About

Hello! My name is Zoe and I am so glad that you are visiting this website. Kay, Nick, and I would love to help you with your educational needs whether you are a parent or caregiver, teacher, church or other religious worker, daycare provider: anyone who cares about families and children! The reason H.P. Joyful Children exists is to provide quality, engaging curricula for children. H. P. stands for the Greek words, Haroumena Pethia, which is where the phrase Joyful Children comes from.

I have been working predominately in the world of early childhood education for over thirty years, learning from children and families themselves, furthering my own education, writing curricula, and designing/gathering materials. We are starting out with offering some free seasonal lessons, as well as a weekly blog, and a couple curricula for purchase.

Our work is rooted in love and designed to support the holistic—physical, sensory, cognitive/brain, language, social, emotional, creative—needs of children. As followers of Christ, the love of God is central to both our lives and our work as we provide resources that can be used both in public/non-religious and private settings. Play and experiential learning are two of our main methods of teaching. Young children, especially, learn best through actively engaging in their world: pretending, participating in real activities like pouring and using a spoon, being in nature, building, being told stories and read books of quality, exploring real objects. In addition, math and language concepts can be taught in the context of learning about our world. (Though we will be offering math, phonics, and language arts curriculum that functions on its own in the coming months.)

If you are interested in a more detailed account of our philosophy, feel free to peruse the article, “A Biblical and Developmental Approach to Caring for Children”.

FAQ

Q: Why do we use mainly photos of children's hands, tops of heads, or backs, and, on occasion, cover children's faces?

A: Even though we get permission from their parents and caregivers to use photos, we always want to make sure children remain safe and their images aren't misused by others. In addition, photographs of children's hands engaging in learning are powerful.