The Body
(Health & Wellness)
As evidenced through Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, students cannot be expected to learn anything unless their basic human needs are met first. In order to reach “Self-Actualization”, or a place where true learning can occur, it is vital for a school to first focus on 4 other layers of human need: physiological needs, safety and security, love and belonging and self-esteem. Below we explain how Quintral meets both physiological and safety and security needs and in the section on the “Spirit” we address love and belonging and self-esteem.
Physical health and well-being encompasses a broad spectrum of needs. Children are kept healthy through a balanced diet of whole, unprocessed foods, the regular use of their hands and daily interaction with soil and the natural world, consistent exercise (usually in the form of play), and the growing ability to listen to and care for their own body.
Gardening, Animal Husbandry, Herbal Medicine and Nutrition
Our school’s vegetable garden, fruit orchard, herb garden and small animal farm are central to our project. At Quintral students learn where their food and medicine comes from and they are privy to the entire farm-to-table experience. Through the slow work of gardening and animal husbandry students learn responsibility, experience first-hand the time and energy that goes into food production and get to reap the many benefits of delicious, home-grown food. Students leave Quintral with all the skills necessary to grow their own food for decades to come, enriching their adulthood with a level of confidence and sustainability that is vital to our planet’s future.
Hands-On Projects
At Quintral most student work is hands-on. There are numerous cognitive and social-emotional benefits to working with our hands. Students at Quintral are engaged in a significant amount of “making” and “creating”, which improves their confidence, reduces anxiety and improves memory and attention. A few examples of the handiwork students participate in include the knitting of their own slippers, chopping of wood for the classroom wood-burning stoves, watering of plants and feeding of animals.
Play
We believe in all of the many benefits of play-based learning. Young people need to play and it is through play that they get exercise, learn vital social skills, stretch their imaginations and learn their own personal boundaries. Play is incorporated into our 2 daily hours of free time as well as our Freedom Fridays.
All Weather
Exposure to Nature
At Quintral we spend as much time as possible outside. This includes play time, work, class time, meetings and excursions. We know that humans need to breathe fresh air, need to physically experience the changing seasons and different weather conditions, need to hear bird song and the babble of a creek and need to allow nature to calm our nervous system and remind us of our true priorities. To this end, we educate students and their families on appropriate clothing and gear and we teach students how to make themselves comfortable in nature. When we do find ourselves inside a classroom or a building, we try to bring nature in through the use of natural materials, the opening of windows and skylights and the imitation of nature’s simple and calming decor.
Autonomy
In order for students to learn to listen to their bodies and trust their own intuition, they must be allowed to exercise a significant amount of personal autonomy. In our school students are allowed personal freedom when it comes to meeting their basic needs such as using the bathroom, eating and drinking, movement and finding personal space.
Safety and security are reinforced daily as students learn through experience that they can trust our staff and their peers, learn the skills of risk management and problem-solving, learn how to anticipate and face a variety of challenges, and experience their needs being heard and respected.
Weekly Adventures
Fun Fridays often include an off-campus excursion, either to another location in town, an outdoor adventure or a volunteer opportunity. As students are led on unique adventures they learn to trust that they are in good hands and they experience firsthand that safety is always our staff’s primary concern. They are regularly encouraged to step out of their comfort zone, and with each successful experience, their trust in the community grows. Outdoor adventures necessitate a significant amount of teamwork which over time gives students a sense of community and helps them see themselves as a vital part of the whole.
Our “no bad weather” policy invites students to learn how to best care for their bodies in a variety of different environments. Students learn how to use both man-made gear and natural materials to keep themselves warm, fed and comfortable in all conditions and this confidence proves useful when students are faced with any less-than-ideal situation.