The Younger Group

Cathleen Tong teaches the three-year span of the Younger Group. She "lives the day" with her children, carefully nurturing the group of six- through nine-year-olds as they develop into a caring, concerned community of learners.

Academics begin to have a more traditionally structured form in the Y.G., with a strong basis in problem solving. The children are encouraged to find and use their own strengths as learners to build their skills through a large variety of activities and equipment.

The classroom is bright and busy. Cathleen encourages movement and talking, because children need to do both to learn. The whole Y.G. works on many things together, like plays, singing, group books, and a sense of group responsibility. They also work in small learning groups, teaching each other, and as individuals, developing their own ideas, work habits and projects.

Cathleen believes that children in these age ranges "need a wide path for learning."

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YG Newsletter

"You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth"
Written by Elaina Vimmerstedt

Last week, a couple of Younger Group children came up to me and excitedly reported how we are all just made up of star particles! This cosmically-aware statement struck me. I marveled at their joyful discovery of their place in the greater realm of existence! The children inspire me daily to think about the big picture, even as they are completely absorbed in their child-sized worlds. People who work with children as teachers, and people who raise them as parents and guardians are so lucky to have their presence in our lives. I love teaching at a school that celebrates childhood every day.

I'd like to pair these thoughts with a passage from one of my favorite writers:

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

Elaina Vimmerstedt - Younger Group

Elaina was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. She studied music education and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Wittenberg University in Springfield, and holds a certification in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). During her time in college, Elaina served as an Americorps VISTA for Springfield Promise Neighborhood in their summer school program. After graduation, Elaina sought out alternative teaching posts that honored the humanity of the children and teachers involved. This search initially led her to the Glen Helen Outdoor Education Center. During her time at Glen Helen, she led 30+ groups of children through the acres of the Glen Helen Nature Preserve. She also served as the program coordinator for the outdoor school.

Elaina first visited The Antioch School as an intrigued teacher from another school - she went to observe the environment, teachers, and children to see what could be gleaned from their unique approach to education. Soon after this inspirational day of observation, Elaina began working at The Antioch School as the assistant teacher in the Older Group classroom and an artist in residence teaching music to all classes.

“One of the most important responsibilities of a teacher is to know their students deeply. In that knowing, there is room for each child to be themselves and to be affirmed in their identity. In that knowing, there is acceptance of their unique trajectory in life. I always start with the learner. It is an honor to help facilitate the daily discoveries of children at The Antioch School as they grow.”

The Younger Group
For first-, second-, and third-graders

Full-day
8:30 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.