Introduction

Welcome

Welcome to the Leatherwood Academy family.  We are so blessed and thankful that you have selected us to care for and educate your child/ren.  At Leatherwood Academy, your child/ren will be given every opportunity to grow, challenge and reach their potential.  Within this handbook you will find everything you need to know as a member of our family.

Mission Statement

Leatherwood Academy strives to provide a safe, encouraging, and supportive learning environment which nurtures curiosity, wonder, and lifelong learning while giving back to the community.

Program Philosophy

Leatherwood Academy (Little Bird Primary) has adopted an educational philosophy where thinking, feeling and doing are integrated.  This integration works with nature stressing the importance of nurturing as well as readiness.  Respecting each child as a unique individual, our approach to early childhood education is to expose, not force, skills and enrichment activities that consider the total development of the child: social, emotional, intellectual and physical. Considering the total development of the child, we select knowledgeable staff that are committed to continued professional development.  Seeing parents as partners, a cooperative home-school relationship is vital. We understand and value the earliest experiences, the relationships between teachers and learners, and the environments in which time is spent.  Providing an authentic, aesthetic, enticing, and safe environment, we hope to nurture curiosity, wonder, and engagement.

Through the use of My Father’s World Curriculum, thematic units and projects in our classrooms, we integrate the learning objectives and the various centers in the environment to engage the whole child.  The curriculum is enhanced through various field trips into the community, which provide opportunities for the children to engage as members of their neighborhood.  Through observation and periodic developmentally appropriate assessments, the development of each child is evaluated and discussed with their families.  We take pride in every achievement and progress that our children make, supporting self-reliance and regulation as they begin to trust their own decisions and make positive choices in their world.  We believe in providing healthy meals, snacks, and routines that regularly reinforce good hygiene.  Additionally, we foster teamwork and compassion amongst our staff, children and their families.  This is achieved through trust, respect, and accountability in all relationships for the good of the children.