Learning In a Free Enivronment

"Learn your own way" is the motto of our school

The basic principle of democratic education is that every child is unique and has a natural urge to learn. Within a democratic school, each child develops his or her own learning path. In addition, the students take joint responsibility for the organization of the school. All staff members, subject teachers and students together form the school circle, the heart of the school. They can introduce topics, participate in discussions and take decisions. Decisions are made on the basis of the CONSENT method. You don't have to agree with a proposal, as by consensus, but you can agree to it if you don't have a major objection. If you do, the proposal will expire and the initiative to come up with a new proposal lies with you.

LIFE! offers a challenging, inspiring and powerful learning environment for this. Safety comes first here. We take care of this because our team acts on the basis of non-violent communication (NVC). This way of compassionate communication allows people to truly connect with themselves and others and act accordingly. People learn through imitation, among other things, and NVC increases the capacity to act empathically. The giraffe is the symbol of Nonviolent Communication and with this LIFE! the first Giraffe School in the Netherlands!

Sustainability and nature conservation are matters to which LIFE! actively participates. Products used within the school are organic and sustainable as much as possible. We separate plastic, paper and glass waste. Second LIFE! is our school/leather shop. A partnership is currently being set up with Landscape Noord Holland and Boerderij Maarssen, for example for internships.