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MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Sophia’s Hearth nurtures families in care of the young child
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The organization
Surry Village Charter School
11 Village Road, Surry 03431; 357-9700
www.surryvillagecharterschool.org
Particulars
Director: Matora Fiorey, Ph.D.; board president: Frank Conroy
Founded: 2006
Service area: Entire Monadnock Region; currently serves 42 students, grades K-6, from 13 towns in Monadnock Region
Annual budget: $400,000; 30 percent from contributions
Staff: 8 full-time, 6 part-time, 40 volunteers
Mission
To provide a challenging and rigorous education for children in an environment that emphasizes creativity, collaboration, community, diversity, service and leadership. Students will be academically and socially prepared to meet the demands of further education while maturing into productive and caring adults with a lifelong passion for learning.
Ten years ago an early-education school was launched in Keene to help train students at Antioch University New England. Sophia’s Hearth Family Center, named for the goddess of wisdom in some cultures, later evolved to become an independent non-profit that offers holistic early childhood education to children from birth through age three.
Throughout the past decade, the Keene organization has served more than 1,000 Monadnock Region families through programs such as pre-natal workshops, child nutrition classes and staff-facilitated play groups for parents and children.
The center has also gained international recognition for its professional development programs for early childhood educators. Training focuses on the education system of the Pikler Institute, a methodology of nurturing and respecting young children developed by Hungarian pediatrician Emmi Pikler.
Also incorporated is the philosophy of Waldorf education founder Rudolf Steiner, who advocated treating children as spiritual beings. Students are trained to observe, recognize and respond to the needs of children, parents and caregivers.
“We’re making accessible compelling ideas to empower professionals to find responses to the situations they find themselves in,” said Susan Weber, executive director of Sophia’s Hearth Family Center. “There’s no formula, no recipe, no canned curriculum … There are ideas and possibilities. You go home and practice and find what’s right for you, your family and your situation.”
Year-round conferences and workshops are offered to child educators and caregivers, and a 13 month part-time comprehensive training program is conducted for professionals. There’s also a three week intensive summer workshop series facilitated in part by European early child-education experts.
Participants study physical, emotional and cognitive child development, caregiver relationships and engage in art, handcrafts and song. Details are available on the organization’s Web site. (See contact information.)
This summer’s sessions, which began last week, attracted a diverse student body. Among the workshop attendees is Dot Male. A teacher trainer in York and London, England, she recently published “The Parent and Child Group Handbook: A Steiner Waldorf Approach,” a book for teachers and parents.
“This is one of the very few training centers in the Waldorf world for parent support,” Male said. “It (the coursework) deepens my understanding, and I also learn new things. When it’s over, I’m going back to England to use what I’ve learned here in my work.”
Besides the United Kingdom, students come from far and wide. Walpole resident Sarah James, 31, who has participated in center parent/child playgroups since her two-year-old daughter Margrethe was an infant, plans a future career in early childhood education. Last summer she attended a workshop and has returned this season for additional training. Also enrolled is Kelly Copeland, 27, a teacher at a Westmoreland children’s learning center.
“It’s wonderful to be around people who also work in early childhood education,” Copeland said. “It’s a great resource, and it’s right here (in Keene).”
Bringing childhood educators together is a key goal.
“We give hope to early childhood educators,” said Weber. “Hope is an important piece. They can say ‘I’m not alone as an early childhood professional. Here (Sophia’s Hearth) is my support.’”
The center, which recently concluded a capital campaign, soon will break ground for a new facility at 700 Court Street. Family service and professional development programs will be expanded; and a new childcare program implemented. For details, contact the non-profit.
— Joan Geary
Throughout the past decade, the Keene organization has served more than 1,000 Monadnock Region families through programs such as pre-natal workshops, child nutrition classes and staff-facilitated play groups for parents and children.
The center has also gained international recognition for its professional development programs for early childhood educators. Training focuses on the education system of the Pikler Institute, a methodology of nurturing and respecting young children developed by Hungarian pediatrician Emmi Pikler.
Also incorporated is the philosophy of Waldorf education founder Rudolf Steiner, who advocated treating children as spiritual beings. Students are trained to observe, recognize and respond to the needs of children, parents and caregivers.
“We’re making accessible compelling ideas to empower professionals to find responses to the situations they find themselves in,” said Susan Weber, executive director of Sophia’s Hearth Family Center. “There’s no formula, no recipe, no canned curriculum … There are ideas and possibilities. You go home and practice and find what’s right for you, your family and your situation.”
Year-round conferences and workshops are offered to child educators and caregivers, and a 13 month part-time comprehensive training program is conducted for professionals. There’s also a three week intensive summer workshop series facilitated in part by European early child-education experts.
Participants study physical, emotional and cognitive child development, caregiver relationships and engage in art, handcrafts and song. Details are available on the organization’s Web site. (See contact information.)
This summer’s sessions, which began last week, attracted a diverse student body. Among the workshop attendees is Dot Male. A teacher trainer in York and London, England, she recently published “The Parent and Child Group Handbook: A Steiner Waldorf Approach,” a book for teachers and parents.
“This is one of the very few training centers in the Waldorf world for parent support,” Male said. “It (the coursework) deepens my understanding, and I also learn new things. When it’s over, I’m going back to England to use what I’ve learned here in my work.”
Besides the United Kingdom, students come from far and wide. Walpole resident Sarah James, 31, who has participated in center parent/child playgroups since her two-year-old daughter Margrethe was an infant, plans a future career in early childhood education. Last summer she attended a workshop and has returned this season for additional training. Also enrolled is Kelly Copeland, 27, a teacher at a Westmoreland children’s learning center.
“It’s wonderful to be around people who also work in early childhood education,” Copeland said. “It’s a great resource, and it’s right here (in Keene).”
Bringing childhood educators together is a key goal.
“We give hope to early childhood educators,” said Weber. “Hope is an important piece. They can say ‘I’m not alone as an early childhood professional. Here (Sophia’s Hearth) is my support.’”
The center, which recently concluded a capital campaign, soon will break ground for a new facility at 700 Court Street. Family service and professional development programs will be expanded; and a new childcare program implemented. For details, contact the non-profit.
— Joan Geary
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