PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH
Cucú is an educational project based on the Pedagogy of connection.
Who are you? What do you need?
We believe that at the base of autonomy is the connection a child has with his/her caregiver, made possible through quality daily care.
We understand these cares (changing the diaper, offering food, accompanying sleeping...) as moments of intimacy between the child and his educator, since they are reserved exclusively for him/her.
For us, the Art of Education is based in respectful caregiving. It consists of building a solid relationship with the young child and offering him/her our "shelter", while allowing them to discover the world autonomously, in order to find himself.
The small ratio (maximum 5 children per educator) enables us to provide a sensitive attention towards each toddler and child, because only when they possess emotional security they can devote themselves fully to the task of exploring.
CUCÚ IS A PLACE WHICH PLACES CONFIDENCE AND TRUST IN EACH CHILD’S INNATE ABILITIES AND A PLACE OF OPEN PLAY OPPORTUNITIES.
In Cucú our goal is to cultivate with an open mind educational experiences based on respectful caregiving, where the autonomous activity of the child is favoured with indirect intervention by the adult.
In particular, our approach is based on Pikler and Waldorf philosophy, which consider the baby and the small child as a seed with all the internal information to grow. The individual providing care to that “seed”, to follow the metaphor, is the gardener who knows his plants and knows what each one needs. Creating the best conditions to let them flourish in all it’s beauty.
TO KNOW, IT IS NECESSARY TO OBSERVE.
The concept of invitations and play scenarios is inspired by the educational experience in Reggio Emilia, which considers the environment as the "third teacher", connected to art and nature, and prepared with care and aesthetic sensibility.
We contextualize Maria Montessori's work in relation to practical life, valuing more “real" experiences grounded in the child's daily life instead of applying the "method". We only “do” based on what makes sense to the child.
For us, it is important to hold a structure in a secure and loving way, and set a daily rhythm which balances two distinct moments:
> Moments for expansion: in which the child can play in the prepared space following his/her own interests.
> Moments for contraction: in which the child receives individualized care (food, diaper change, sleep) or it is the educator who proposes finger, skirt and movement songs.