FOUNDER & DIRECTOR
ANA ISABEL FORD
I started my journey in the field of education when I was 17. I dedicated every summer break interning in different schools and falling in love with education every single day. For this reason, I pursued a degree in Early Childhood Education with TESOL endorsement at Florida State University.
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After numerous years working in various traditional school settings, I founded Wonder with a vision and a desire of building and nurturing a community of empowered, creative and playful children. I dreamt of a school that encourages my children and your children to wonder, question and think independently.
"Education is above all an inner journey"
-Jacques Delors
MISSIoN & PHILOSoPHY
OUR MISSIoN
We strive to provide a meaningful, playful and developmentally appropriate environment that fosters each child’s sense of wonder, creativity, independence and feeling of community and belonging. Our mission is to assist students in their individual journey towards becoming authentic and enthusiastic life-long learners.
OUR PHIloSOpHY
At wonder, we see childhood as a unique and magical period in life. We know that every child is different and we respect their pace and way of development. We strongly believe that relationships based on love, trust and respect are the foundations for all learning and growth. We understand that our role as educators is to encourage children to get involved in their own learning, offering support and advice when needed, but allowing them to think and construct knowledge independently. We carefully listen to their ideas and offer them appropriate choices that reflect their interests. Finally, we create safe, nurturing and responsive environments that promote meaningful and successful learning to happen.
THE FOUR PILLARS OF EDUCATION
FOR THE 21st CeNTURY
At WONDer we use these pillars as the guide behind everything we do.
The core philosophy behind these pillars is to unfold important human qualities within each child and nurture their potential to develop as unique and complete individuals. As an educational setting, we aim to provide rich, varied and valuable educational experiences that address and recognise our student's quest for growth.
LEARNING TO KNOW
Children need to be given the opportunity to master various tools rather than just learning structured knowledge.
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LEARNING TO DO
Children need to be able to understand and apply knowledge in order to innovate and create. Knowledge is not power, the implementation of that knowledge is.
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LEARNING TO LIVE TOGETHER
Young children need to start developing values that make them better members of their community and the world.
LEARNING TO BE
Children need to accept themselves as they are, and understand and value their uniqueness. We need to nurture their capacity for self love and self direction.