"Everything is ceremony in the wild garden of childhood." Pablo Neruda
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia schools highlight the importance of socially constructed knowledge through the development of projects. Reggio Emilia schools believe in the importance of exposing children to a wide range of materials through which expression is varied and complex. Teachers learn to pay attention to the interests of young children and follow them where they lead. We support and actively engage in all these principles on a day to day basis. We like to incorporate narrative into projects and handiwork to encourage language growth and motor skill development.
Philosophy
"Everything is ceremony in the wild garden of childhood," Pablo Neruda writes. How can we interpret this phrase? What does it mean? What is a ceremony but a decision to share meaning as a community? We speak in new languages through ceremonies. We speak in color, in fabric, in the way our bodies move. Anyone who has spent time with children will have noticed the importance they place on precise placing, on particular movement, and when they learn to form a community, which is really the most important part of their early days in the preschool, these importances become shared and their meaning shifts and changes. Preschool is not just children getting ready for adulthood. Early childhood, preschool, the long hours spent with each other is an experience rich with meaning, is real. We consider it an honor to have children spend it with us.
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Montessori
Maria Montessori was a genius in her discovery of the power of the environment to deeply affect children, and how materials can be created to help to build upon students natural curiosities and interests. Children seek order in the world and Montessori materials help decode and foster this order. We borrow from Montessori the deep confidence in children's abilities and the power of Montessori materials to encourage deep learning. Maria Montessori also recognized the importance of sensory learning in early childhood especially, and many of the materials we use and she developed incorporate senses into a variety of learning realms.
Allison Bosworth founded the school in the Fall of 2020. She has a degree from Steinhardt, NYU in Learning Theories and Media Design and a Masters in Early Childhood and General Education from Bank Street College.
Reviews
" The pedagogical approach of Patterns benefitted my child widely and in such a short amount of time. Being bilingual, he was a little late on his speech development and after just a few weeks at Patterns I could see so much improvement. It put my mind at rest. In addition to that, the support of creative thinking and imaginative play, the kind and nurturing setting and, most important, the respect the teachers have for the children - values that play a huge role in his upbringing, makes me think of Patterns as one of the best decisions I made for my son."
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"...The effects of Patterns on my son (who was there full day, 5 days a week) was overwhelmingly positive. He’s such a happy, sociable, and CONFIDENT child. They make each kid feel so loved and special and it’s laid the foundation for a real joy for school and for people. He came home begrudgingly (he never wanted to leave!) usually with some sort of art/craft in tow, demonstrated new songs he’d learned, new play games, and he seriously speaks like a big kid! His pediatrician is super impressed with where he’s at developmentally, which I credit a lot to them. Another thing I really appreciated— the teachers are genuinely excited and proud of your child’s achievements. The love is evident— and this is coming from someone is highly sensitive toward the treatment of their kid. So many times at the end of the day they’re visibly excited to share with you something your kid did that day...What I really liked about the program and about all the teachers is that they’re great at shaping things to follow the lead of the kids. There’s a lot of time in life to be in a strict sterile classroom (or work environment, hah) where you have to keep your head down and work, but not when they’re little! So an environment that caters to the group of kids it serves is a really nice thing. The kids are seriously sooooo sweet and happy there."