Our History
Moonstone Preschool is a division of Moonstone Inc., whose deceptively simple principle, “Education through the Arts from the cradle to the grave,” can be seen in every aspect of our school. Moonstone Inc. was founded on the belief that learning is a lifelong process, stimulated by imagination and supported through inquiry and expressive communication.
Moonstone, Inc was formed in 1983 as a 501(c)3 arts organization when Larry Robin, an artist and third generation bookstore owner and Sandy Robin, an artist and early childhood educator, merged their separate activities with adults and children into a unified program with a single ethos and goal. Larry formed the Moonstone Arts Center, while Sandy founded Moonstone Preschool.
Moonstone Preschool has been at the heart of the Bella Vista/Hawthorne arts and education community and has gained a reputation as one of Philadelphia’s most sought-after and distinctive early education institutions. We look forward to continuing to provide the best in arts education for our young participants for many, many years to come.
Our Mission
The mission of Moonstone Preschool is to stimulate creativity, cognitive development and affective learning. At Moonstone, we create a culture of learning: we teach a humanistic, inspiring, playful approach to education; we focus on children’s strengths, promoting positive self-expression, and the growth of free, inquisitive, independent, diverse, and cooperative minds. We believe in Education Through the Arts.
Education Through the Arts
We strive to keep the love of learning that children start out with alive. Our interest is in process rather than product. We get children to investigate and understand the world around them – to think.
We believe the keys to learning are imagination and creativity, which are innate in all children. Using an arts-based thematic method that incorporates Multiple Intelligence Theory results in a teaching technique that is dynamic and encompasses all children’s learning needs.
Values
Diversity in Everything- We believe it is important for children to experience an environment that embraces everyone and to interact with people who do not look alike, sound alike, think alike, or solve problems in the same ways.
Progressive Educational Theory– Embracing facets of John Dewey’s holistic approach to preschool education, Moonstone creates an all-inclusive, effective educational environment using the theories described in the sections that follow.
Uniqueness of Every Child– Early childhood education is special because children learn through experience and example and children absorb what happens around them in their own way.
Belief in Process, Essence, and Self-Expression– We believe it is important to create an environment that allows children to find their own way without taking advantage of others. We strive to teach children that respect is earned by showing respect, and that children develop character through struggle.
Valuing Art and Hands-On Experience- Art is not enrichment; it is central to learning and life’s experiences. The arts supply entry to the multiple intelligences: musical-rhythmic (music), visual-spatial (visual art), verbal-linguistic (language), logical-mathematical (math), bodily-kin esthetic (dance, sports), interpersonal (theater, play), intrapersonal (theater, play), and naturalistic (nature).
Little Free Libraries
A Little Free Library is a neighborhood book exchange where anyone passing by can take a book to read or leave a book for someone else to find. Little Free Libraries come in all shapes and sizes and are owned by “stewards” whose job is to re-stock books and maintain the library. Moonstone Preschool is excited to be the stewards of a Little Free Library located in front of the school. Thanks to Stanev-Potts architects, a longtime Moonstone family, who have purchased and repurposed two pay phone hoods to become the first Little Free Libraries in our neighborhood. Besides sharing books with our neighbors, we plan on registering the library as a Geocaching site, which will bring treasure hunters, as well as readers, to our libraries!
