Values These are the values that make our program special. Nurturing Awareness “I notice…” is a phrase commonly heard, both from teachers and students, at Maria’s Garden. We provoke children to use their senses – to notice the earthy smells on spring walks, to feel our hands after we’ve washed them to notice if they are really dry, to see the look on a friend’s face during a heated discussion, to taste the difference between two kinds of apples. Teachers model attentiveness to detail and a relish for rich impressions, so that the children will in turn become keen observers and enjoyers of life. Honoring Childhood All children possess qualities that seem to fade with adulthood - the ability to play, a sense of wonder, intense love for others, and freedom from the burdens of time - which allows them to reflect, relax, feed on the richness of life, and learn to their highest potential. We aim to create an environment that is a sanctuary for these qualities. Giving Them our Full Attention What we put our attention on flourishes; what we ignore, withers. As teachers, we endeavor to be observers of children in the most reverent sense- noticing their voices, emotions, blossomings and stagnations, their unique qualities, their gestures, tribulations, their currents of interest. Around this observation we build our program- gleaning new insights about children, catching waves of enthusiasm from the group as springboards for our studies, and offering tidbits of learning to each child when they are most hungered-for.