How it all began.
After spending several years working in the field of early childhood mental health in northern Vermont I realized how much of a need there was for high quality early childhood care and education. We decided to look for a space in Stowe and open a school. Here's a bit of how it has all happened over the years:
- In the fall of 2011 we opened with just 2 children. By the spring of 2012 we had 10. We continued to grow and then grow some more. We were in the Ski Essentials side of the building. We worked on creating a back playground behind our building. It was chest high full of weeds and garbage. We found some real treasures back there when we started.
- In 2015, we moved from one side of the building to the other when the building was sold. The gym moved out and we moved over so Ski Essentials could take over our side of the building.
- In 2016 we expanded and added another classroom and a kitchen when Green Mountain Distillery moved to Morristown.
- We started the food program in the summer of 2017. Our goals were to be organic, vegetarian, and local. We aimed to provide the healthiest options we could with whole grains and a lot of raw fruits and vegetables.
- The winter of 2018 was our first year of the ski program at Cochran's. We have been going each winter ever since. This program has become a vital part of our school. Parents volunteer and help us each day. The hill has become a second home for us in the winter. The people of Cochran's are some of the nicest and kindest we have ever met.
- In the summer of 2020 when we were up against reopening during the pandemic, we opened the Annex on Mountain Road. In the fall we added a prek/kindergarten mixed age classroom and expanded our after school program. This was a big step for us. It was a quick decision but has turned out to give us the space we needed to expand and spread our wings. We also have much more access to the Rec Path and the town fields.
- Currently, in the summer of 2025 we are expanding the Annex to include the 2nd floor. We are adding a preschool classroom and are focusing on improving our after school program. We are currently focused on building a stronger and more intentional afterschool program. We are working on building more activities that the older children enjoy. We also will continue to make sure they have ample time for outdoor free play, every day.
Since day one we have been a nature based school. Getting outside in all types of weather is a critical component to what we believe is good for children, ourselves, and our world. We must learn to love and respect nature.
We have also always focused on creating beautiful and intentionally designed spaces for children. Believing in children's abilities and celebrating their innate interests and curiosities are at the core of our school and always will be.
This school is a community effort. We work incredibly hard to ensure our care and education is the best that is can be. It truly takes a village.
We have also always focused on creating beautiful and intentionally designed spaces for children. Believing in children's abilities and celebrating their innate interests and curiosities are at the core of our school and always will be.
This school is a community effort. We work incredibly hard to ensure our care and education is the best that is can be. It truly takes a village.
The core values of MVS are still with us today. These are aspects of the care and education that we are committed to and are not willing to change. Those values include:
- Building respectful relationships with each child.
- Curriculum that is built around children's interests.
- Providing art that is focused on exploration and the process, not an end product.
- Being involved in our community as helpers, contributors, and meaning makers.
- Getting outside in all types of weather, no matter what.
- Allowing children freedom of movement, never putting them into a position that cannot get in or out of on their own.
- Supporting and encouraging children's independence, this is done through building their self-confidence and self-awareness.
- Continuously improving ourselves as educators. Always learning more from others, reflecting on our practice, and improving what we do each and everyday. We never stop learning.