The Cottage School

Organic education embraces the natural desire to learn that comes from within the child when the child is intrinsically motivated.

• Respecting the child`s natural development and pace
• Considering individual needs, desires, passions, and ways of learning
• Supporting all areas of the child`s development: physical, social-affective and cognitive.
• Teaching through immersion to learn organically, to learn from the whole

The Cottage School teaches children ages 2 through 14, with its unique, well-established education programs for Mommy/Daddy and Me Group, Playgroup,Preschool, Young K - K, and 1st through 8th Grade. Classes in Spanish, Mandarin, French, and German language immersion are offered.

A core belief at The Cottage School is that foreign languages and art, in all forms, be it visual arts, music, dance, poetry, imaginative play or drama, positively influence children in their physical, affective and cognitive development, their desire to learn and their love for school. The Cottage School answers the communities` calls for a creative, academically outstanding, and affordable alternative to existing private and public schools in Somerset, Hunterdon, and Morris counties.The school has a non-discriminatory policy and accepts students on a year-round, non-selective basis.

The Cottage School develops a love of learning, free of pressure and sustained by a spirit of discovery at a pace that accompanies the students. The teachers respect and feed the child's innate sense of curiosity, fostering a life-long passion for learning. Children naturally seek information and our school honors the child's natural abilities to learn from the whole. Students are induced by the presentation of suitable material and relevant experiences to discover things for themselves and construct conclusions on their own in an organic way.

The Cottage School designs its own curriculum and play-based teaching materials, integrating arts and academics in all the traditional subjects. It uses developmentally appropriate activities to teach without traditional tests, grades, or textbooks. Textbooks can provide facts but are oftentimes shallow, outdated, or one-sided, lacking perspective and varied viewpoints. The teachers create a flexible and dynamic interaction generated by a teacherstudent-centered class time.

Our programs integrate traditional subject areas of fine arts, foreign languages, literature, social studies, mathematics, physical education, and the natural world in a cooperative, non-competitive environment. Folktales, rounds, and traditional songs are part of our daily activities. It is academics and art in daily communion.

All students have the opportunity for uninterrupted free play every day. They are encouraged to begin their play by simple suggestions from their teachers. They develop their imaginations by building and creating environments, using silks, wool, wooden play structures, handmade dolls, and blocks.