About Us
We are a small, holistic, Christian, Montessori-inspired, democratic learning community that offers preparation for both, internationally and locally recognised, American and British school leaving options. We are a civil education institution, often commonly referred to as a micro- or cottage school, in the process of registering as an independent school.
Our Philosophy
Our small Learning Community draws strongly from the Finnish educational model as well as from Montessori and Democratic Schools such as Summerhill in the UK with regards to the self-governance of the community, autonomous decision-making, the vertical age groupings of the children, the thematic approach to subjects, the no-homework policy in the primary years, self-evaluation and limited summative assessments.
Our learners progress at their own rate, following their own unique developmental timetable as we believe that there is no "average child". Our learners are thus not graded but grouped in vertical 3 year age groups or phases. Assessment is done on a daily, continual basis culminating in annual narrative reports.
Our aim is to prepare our learners for life - to grow tall trees, with deep strong roots that yield good fruit, naturally! We therefore aim to nurture and develop the entire child: head, heart and hands through engagement with a beautiful, rich, natural, varied environment. We try to give our learners tools - skills - and character qualities with which to navigate and succeed in the world, while focusing on their strengths (not their challenges) so that they might excel in those specific areas, as these strengths are the clues to their purpose.
We teach a Christian, creationist worldview even though some of the educational philosophies and methodologies we look at for inspiration are humanistic and of a New Age persuasion.
We follow a play-based, developmentally appropriate, kinaesthetic, discovery approach inspired by Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky and Dr Maria Montessori's philosophies, integrating literature-rich thematic work (unit studies) that involves research and multi-aged collaboration with our activities during the primary years. Our learners use Montessori didactics in conjunction with their texts and also participate in subjects such as Art and Practical Life which cover a variety of hands-on projects.
We are a democratic learning community founded on mutual respect where each member has equal opportunity to influence change and contribute to the learning environment. The children are guided by the community and taught how to be respectful of all living things and to all people through grace and courtesy.
We offer education that meets the needs of the 21st century by using educational methods and approaches that are backed by scientific research. Montessori educational philosophies, although developed more than 100 years ago, continue to connect with the forefront of neuropsychological research. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of personalised learning and constructivism.
Little learning is retained when it is learned on command
~ Jean Piaget
Our Curriculum
Our curriculum is aligned with the minimum standards of the Department of Education's Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement. Our pre-schoolers (Acorns) follow a Montessori-inspired approach while the primary schoolers (Seedlings and Saplings) use Cambridge English, Singapore Maths and Living Books (a Charlotte Mason approach) to theme work. Our high schoolers (Young Oaks) mainly use Cambridge Pre-IGCSE material, while our older Oaks either use online GED preparation material or texts endorsed by Cambridge Assessment International Education. We work closely with registered exam centres, in a nearby city, where our high school learners write GED or CAIE examinations as independent candidates.
Please visit the individual age groups below for more information.
Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.
~ Plato
Our Educators
We have both full-time and part-time staff, drawn from our community, so as to offer the children rich and varied learning experiences. Our educators assume the roles of facilitators at Woodbury as the children are the primary directors due to us following a student-centred approach to learning. Our facilitators are a diverse, but united, group of individuals that each bring unique strengths to the team. They are experienced, caring people that love what they are doing and are constantly growing in knowledge in their individual fields of interest. They are all supportive of- and interested in alternative learning approaches and are always open to new ideas. They are passionate about seeing each child succeed and our full-time educators actively partner with the children in their care, for an average of 3 years, so as to help them learn and grow to their optimum.
Connie & Adele Breedt
Connie & Adèle homeschooled their own sons from pre-school all the way through high school. Prior to establishing Woodbury, Adèle taught Grades 5 and 6 and was the Head of Department of the Intermediate Phase at a local independent school.
She served on the Executive of the Eastern Cape Homeschooling Association for 10 years, chairing it (with Connie) for 7 of those years. Adèle has consulted with hundreds of homeschooling families referred to her by paediatricians, psychologists, social workers and the Department of Education to help them find the best educational approach for their families. Most everything she knows, that is true about learning and teaching she learnt alongside her sons through observation, enquiry, experimentation and innovation during their 15 year homeschooling journey.
They learnt together through challenging times (dyslexia & ADD) but also through exhilarating times of high achievement. All three boys applied for admission to tertiary institutions with A aggregates from the University of Cambridge and are currently busy with post-graduate studies. The theories she applied and patiently held onto have proven to be true and it is with this confidence that Adèle is ready to guide yet another generation to their full potential.
Karen Flanegan
Karen attained her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Stellenbosch, her BSc Honours and Postgraduate Certificate in Education through the University of South Africa and a Certificate in Technical Financial Accounting through Boston College.
She is a keen crafter and enjoys baking too, skills she shares on Fridays during our fun Art, Craft and Practical Life periods.
Karen has worked in the United States of America as well as Britain and has 14 years experience teaching high school Science and Maths in South African public schools. There she found that very few children had a love for learning, and many were content to just scrape through by aiming for the bare minimum set by the Department. This is not what she wanted for her own children, so when she was offered the opportunity to teach at Woodbury, she not only accepted, but enrolled her own children too!
Sharon Parker
Sharon has a Bachelor of Education (with Distinction) in Foundation Phase Education from the University of South Africa. She has also completed two certificate courses, one in Early Childhood Education and one dealing with traumatised children.
Prior to facilitating at Woodbury she taught in various Educare Centres, taught Grade 2 and the Support Class for Grade 1 to 7 at a public school and gave afterschool Maths, English and Afrikaans lessons.
She spent a number of years as a Youth Worker amongst the local churches and a year in the United States of America as an au pair which included studying a semester course in Early Childhood Development.
Sharon has a great love for the Arts and is very involved with music, dance and drama as part of the Stutterheim Amateur Dramatic Society. She teaches music on Fridays at Woodbury and is the mastermind behind our concerts!
Sharon has a passion for children! She loves fostering a desire to learn amongst children, helping them to discover their gifts and talents and encouraging them to strive to reach their full potential.
Lindsay Stone
Lindsay is a fun-loving Facilitator at Woodbury. She has a BComm Honours degree majoring in business & finance and started her career lecturing at Rhodes University. She loves focusing on the strengths of each learner and has a passion for the overall well-being of each of student.
Suzette Boardman
Suzette is a dedicated and passionate Facilitator at Woodbury. She completed her Bachelors degree in commerce, majoring in business management, economics, and statistics. She started her career lecturing, followed by 15 years of working in finance and administration. This has enhanced her knowledge of application of the subjects she is teaching. Suzette enjoys teaching at Woodbury due to the environment that is so conducive to learning and allows for easy engagement with the students.
Greig Bartlett
Greig is an enthusiastic Facilitator & Sport Coach at Woodbury. He completed a BSc Materials Development degree at NMMU and majored in Maths and Applied Maths. He is also a brilliant sportsman receiving the Player of the Year Award for Tennis at highschool, captaining 1st Team Cricket for 3 years and playing and captaining Border Hockey. Greig loves teaching at Woodbury because the students are eager to engage and participate in the learning experience.
Trudy van Zyl
Trudy is a dedicated GED Facilitator and Assistant in the Seedling (Gr R-3) and Sapling (Gr 4-6) class. She is one of Woodbury's proud past students, having completed her GED in May of 2019. She is currently working through an ECD Course as she is passionate about Early Childhood Development and helping little people grow. It is however only the beginning of her studies to become a qualified teacher
Samantha Buchler
Sam is the hands-on content creator at Woodbury, facilitating History and themework. With a background in Art and History Art, Sam believes that children retain more when their senses are engaged while learning, and so includes a range of sensorial play, art and experiments in her lessons. She challenges her pupils to be curious about the world around them, which naturally leads to out-the-box thinking, a crucial skill to have when entering the job market in the future. Her favourite part of facilitating is seeing a student light up as they reason through a question, join the dots of what they have learnt, and reach a conclusion.
The only source of knowledge is experience.
~ Albert Einstein
Our values
- We believe that children should be respected and their voices heard.
- We believe that children need to have a carefree childhood filled with wonder and innocence, and that clear boundaries, daily rhythms and simplicity help achieve this.
- We believe that all children are born curious, eager to learn and with a desire to be independent.
- We believe that there are many ways in which to be intelligent.
- We believe that children all have their own unique developmental timetables.
- We believe that children should be followed and that learning should be facilitated, not directed.
- We believe that children learn best using all their senses, especially their tactile sense.
- We believe that undirected free play is not frivolous, but that it is the work of the child.
- We believe that children need a safe place to practice taking risks and making mistakes.
- We believe that children learn to become responsible when they are given responsibility.
- We believe that children can only learn that all choices have consequences if they are given the freedom to choose.
- We believe children learn how to make good decisions if they are given the opportunity to make important decisions.
- We believe that teaching and testing can interfere with real learning.
- We believe that new concepts should only be introduced upon mastery of preceding concepts and principles.
- We believe that children need to be prepared for a world that does not yet exist, and not an exam.
- We believe in equipping children with real life skills.
- We believe that good character and the ability to collaborate is more important than good marks.
- We believe that learning how to find relevant, trustworthy information is more important than memorizing facts.
- We believe that learning needs to be relevant and interest-driven and that it should become a wondrous, life-long adventure.
- We believe that independence is an outcome of a successful education.
- We believe that all children have a purpose and destiny to fulfill and have all the resources and abilities to do so within them, waiting to be discovered and unlocked.
- We believe in a Christian worldview.