education is an atmosphere, discipline, and a life
Our Story:
Crestwood Day School was started in 2007 by Stephanie Kling and a small group of neighborhood families. The school began with three preschool-aged students in the fall of 2007 and follows the philosophy of Charlotte Mason. We believe in teaching the whole child and providing a well-rounded education. Through relational teaching, we see our primary role as creating worshippers. We pray that these children love to learn and that our school fosters their wonder and curiosity of God's creation.
Our days are filled with a living feast of education: Bible, Poetry, Literature, Handwriting, Copywork, Dictation, Science, Natural History, Nature Study, Math, Writing, French, Composer and Artist Study, Art, Music, Handicraft, and Physical Education.
We currently offer grades K - 6th and school hours are as follows:
Kindergarten - 4th Grade: Monday-Thursday 9:00 AM- 2:00 PM; Nature and History Excursions are offered twice a month on Fridays.
5th Grade - 6th Grade: Monday-Thursday, 9:00 AM-2:00 PM, Friday 9:00 AM-1:00 PM
Our Philosophy:
Charlotte Mason was a British educator in the early 1900s who wrote extensively to develop a philosophy of Christian education. She believed that education was “an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life.” She believed in making the school atmosphere more like home, with a safe environment that fostered creativity and wonder. Mason also wrote of the discipline of habits as part of their education - habits ranging from imagining and attending to excellence and observation. She also believed that education is a life sustained on ideas.
She believed in using “living books” instead of dry, factual textbooks and using narration as a means of evaluating a child’s thinking and remembering. Other key components to this feast of education are: helping the child form a relationship with what they’re learning; having short lessons which help train children in the habit of attention; an emphasis on nature study as a way to learn more about God’s creation; a great deal of time should be spent outdoors, exposing children to art, music, poetry; learning different handicrafts like sewing, weaving, and knitting.
Our Mission:
Crestwood Day School exists to cultivate and nurture a relational Christ-centered community in the Charlotte Mason tradition.
We endeavor to provide a wide and varied "feast" of education that values the whole child - mind, soul, and heart.
We strive to foster an environment where children love to learn, love one another, and love the Lord.
“The question is not, – how much does the youth know? When he has finished his education – but how much does he care? And about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? And, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?” - Charlotte Mason
