THE HISTORY OF
SOPHIA'S HEARTH FAMILY CENTER

Sophia’s Hearth Family Center was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 1999. Programs for parents began in the fall of 1999 with one facilitated playgroup for infants.

Our playgroup program outgrew Antioch’s donated space and with hard work from the board of directors and volunteer parents, our first permanent (rental) home was created at 36 Carpenter Street in the autumn of 2002.

Sophia's Hearth Family Center is internationally known for its work; professional development students come from all over the United States and Canada as well as abroad. Our faculty includes those throughout the world – Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, and the U.S. – who have pioneered the very best practices in caring for very young children. Over 600 participants have joined our professional courses and workshops, and our 13-month part-time training program, inaugurated in 2004, has graduates working throughout North American and abroad as parent-child group leaders, early childhood classroom teachers and childcare givers in both homes and centers.

Sophia’s Hearth Family Center is unique in the Monadnock region for its holistic approach to supporting and educating children and families from pregnancy through the first three crucial years in human development, and is unique in North America for offering the only training program of its kind to early childhood professionals.