The children are encouraged to wander, dream, experiment, question and explore. Through the fascination and inquisitiveness that is inherent in their nature, they discover the world around them in real time through real experiences creating a deep learning that will stay with them and allow them to grow. The teachers offer suggestions, look for interests, ask questions and encourage discovery. They run with the interests of the children instilling the learning principles that we all hope for within the context of their interests – not the other way around. This fosters autonomy, confidence, growth and a love of life and learning.

- Mother of a 7-year-old

Not really. Of course there is always the risk of injury, but the children are closely supervised given the small student to teacher ratio. Also, accidents happen everywhere, and at least at Cocoplum I know when my child gets hurts she we will be cared for by a well-trained, empathetic adult.

- Mother of a 5-year-old 

We measure progress by his social/emotional growth just as much as everything else. There are academic areas currently where he is excelling and areas where he is coming along at his own pace. He is not struggling anywhere and is a happy, well-adapted child building his own confidence in his world. And in the areas that he is not interested, we have seen that at his own time, learning in those avenues will and has come around - never forced and never feeling inept. We receive narratives of learning from the teachers that fully document the experiences, growth, and learning he is undergoing. We are encouraged and lead by the school to further provide opportunities for him in the avenues he is most interested in. 

- Mother of a 7-year-old 

In a word: PLAY! As simple as this may sound, their play is extremely dynamic. It is fully immersive, so collaborative and engaging, that they don’t even realize that they are absorbing and learning so much. Whether this consists of making mud pies and selling them to make a profit, water play with physics, animal yoga or enjoying their numerous field trips all over, these kids are learning math, science, history, reading, writing, economics, mindfulness, emotional regulation, music, art and tons of physical education. Most importantly, they are busy soaking up and giving out all of the kindness, friendship and love of their Cocoplum community!

- Mother of a 6-year-old 

By following their own interests and curiosities. The children are continually invited to activities that will allow them to build the foundation for reading. They even guide and help each other which instills a sense of community at a young age and creates a safe space to learn. By traditional school standards our son would be considered “behind” on reading and writing because he didn’t start until almost the age of 7. Yet, since he was allowed to discover, create a curiosity and interest and then begin learning at his own pace, he has shown a deep interest and enjoyment in reading and writing. When there is no pressure, this enjoyment will stay with him for the rest of his life, instead of being labeled as “behind” which could create a displeasure and sense of being not good enough.

- Father of a 7-year-old

I was particularly impressed with how Cocoplum handles conflict resolution with the children. Cocoplum teaches the kids social-emotional skills so that they can understand, experience, express and manage their emotions. They are also encouraged to interpret their classmates’ emotions as well. Since these kids are at play in nature every day, they are given the opportunity to practice conflict resolution and self-regulation in a playful setting and to find common ground and peacefully make amends. I have noticed that communication and naming feelings is key at Cocoplum in helping the children better understand conflict and work through it together.

- Father of a 7-year-old