication Skills,
– Social and Cooperative Skills,
– Numeracy and Literacy Skills,
– Physical Skills,
– Problem Solving Skills,
– Information Skills,
– Focus and Concentration Skills,
– Self Management and Competitive Skills.
C) Learning Strands:
The Learning Strands that we have adopted from the NZ Early Childhood Curriculum into our learning programme feeds directly into the wider education landscape of NZ (see the diagram below). Our five ECE strands are precursors to the Primary school and Secondary and Tertiary education outcomes, which are all carefully threaded and weaved to achieve confident, connected, actively involved, and lifelong learners:
| Learning Strands | Learning Goals |
|---|---|
| 1. WELL-BEING | The health and well being of your child is protected and their emotional well being is nurtured. Your child will experience an environment where:
|
| 2. BELONGING | Your child and family will feel a sense of belonging. Your child will experience an environment where:
|
| 3. CONTRIBUTION | Opportunities for learning are equitable, and your child’s contribution is valued. Your child will experience an environment where:
|
| 4. COMMUNICATION | The languages and symbols of your child’s own and other cultures are promoted and protected. Your child will experience an environment where:
|
| 5. EXPLORATION | Your child will learn through active exploration of the environment. You child will experience an environment where:
|
The NZ ECE Learning Framework
Our centres are guided by the Principles, Strands and Goals of Te Whāriki, the NZ early childhood curriculum, which are summarised as:
- The early childhood curriculum will empower our tamariki to learn and grow;
- The early childhood curriculum will reflect the holistic way children learn and grow;
- The wider world of the whanau and community is an integral part of the early childhood curriculum;
- Children will learn through a responsive and reciprocal relationship with people, places and things.
