reggio-inspired
The next time you find yourself walking through the halls of Raintree, just glance at the student work you see around you. Yes, look at the art on the walls, the sculptures on shelf-tops, and the colorfully tangled contraptions hanging from the ceiling. If you look closely, smack dab at the center, you’ll the see the intention, the love, the creative mind of the child within each piece.
We often seem to stand in stark contrast to the Worksheet Mountain and ROYGBV Valley of plastic bits and snap-its in many classrooms today. The little folks that fill our campus have a magical and purposeful energy about them. They bounce and bobble as little kids do, but they also exude an aura, yes an aura, of astronaut and artist, zoologist and Zen master.
They are the ultimate example of our Reggio-inspired approach. From the wee age of two to the very accomplished six-year-old, Raintree children dream and work together in long-term projects of their own design. Our faculty have been profoundly influenced by the work of educators in Reggio Emilia, Italy and so have our students.
With each project, our students think critically and apply their skills in Mathematics, Reading, Writing, Science, Ecology, and the Humanities. And as they tackle the tricky work of finding answers to their own questions, they are driven by clarity of thought, And just like that, any passer-by
can begin to grasp the beauty of what has been accomplished here at this small school.

While conducting research for their project, The Problem with Sharks, the pre-k class corresponded with famed shark scientist, Eugenie Clark.