One Stillness
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Beauty as a foundation for education?
"A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."What is beauty? Does beauty bring joy? Joy to who? Is beauty a perception, or a subjective interpretation? Is beauty a concrete concept, or is it a deeper abstract? Is what we find beautiful a reflection of our personality? Can we learn about ourselves from what we find beautiful? Is creating beauty a human urge, used to focus the mind? Why does beauty matter?- Albert Einstein
Philosophers have discussed beauty for centuries. I don't have the answers to the above questions, although I have my own thoughts and interpretations, as I am sure, you will have too. What is important to me, however, is the important role beauty plays in the life and education of our young children.
Renowned Harvard University professor Howard Gardner, says that the essence of education should be learning to think - What children need is a deep understanding of truth, beauty and goodness, a training that will help them better understand why the world is as it is and how life can and should be lived. Maria Montessori too, emphasised the importance of beauty when educating the young child. The Montessori preschool prepared environment is characterised by order, simplicity and beauty which meet the needs of the child. Real tools, beautiful ornaments, china ware, glass crockery, and real art, our Montessori classrooms are a place of beauty and aesthetics.
“The child should love everything he learns. Whatever is presented to him must be made beautiful and clear. Once this love has been kindled, all problems confronting the educationalist will disappear.”As teachers we have an overloaded curriculum to adhere to. We are expected to load our children with facts and knowledge, we give them a taste of a topic and move on to the next. We are forever racing against the clock, preparing them for the next test. What if we take the time to give the child the tools so that in turn they can discover the universe on their own? What if we, as teachers, provide the foundation, so the child can build the structure? A building is only as good as its foundation though. The child can not build on a shaky foundation! Will a child take delight in building its own structure, and therefore gain a deeper understanding? Will beauty play a role in it?- Maria Montessori
Montessori’s global vision was not the specific presentation of a few lessons but the impact of the lessons themselves, the deepness and true understanding. An understanding of truth, beauty and goodness. In Zen, beauty rests on simplicity, requiring patience, creating a calm, reflective mind. Creating simplicity and nurturing patience in the live of the young children at Tawa Montessori and Little Earth plays an essential part. In our preschool classrooms we pay great attention to the inner needs of the child which include stillness, reflection, a reverence for nature, and appreciation of the interconnectedness of all things, and the cultivation of peacefulness, compassion, generosity and love.
Traditionally, beauty is often interpreted as being in balance and harmony with nature, effecting our emotional well-being. Nature plays an important role in bringing beauty into the lives of our young children. Nature affects our moods and our experiences. For the children in our preschools at Tawa and at Paraparaumu, the daily work of sweeping the deck, raking the sand, caring for the plants, is a time of serenity and peace. They are learning to become more aware of nature, which in itself effects the way they look at things and in the way they feel about themselves, giving them strength and endurance to build their structures. This in itself brings beauty, inner beauty, outer beauty. Does it bring enjoyment? Does it reflect the personality of the child? Does it involve the mind? Does it matter? What are your thoughts?
- Anja
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Our very own Bug Hilton
Our gardens play a major part at our preschools. Gardening is one way to develop a positive caring attitude towards nature. Our gardens help us to develop an awareness and understanding of our relationship to our environment.
Gardens are more then flowers and plants. Gardens provide habitat for a wide range of living creatures and many different species of insects. Insects are crucial to a healthy living garden. Bees and butterflies will help our flowers bloom and their presence in the garden adds other dimensions of sound, colour and movement. Many insects play an important role as pollinator or as pest control. By providing the correct habitats we can greatly increase the number of beneficial insects in our gardens and also provide a home to those that are in decline.
A "bug Hilton", or “insect hotel” is a structure made from re-cycled materials such as wood, old pallets, old terra cotta plant pots, dry leaves, bark, straw and hay. Each section of the hotel is filled with a different material that provides a habitat for a wide range of insects.
At Little Earth we have started planting natives. With these plants we hope to provide a food source of flowers and shrubs for our birds and insects. However, we are in need of more (beneficial) insects to help us with the establishment of our garden. Ladybirds, damselflies bees, and butterflies, to name a few, they all play an important role. Unfortunately, many of our insects are under threat from pesticides, spreading suburbia and agriculture. Providing a secure haven in our garden allows these crawlies an excuse to make our garden their permanent home. They seem to prefer individual tunnels to either lay eggs or hibernate in during the winter months.
Both at Tawa Montessori and at Little Earth we are helping our insect friends by making an insect hotel. We are using old wooden shelf units as the basis. A small rim around the top enables us to add some soil in which we have planted succulents, giving the hotels a ”living roof”. The remaining bottom shelves will serve as “floors”, to which we will add “rooms”.
At Little Earth we recently had a “Bring a Bug” night. Families were invited to bring their dinner of choice and a picnic rug to preschool, and share each others company. In addition, each family could bring a “room and guest” to check in at the hotel. Families could bring bamboo sticks, bricks with holes, ponga logs, wood slices, dry leaves, old terracotta pots, dead wood, straw and hay etc. Anything that creates lots of of crevices, nooks and crannies for the insects to climb into to keep warm in winter or to hibernate in. We already have several guests checked in to the rooms.
- Anja
This post is part 5 of the series "Going Green"
- Going Green part 1 - Recycling
- Going Green part 2 - An enviro care code
- Going Green part 3 - An edible garden
- Going Green part 4 - Composting with young children
Gardens are more then flowers and plants. Gardens provide habitat for a wide range of living creatures and many different species of insects. Insects are crucial to a healthy living garden. Bees and butterflies will help our flowers bloom and their presence in the garden adds other dimensions of sound, colour and movement. Many insects play an important role as pollinator or as pest control. By providing the correct habitats we can greatly increase the number of beneficial insects in our gardens and also provide a home to those that are in decline.
A "bug Hilton", or “insect hotel” is a structure made from re-cycled materials such as wood, old pallets, old terra cotta plant pots, dry leaves, bark, straw and hay. Each section of the hotel is filled with a different material that provides a habitat for a wide range of insects.
At Little Earth we have started planting natives. With these plants we hope to provide a food source of flowers and shrubs for our birds and insects. However, we are in need of more (beneficial) insects to help us with the establishment of our garden. Ladybirds, damselflies bees, and butterflies, to name a few, they all play an important role. Unfortunately, many of our insects are under threat from pesticides, spreading suburbia and agriculture. Providing a secure haven in our garden allows these crawlies an excuse to make our garden their permanent home. They seem to prefer individual tunnels to either lay eggs or hibernate in during the winter months.
Both at Tawa Montessori and at Little Earth we are helping our insect friends by making an insect hotel. We are using old wooden shelf units as the basis. A small rim around the top enables us to add some soil in which we have planted succulents, giving the hotels a ”living roof”. The remaining bottom shelves will serve as “floors”, to which we will add “rooms”.
At Little Earth we recently had a “Bring a Bug” night. Families were invited to bring their dinner of choice and a picnic rug to preschool, and share each others company. In addition, each family could bring a “room and guest” to check in at the hotel. Families could bring bamboo sticks, bricks with holes, ponga logs, wood slices, dry leaves, old terracotta pots, dead wood, straw and hay etc. Anything that creates lots of of crevices, nooks and crannies for the insects to climb into to keep warm in winter or to hibernate in. We already have several guests checked in to the rooms.
 | The children check the hotel every day. We wonder what bugs will want to come and stay ... |
- Anja
This post is part 5 of the series "Going Green"
- Going Green part 1 - Recycling
- Going Green part 2 - An enviro care code
- Going Green part 3 - An edible garden
- Going Green part 4 - Composting with young children
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