There’s a new option for parents of kindergarten-aged children in Gray-New Gloucester and the surrounding area. With only a handful of students, Fiddlehead Art & Science Center is about halfway through its first year, which is a natural extension of its well-established preschool offering.

“We want people in the area to know what we’re doing,” said Jacinda Cotton-Castro, Fiddlehead’s executive director. “Parents have wanted us to open a school almost from the beginning.”

Additional Photos

With maps in hand, three Fiddlehead Art & Science Center kindergartners get ready for an excursion to the Libby Hill Preserve in Gray. Courtesy Fiddlehead Arts and Science Center

Fiddlehead has a van in which the kids spend much of their time traversing the community and visiting interesting sites like Pineland Farms, the Shaker Village, or the Libby Hill Preserve. When spring hits, the Maine Wildlife Park and the area’s many lakes and ponds will be natural stop-offs.

“We use the community as an extended classroom,” says teacher Marie Reimensnyder. “One of the goals is to give the program an environmental and outdoor focus.”

A former art teacher, Reimensnyder lives in New Gloucester and homeschooled her own children for a time. She’s pursuing a masters in Ecological Teaching and Learning.

Fiddlehead employs a unique but time-tested approach. At the heart of this early childhood program is what’s known as Reggio Emilia, a specific style of alternative learning like the Waldorf or Montessori-based schools. Castro says only five or six schools in Maine are offering the Reggio Emilia program. “It’s where we follow the student’s interests,” she said.

Named after a city in Italy, Reggio Emilia was hailed as the best pre-school program in the world by Newsweek magazine back in 1991. The philosophy came out of Italy’s reconstruction following World War II. Its core beliefs include using the environment as a teacher, paying attention to a child’s multiple symbolic languages, and developing long-term projects.

“The kids’ interests move in and out as they grow,” said Reimensnyder. “The Reggio approach tries to work so kids develop ideas through a longer period of time and more in-depth.”

In November, the kids went to the Gray Transfer Station, a trip most adults would have learned a thing or two from. Who knew that glass is crushed here and used as a base for asphalt roads? 

Fiddlehead has steadily grown through its nine years of operation; Reimensnyder began her time here some five years ago in the preschool program. The center has long recognized there are few private-school options for young folks outside of Portland.

“Not everyone can drive to Portland or afford to attend those institutions,” Castro said. “We’re trying to make something local.”

For more information visit www.fiddleheadcenter.org. Two open houses are planned for 5:30 to 7 p.m. Jan. 12-13 and Feb. 9-10. Registration for the fall begins Feb. 1.

Don Perkins is a freelance writer who lives in Raymond. He can be reached at: presswriter@gmail.com

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