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We knew that when Noah turned three we wanted him to begin to attend some sort of religious preschool. We have been having some problems with our daycare facility and knew we needed to make a change soon. When we started looking around, it seemed that none of the programs would fit our needs and our beliefs! Finally, we found George Fox Friends School and we are so excited about this transition for our family.
George Fox is a Quaker school founded on the belief systems of peace, non-violence and healthy conflict resolution. We visited the school to see all of this in action and it was AWESOME! There are no time outs, instead, when a child is in conflict with another child they are taught ways to resolve the conflict instead of being punished. Each child learns that all people and animals are our friends and each being needs to be treated with respect, dignity and love. Children are asked daily if the decision they make leaves them with "peace in their heart" and they are taught to treat every person as God treats us, as a beloved creature worthy of immense love and forgiveness.
The school also stands on many principles that we strive to live our lives by. They discourage snacks with high fructose corn syrup, unhealthy food choices, and they discourage throw-away containers. Children are taught sustainability as a way to be a friend to the earth and a good steward of God's creation. They allow no forms of violence, including dominant characters or characters with any weaponry.
The school is on a 55 acre wooded campus and children often have playtime in the woods! They also have a librarian and artist on staff. They have virtually no teacher turn over, which has been a huge problem in the current place we are in. There is a very strong parent organization and the parents meet with their teacher on a monthly basis (as a group) to see how they can have a positive impact on the classroom, either by coming in or from afar. The children have service projects for local agencies and groups and always take the items themselves so they can see exactly what the service does, see the great need in the world, and know they can be part of the solution to that need. There are also quarterly social events for all of the children and parents in the whole school.
So, needless to say we are SO excited about this transition and we think it is the best choice for Noah as he absorbs every atom of the world around him!!!
