About Us

The cornerstone of childhood lies in fostering their energetic well-being.

At Heart-Centered School, our purpose is to support others in nurturing the inherent wholeness of their children. We specialize in all ages, and are particularly driven to support younger children during the vital developmental stage from toddler age to twelve years old, while their habit bodies are still forming or taking root. We believe that children come into this world complete, and our role is to support and preserve this innate wholeness. During their earlier years, from toddlerhood through pre-adolescence, a child’s brain is still developing and forming their sense of self. Especially in the younger part of this range, children experience the world with little distinction between themselves and their surroundings. This period is crucial for their overall development.

We focus on supporting those who work closely with children, including educators and school communities. Our approach is to delve deep into the essence of the child, exploring and nurturing four key developmental domains: Energetic Development, Consciousness Development, Intuitive Development, and Physical Development. We recognize that these areas are interlinked and that each child's development is a dynamic interplay of these multiple facets.

At Heart-Centered School, we emphasize the importance of responding to children in ways that revere their individual experiences, fostering a safe space for their feelings and development. Our approach is rooted in the understanding that children learn and develop through their interactions and responses to the world around them. By offering presence, warmth, rhythm, and spaciousness, we aim to cultivate an environment where children can develop a love for learning, an essential foundation for lifelong growth and expansion. Our Heart Centered Pedagogy©, developed by founder Halimah Harden, encompasses these four developmental areas as integral components of a child’s journey, supporting their needs while strengthening their core foundation for their ever-evolving self:

Consciousness Development

Literacy & Conceptual Thought
Pattern Recognition
Awareness of Perception
Conscious Choices

Consciousness development in childhood is the unfolding of a child’s ability to sense, interpret, and participate in their inner and outer worlds with growing awareness. It includes cognitive growth, such as language development, literacy, and conceptual thinking, while also inviting children into deeper explorations of patterns, meaning, and evolving perception. This stage is essential in the formative years, as children begin to shape what some call the habit body: the automatic ways of perceiving, thinking, and responding. When a child can identify a pattern, they gain the capacity to elevate it, to consciously shift it into something more expansive. Supporting this awareness early on lays the foundation for a life of intentional choice, reflection, and inner growth.

Energetic
Development

Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Regulation
Compassion & Empathy
Feeling without Judgment

Energetic development in childhood recognizes that feelings are forms of energy, and that emotional growth begins with allowing these feelings to be fully felt. At its core, energetic development invites us to meet children’s emotions with presence, warmth, and gratitude, without rushing to fix something simply because they are crying or feeling sadness or anger. When we try to change or label a feeling as wrong, even subtly, we risk teaching them that something is lacking in the experience of feeling itself. But there is nothing lacking in feeling. When we respond with calm acceptance, we preserve the child’s sense of wholeness. Through this grounded way of being with them, children learn to welcome their emotions and grow into adults who continue to meet their feelings with that same acceptance and the capacity to fully feel them whenever they arise.

The Heart-Centered Pedagogy

The Four Stages of Child Development

Deep Listening Skills
Inner Guidance
Authentic Expression
Embodied Presence

Intuitive
Development

Intuitive development in childhood is about embracing and honoring the unique essence of each child. This approach encourages children to deeply listen to their inner movements and follow their inner compass in each present moment. It nurtures their personal expression and supports their individual way of articulating themselves, recognizing that beneath spoken language lies a deeper, intuitive one. By attuning to this inner guidance with practices like deep listening and presence, we support children in connecting with their natural wisdom, allowing them to express themselves and their authenticity.

Physical Development

Fine & Gross Motor
Sensory Exploration
Physical Awareness
Spatial Dynamics

Physical development focuses on nurturing appreciation for the body and a respectful relationship with the physical world. It’s about helping children recognize the wonder in what their hands can do, how their bodies move, and how they engage with their surroundings. This stage emphasizes gratitude for form and a growing awareness of the ways we sense and relate to the world through the body. Through this connection, children learn to honor their physical abilities and develop a deep respect for both their inner physical experience and the outer environment they move within. It is a process of embodiment. of coming home to the body with presence and care.

Our breath drives everything we do.

The Six Pillars of Childhood Development

EMOTIONAL

Nurture Wholeness

We emphasize nurturing the wholeness of a child by validating every feeling as worthy of being experienced. This belief is rooted in the understanding that feeling and integrating emotions align a child with their natural circadian rhythms and breathing patterns. We encourage spaces where children can freely express and move through their feelings. This process of feeling and integration is not just an emotional exercise; it is the cornerstone for fostering a sense of wholeness, ensuring that children feel complete and acknowledged in all their emotional states.

COGNITIVE

Foster A Love of Learning

In cognitive development during childhood, our primary goal is to foster a love of learning. Recognizing that much of the brain's foundational wiring occurs before or around pre-adolescence, we focus on laying the foundations for a lifelong interest in and wonder about learning. This leads to inquiry and a deeper understanding of themselves and the world. Our approach integrates the exploration of concepts with an enhanced awareness related to consciousness. By doing so, we aim to instill an intrinsic curiosity and joy in learning during these foundational years.

EXPRESSIVE

Encourage Exploration & Creativity

We nurture each child's unique expression. We recognize that every child possesses a distinct energy and temperament, which guides their personal expression. Our role is to deeply listen to these individual energies, providing tools and support for children to explore and creatively express themselves. By supporting children in this intimate exploration, we encourage children to engage in deeper self-listening, strengthening their connection with themselves.

LANGUAGE

Inspire Intimacy & Uniqueness

With language, our focus is on exploring the depth and beauty of our mother tongue, while also moving beyond words to include the full spectrum of expression, tone, sound, and vocal play. This is a rich and meaningful time for children to investigate sound and articulation, to become more intimate with themselves and how they express. We support this exploration by celebrating the distinctiveness of each child’s vocal expression, recognizing that some children vocalize more and others less, and that both are beautiful. In this stage of childhood, language is as much about discovering one’s own voice as it is about learning to communicate with others.

SOCIAL

Sovereignty & Collaborative Learning

We emphasize the importance of modeling sovereignty alongside collaborative learning. We guide children to embrace their sovereignty, empowering them to meet others with authenticity. This fosters the ability to engage empathetically and collaboratively without losing one self. Collaboration here is understood not merely as agreement, but as a dynamic interaction where differing perspectives may coexist. By nurturing this balance, we guide children in navigating social interactions with confidence, empathy, and a clear sense of what is authentic to them in every moment.

PHYSICAL

Provide Rhythm & Spaciousness

Children are naturally guided by their own internal rhythms, especially their circadian rhythm, which includes cycles of activity, rest, and a need for spaciousness. We reflect this understanding in the environment by providing a steady daily rhythm that offers both structure and balance. Within this rhythm, we make space for moments of spaciousness - times of rest or unstructured play - that support each child’s organic development. In this way, the child’s internal rhythm is supported in their external world, helping to foster healthy and harmonious physical growth.

"Childhood is asking for a heart-centered and regenerative approach that is not a relic of the past, but something living, evolving, and breathing, an approach which embraces change, adapts to the dynamic needs of today's child, their family, and the ever-changing world around them."

Halimah Harden

Founder

Halimah Harden, the founder of Heart-Centered School and the Heart Centered Pedagogy, is at heart a pedagogue, as well as an accomplished professional in the field of child development and education. With a degree from Florida State Honors College, The New College of Florida, she specialized in the philosophy of education and authored a thesis on this topic. Her further education led her to multiple pedagogical trainings, including the Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training. Her career has seen her collaborating with childhood educators, as well as on advisory boards both nationally and internationally, including significant work with the Himalayan Trust Foundation and initiatives in South Africa supporting children from low-income families.

In 2013, Halimah served as an early childhood education specialist for the Reggio-inspired International Child Resource Institute (ICRI), where she worked with numerous families. Following this, she became an educational specialist for Wonderschool, an innovative $300 million startup, helping to shape its early childhood educational platform in 2015. Her entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish Angel Academy, a highly reputable heart-centered preschool in the Bay Area, where she led a dedicated team of teachers and built strong community ties. Halimah's journey then took her to Maui, Hawaii, for consulting work, further solidifying her expertise and impact in education & development.

Today, Halimah continues her impactful work in the realm of child development and education. She collaborates with various intentional communities worldwide, as well as developers and individuals keen on establishing childhood centers and schools. Her expertise spans a broad spectrum, encompassing pedagogical realms, licensing, budgeting, design, marketing, curriculum development, relations, operations, and team management. Her comprehensive skill set makes her a valuable asset to any project dedicated to nurturing children and shaping the future of childhood education.