Visitors to the campus of Maitland Farm Preschool in southwest Vero Beach will not find any electronic devices such as tablets or computers. They will find curriculum plans and learning stations, as are common in modern preschool classrooms, but it is what they discover beyond the classrooms that may come as a surprise.
A stroll around the 5-acre property reveals lots of lush greenery and shade trees. There’s a nature trail, a meadow, and a garden. And the visitor may be greeted by Sammy, Poppy, Fern, and Shelly—nothing too out of the ordinary, except that Sammy is a donkey, Poppy and Fern are goats, and Shelly is an African spurred tortoise. The small menagerie also includes two rabbits and seven hens named after female rock stars.
The whole atmosphere abounds with rustic beauty and opportunities for hands-on learning in a peaceful, bucolic environment.
“All of our projects have a purpose and are working on skills,” says owner and director Ashley Kazen, referring to the mixture of conventional classroom activities and somewhat unconventional lessons born of the school’s distinctive environment.
In each classroom, depending on whether it is set up for 2-, 3-, or 4-year-olds, learning centers keep little hands and minds busy with art, blocks, dramatic play, science, math, reading, writing, and manual manipulation tasks. There’s also “circle time” for songs, stories, and sharing. But Maitland also places a strong emphasis on children’s natural sense of wonder and its ability to enhance the education process.
For example, a recent art project depicted the life cycle of a plant; but when Maitland’s 2-year-olds water the seasonal flowers and vegetables in their raised garden bed, they learn the process without even realizing they’re learning it. It’s just part of their everyday experience, but they eat the tomato with an intrinsic understanding of where it came from…