PEDAGOGY | TALENTREE

Our pedagogical approach

Notre approche pédagogique

« TALENTREE, like a tree, takes root in the environment in which child has lived since birth. It accompanies him in learning through a common “core” based on Montessori pedagogy, to grow, learn, and develop his self-confidence. Thus, the child can let his talents flourish and choose his «branch», according to his personality and his dreams ».

Laëtitia Etchecopar - Founder and Director de TALENTREE.

Growing up and thrive with respect

Autonomy

Self-Confidence

Pleasure to learn

Ecology

Each human being is unique. The child grows up and develops in a trust and peace climate. Thus, he can develop, through his own experience, his creativity and foster his autonomy. Throughout being respected in his unicity, he can then open himself to others.

The learning of respect can be seen through a permanent attention towards others, the environment, the materials and the living environment at school.

Follwing the children's pace and needs

We aim to allow each child to realize, to listen and to provide solutions to his needs. Thus, the child progressively acquires a knowledge of himself, and a greater autonomy. The child is guided over the path towards autonomy by caring and respectful adults.

The learning pace of each one is respected, through an individualized pedagogy. The adult, by observing carefully each child, is able to offer the right activity at the right moment, in order for the child to evolve optimally.

We give every child the time he needs to feel safe and start learning, while following the fundamental knowledge and skills from the French National Education.

Learning with joy and sharing

Joy and pleasure make the child eager to learn. He doesn't need rewards nor punishments as his relationship with the adults is based on respect and mutual trust: this way of thinking allows living together out of any balance of power and with respect towards each one's needs.

Thus, the child is free to choose activities at school depending on his needs, as long as he respects the rules of life in class.

The freedom of movement he's granted has a capital importance in his learning path, as he's allowed to take activities without asking permission, to go to the bathroom on his own... We try to privilege mutual trust and respect based relationships between children and adults, in order to make the child feel safe, able, and to maintain his curiosity and his will to experiment.

In such a context, the child takes the responsibility of his action, feels the pleasure to learn for himself and the satisfaction of leading such a tough work and overcoming difficulties. Within the school, there's no competition, but a cooperative development environment.

Classes mixing ages and not based on marks-rewarding foster cooperation between children. The group is organized as a micro-society, and we make sure the collective mood maintains accordingly: we promote peaceful solving of conflicts, being polite and courtesy, mutual helping, as an entire part of the learning process.

There's no remarking of the children as the invidualized following of each kind allows the educator to follow-up the advance of each one in his own learning path.

Observe, listen and support to guide the children

We consider our position with children as a supportive one. The adults being with the children at school on a daily basis have a major role because they guarantee a peaceful and safe environment, likely to ease learning and individual development.

The adults contribute to create an environment in which children are eager to learn, in a climate based on peace. The core of their mission is to observe each child's development carefully.

Indeed, giving an accurate look during the time shared with each child allows to get a good knowledge of all children, thus giving the right tools to offer them the best to help them fulfilling their needs.
They help to identify these needs: encourage the children during their activities, advise them and help them to build respectful relationships with their friends.

This observation also allows to follow accurately each child's development, and thus not to use the traditional rating system. Our aim is to avoid doing anything that could hurt the child, but to lead him to feel that he's able, free and autonomous, while remembering our behaviour towards him will influence his future life positively.

The pedagogical team relies on this chart as the main reference. The team carrying the children is made up of people sharing the strong values of respectful education and is used to apply its tools: non-violent communication, conflicts solving and control emotions.

Parent's play a crucial role in the child's education in the community at TALENTREE school

Although school is the child’s world, we think it is important to open the school to parents and work with them to ensure that the child develops in the best possible way.

Parents and schools form an “educational community” that accompanies children in their development and learning.

It is imperative to create a close bond of cooperation between parents and the school so that the work started in the prepared environment can continue at home.

In order to build a dynamic co-education between the school and the families, the school will offer:

✓ As a first step, a meeting is organised. For about two hours, the team presents the parents and the child the premises and the functioning of the class.

✓ Second, a special welcome for the children house (3 to 6 years old), the half-day is a time to share with the children and their parents to take the time to discover the class together.

✓ Two individual interviews are organized during the year between educators and parents, one at the end of the first quarter and the other half of the third quarter. The educator presents the work and the performance the child’s personal needs and gives an account of the pedagogical follow-up he carries out on a daily basis.

✓ Informal meetings : the team remains available to answer questions or discuss with parents outside of class time.

✓ The possibility for parents to attend conferences on Montessori pedagogy (1 to 2 times a year). These conferences are moments of exchange to which the children are not invited, of transmission around the pedagogy Montessori.

Parents are also invited to participate in the life of the school by attending other community events: parent-child breakfasts, Christmas party, school party, workshops, etc...