Gnomies
educational center
At Gnomies, we create a holistic, child-centered, hands-on learning environment, with a focus on sustainability and the environment. The children’s interests serve as a springboard for our evolving, emergent curriculum, where they spend days to weeks engaged in thought-provoking play and project-based learning. As a mixed-aged program, children learn from each other, honing their social skills and problem solving abilities, and understanding the concepts of friendship, cooperation, and inclusion. We provide a safe place for children to make self-motivated choices for play, thereby building independence and self-help skills.
Our program also places a heavy emphasis on outdoor education, instilling a positive regard for the environment by becoming ecologically literate citizens who have a sense of ownership and stewardship of the earth.
Children who immerse themselves in a natural and ever-changing environment simply have more opportunities to learn new things in new ways. Being outdoors provides expanded opportunities for physical exploration. Inspiration is everywhere in the change of seasons and cycles of life, and children develop a bond with nature as they begin to understand their place within it.