Little Roots Academy’s Philosophy

Little Roots Academy is a home based, nature focused micro school rooted on our family homestead, where children are invited to grow in curiosity, creativity, and confidence through hands on, project based learning in the natural world. Education here is guided by the rhythm of the seasons, the children’s interests, and thoughtfully designed curriculum themes inspired by the living landscape around us.

Learning at Little Roots is intentional, experiential, and soulful. Rooted in the philosophies of Waldorf and Montessori education, our approach honors the child as a whole being: mind, body, and heart. Like Montessori, we value independence, self direction, and tactile learning through meaningful work and exploration. From Waldorf, we draw reverence for rhythm, artistry, imagination, and the inner life of the child. Together, these traditions shape an environment where learning unfolds in harmony with both nature and human development.

At Little Roots, learning moves through interconnected stages that build upon one another in a living, relevant progression rather than isolated lessons. This developmental flow allows concepts to deepen gradually and meaningfully, rooted in experience, reflection, and relationship.

In Waldorf philosophy, the soul is understood as the living bridge between body and spirit, the seat of feeling, imagination, and inner experience. When a child’s inner life is nourished, learning becomes joyful, meaningful, and alive. In a world that often moves quickly and away from wonder and beauty, Little Roots seeks to restore what is deeply human in education. We believe children need time, space, and sensory rich experiences to feel rooted, alive, and connected to the world around them.

Children explore literacy, math, science, and art through real world applications such as forming letters with twigs and stones, exploring the quality of numbers through rhythm and movement, journaling observations of the natural world, and creating collaborative projects inspired by the changing seasons.

Our curriculum integrates practical life skills such as gardening, cooking with natural ingredients, caring for animals, and tending the land. Life on the homestead becomes part of the learning environment, nurturing mindfulness, resiliency, and responsibility while helping children develop confidence through purposeful, meaningful work.

Through collaborative exploration and problem solving, children learn to think creatively and work together to meet challenges in their environment. Whether building shelters, designing simple structures from natural materials, or creating systems to gather and sort resources, students practice perseverance, cooperation, and innovative thinking through direct experience.

Little Roots Academy is a community centered micro school where collaboration and social emotional growth are woven into each day. Children learn to communicate, cooperate, and care for one another while developing respect for shared spaces, living things, and the Earth that sustains us all.

While our curriculum aligns with the Virginia Standards of Learning (VA SOLs) to ensure developmental appropriateness, instruction is delivered through meaningful, nature centered experiences rather than conventional textbooks.

Little Roots Academy is a micro school, not a conventional classroom setting. It complements each family’s homeschool or alternative education journey by offering a holistic, land based learning environment where academic understanding, life skills, creativity, and the inner life of the child are cultivated in balance.