Speaking from the heart
Hello everyone, my name is Angela Piperidou and I am the founder and a teacher at the Lawrence School of Love. I am starting this blog to share what is happening at our school.
This first year of our operation we had kindergarten age children, 5 and 6 years old. What a precious age! They are full of life, they are curious, adventurous, funny, super creative, filled with so much love and they want to play! They are still developing their motor skills, getting to know their physical strength and abilities, getting to know their environment, their friends, how to interact, how to express how they feel, and how to communicate with their peers and adults in their life. They want to see how fast they can run, how far they can run before they fall down from exhaustion! They want to see how high they can climb a tree and still feel safe. They are curious about bugs and snails and how the birds can fly!
Our students learn through playing both outdoors, as free uninterrupted play, and indoors, in a more structured time where we cover kindergarten standards, our core subjects and much more!
We take into account the children's passions, interests, personalities, uniqueness, gifts, and talents to create the curriculum. We also take into account research and how actually children learn while at the same time giving them the opportunity and space to grow and evolve and stay healthy and balanced.
I would like to share with you today something that a mother wrote about her daughter and their experience at the School of Love.
"My daughter has sincerely transformed this year through her experience at the School of Love. Her spirit, passions, awareness, tremendous sense of adventure, and voracious desire to learn have all been given the space and nourishment I so dreamed for her to have. Because Angela has done such an amazing job of organically working with the children’s own rhythms, I have witnessed a deep sense of relaxation in my daughter as she is not wrangling with an over-scripted agenda for her education. She has the space to explore how she best learns and, ultimately, is supported in discovering the person she wants to be. In addition to the fun and creative ways she’s effortlessly absorbing “core” skills through play-filled learning (her math, reading, and writing are on track with public standards if not advanced beyond), she’s been introduced to so many other wonderfully enriching subjects such as sign language, music, geography, meditation, and so much more. Her very favorite passion is nature which is the foundation for the “classroom” and consciously included in her education. She’s also developing more refined abilities to communicate what she needs while respecting those around her. Not only is the school taught with love, it embodies a culture of love. The children are all guided to be supportive of one another, are learning to sincerely listen to one another, and are encouraged as peer teachers to deepen a sense of confidence and community. The most vital component is the fact that the children are celebrated for who they are and their differences are a strength to the school, not a challenge to be silenced for convenience. No matter where life takes her, I know The School of Love is helping my daughter to establish a strong foundation for her to thrive. I have no doubt that as this school evolves, it will become a model for more learning environments in the future. The School of Love is true education, and Angela’s vision, spirit, and dedication is a gift to us all." -Clementine Mitchell
