The gift of patience

"Let us send the children out into nature to learn from nature just what patience is and how important it is for them to learn patience."

- Bernard Shaw

According to my dictionary, patience is “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset”.  In my experience, being patient is much more difficult when there is some kind of gratification involved as the end product.   In that case, waiting can become an endurance. 

In todays western society, many young children struggle with patience.  They can not wait and they demand instant gratification. They are used to being entertained and in some cases they get served upon instantly. 

The children at our preschools are taught the meaning of patience, not just knowing how to wait for something, but experiencing patience through hands on interactions and experiences.  Our children are given time and space to be outside, in nature, in our garden  to watch the birds, the animals, the insects, the flowers, the trees, the clouds, the wind, the rain, and everything else that is part of nature’s life theatre. 

They learn to be patient when they plant seeds, and wait for the seedlings to grow into plants with beautiful white flowers that grow into yummy red strawberries.

They wait patiently when they place food on the bird feeder for the wild birds to visit, picking the seeds, and giving a live show of tricks.

They discover what patience means when they care for the broody hen who sits on the nest for three weeks, until they arrive at preschool one morning and find fluffy chicks peeking from beneath mother hen.

They are patient when they observe the caterpillar turning into a chrysalis and one day emerge as a beautiful monarch butterfly.

And the ultimate patience is taught when they plant an acorn and wait to finally one day identify a green sprout that resembles an oak!

Instead of playing with computer games or watching tv, commodities that deliver instant gratification, the children at our preschools are outside, engaging their hands, their hearts and their mind in the ever changing life theatre of nature.  Patience is a gift for life, our children deserve it!

Seasons Greetings
- Anja

Our journey at Little Earth (3) - The tribe

Tawa Montessori Preschool is the first early childhood Silver Award Enviroschool in the Wellington region. We are very proud that our new sister school, Little Earth, has joined the list of Silver Enviroschools. Being an Enviroschool and becoming part of their tribe, is an important part of our programme at both our preschools.

The Enviroschools programme is well set out with guiding principles and key areas to support us in our teaching. As an Enviroschool we strive to integrate education for sustainability into the whole school culture, guided by five principles*:

1. Children are empowered to participate in a genuine way from their own unique and creative perspective.

2. Children are engaged in the physical, social, cultural and political aspects of our local and global environment

3. Maori perspectives and knowledge are included in the learning process to offer insights unique to the culture wit the longest history of human interaction with this country.

4. Respect for the diversity of people and cultures is integrated to achieving a sustainable environment in New Zealand - one that is fair, peaceful and co-operative.

5. Children are part of a sustainable community that acts in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future.

The purpose of the programme is to integrate sustainability into our whole preschool community. We strive to make sustainability an integral part of what we do throughout our preschool. An important part of this is the involvement of the wider community, parents and whanau who share their knowledge and wisdom. A community which works intergenerational, people teaching and learning together. A place that is participatory, involving the children and engaging them in the daily life of the preschool. Giving the children a sense of purpose, inspiring them to be creative and become competent to make their own decisions.

The Enviroschools programme incorporates four key areas*:

1. People and Participation - Tangata
People work collaboratively, are reflective of our bicultural heritage and the diversity of their community. They ensure that they are all involved in sharing decisions to become confident, connected, actively involved, lifelong learners.

2. Programmes - Kaupapa Ako
Programmes focus on learning about the interaction between people and the environment and developing attitudes and behaviours for a more sustainable future. Through taking action children discover why sustainability matters and how to make sustainability a reality in their school and wider community.

3. Practices - Tikanga
Sustainable practices are part of school culture instigated by children and staff to make a more resilient community for the future.

4. Place - Wahi
A place is created where children and their community work together willingly to reduce their impact on the planet for future generations to enjoy the diverse and beautiful world we live in.

Our local Enviroschools facilitator, with the support of our local green gardener, have supported us greatly with their knowledge and expertise. They have facilitated workshops, huis, and clustermeetings. In our journey of becoming a sustainable preschool community at Little Earth, being part of a tribe like Enviroschools is invaluable.
- Anja

* from Enviroschools handbook 2009 

Links:
-  Our journey at Little Earth (1) - The start 
-  Our journey at Little Earth (2) - The process
-  Our journey at Little Earth (3) - The tribe

Milkbottles and our tin shed wall!

As enviroschools, recycling and re-using is part of what we do on a daily basis. Here is what we did with our empty milk bottles and homegrown seedlings from our potting shed to liven up our tin shed wall at Tawa Montessori ...

* With thanks to Juliet from "I am a teacher, get me OUTSIDE here!" and the Creative Star Learning Company for the idea!

- Anja

A moment of thankfulness!

We had a beautiful gorgeous day at Tawa Montessori Preschool today. Clear blue sky with plenty of sunshine and a garden full of spring bloom.  On beautiful days like this we do feel on top of the world, and we were thinking of our friends “downunder” who are one day behind and celebrating thanksgiving.  Given that our garden is full with gifts and beauty, we decided to have our own Kiwi thanksgiving moment.

Instead of starting our usual daily activities we headed outside into our garden.  The turtle in the pond, the chickens in the garden, the blossom on the pear tree, the pansies in the insect garden, the spider webs near the logs, it seemed they were all expecting us as they all looked so beautiful and at their best.  We talked with the children about the gifts of Mother Earth, Papatuanuku in Maori legend.  And we talked about thankfulness.  The children walked around our garden, looking, listening, touching and smelling. And we asked them what they were thankful for.  Pears, eggs, flowers, strawberries, birds and even worms, the children replied.

We finished our thankfulness with our silence game, which is not really a game. We usually start our day at preschool with a moment of silence, or stillness, to ground ourselves, to let go of the cartoons we have been watching before we come to preschool, or the rush and busyness of getting ready for preschool in the morning.  This daily moment of silence at the start of the day helps us to find the power of now within ourselves and to get in the moment.

Today we all sat outside, in a circle around our Peace Pole. A little brass table bell marks the start and finish of our silence, a quiet time to think and mesmerise about all the good things we find in our garden, but also inside ourselves. Being outside gave our silence game an special dimension as the birds were singing their morning songs in the park trees next to our preschool, and the insects were starting to wake up in the morning sun. What a great way to start the day at preschool!
Happy Thanksgiving!

- Anja

Ode to a tree!

It has been a very busy time at both our preschools. I have returned form overseas travel to find New Zealand in full spring, with Summer at the doorstep, and the children busy in the garden, planting, weeding and harvesting. This time of the year always brings a hive of activity in the garden and our outdoor environment.

One of the things we have enjoyed over the past few weeks is the blooming of the new fruit trees at Little Earth, our first blossom! While the trees are only small, their flowers are pure beauty. Even these small trees bring something very special to our garden, that can’t be replaced by any other plant or animal, and definitely not by any plastic play structure!

Trees are respected and loved around the world. Just like mankind, every specimen is unique. There are many legends all over the world that include reverence to the tree as a source of wisdom. In Maori legend, it is Tane-mahuta, the guardian of the forest, who succeeds to separate Papa, his mother the Earth, and Rangi, his father the Sky, thus bringing light to the world.

"No, not so. It is better to separate them, and to let the sky stand far above us and the earth lie below here. Let the sky be a stranger to us, but let earth remain close to us as our nursing mother."

- Tane mahuta

Beside their spiritual wisdom, trees have many gifts to offer, from beauty to produce of fruits and nuts, from protection to solitude.  As a child I loved trees and even today I have a very soft spot for trees. Often, seeing a beautiful tree, small or tall, will take me back to my own childhood.

I have many precious memories of my childhood. I grew up in a small village where I spend lots of time with my family and in the outdoors. I was a freerange kid, who, when not at school, played outside from dawn to dusk. With my neighbourhood friends, I would climb trees, catch tadpoles, go fishing, play in the woods, run through meadows and build treehouses. When my friends were away, I would play outside alone, there was always something to do.

There was, and still is, a big chestnut tree between our house and the neighbour’s house. It is a great climbing tree with big branches and a thick crown. This tree is part of many of my happy memories. It taught me many childhood lessons. It taught me how to estimate distances from one branch to another branch, and practice my judgements. It taught me how to overcome fear, having gone up a bit too high and having to make my way down safe again. It taught me how strong I was as I was pulling myself up on the branches. This beautiful, big, majestic tree also taught me about stillness  as I would sit high up in the tree, hidden in the leaves and ponder about life. Most important, it would raise my confidence and self-esteem as I would climb up as far as I dared and would feel literally “on top of the world”, a feeling any child should experience.

This beautiful tree symbolises so much more in live. Its lush green leaves show healthy growth, its abundant gifts of nuts symbolise generosity and it strong roots make for one to be well grounded.

A few weeks ago I passed by my old home, during my visit to the Netherlands.  My childhood home is sold, the neigbour’s home is sold too. The place is not my home anymore. But the chestnut tree is still there. Older, but still majestic as ever, standing tall in all its glory. Sadly, the tree is now the subject of a neighbour dispute and its fate may not be that glorious. Another victim to our ever demanding, over abundant lifestyle.

I think of the children that will miss out on climbing the old tree. What opportunities will they have, to create natural childhood memories and feel “on top of the world”, like I once did, when I was a child? And I can't help but hope that somehow, hidden from the tree, the Lorax will appear ...

"I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues"

- Anja

Our new potting sheds - an update

 "Grow little seed, grow"

Both at Tawa Montessori and at Little Earth we have a beautiful potting shed. The sheds are made from macrocarpa, with acrylic glass windows and roof, allowing plenty of sunlight and warmth into the sheds. Over the past few months the children have been busy sowing seeds, preparing for spring planting. During previous years planting and gardening would be at a low during the winter months, this year, thanks to our potting sheds, we have been able to continue our gardening activities throughout the winter.

- making pots from newspaper

- or from recycled paper

- adding seed raising mix

- choosing a seed

- "grow little seed, grow"

- watering our seeds

- and waiting

- nurturing

- and admiring

We are ready for Spring!

- by Anja

Our journey at Little Earth (2) - The process

“The unknown energy that can help humanity is that which lies hidden in the child.”

- Maria Montessori

Earlier on I wrote about the start of our journey of creating a natural outdoor environment at Little Earth, our new preschool. This journey is part of a bigger journey as we are working towards becoming a more sustainable preschool community. Here are the steps of the process we have been following at Little Earth.


Create a team of highfliers
Start with creating a team that beliefs, a team of teachers and parents who are excited, enthusiastic and passionate for whatever it is that you as a preschool stand for. At both Tawa Montessori Preschool and Little Earth we have an amazing team of enthusiastic teachers and parents who embrace our philosophy and are keen on making it embedded in every aspect of our preschool life.


Create a tribe
Community engagement adds to enactment. Make use of the skills and knowledge of your parent community. Encourage participation and acknowledge each others strengths. At both our preschools we actively encourage parent participation, a very rewarding and enriching experience for all involved. At a more wider level, both our preschools are a member of Enviroschools. We network, attend workshops, hui, and cluster meetings with like minded schools, we are part of a bigger tribe. 


Involve the children
The children are the active participants and leaders in your journey. They are capable, willing and enthusiastic, they are your stakeholders. Challenge their thinking. Engage your children in experiencing the natural environment and share and celebrate.


Get out your compass
Use your community to do some brainstorming and mindmapping. Think about what you want and how you want to go about it. What external help have you got available and what internal resources do you have? Get out your compass. Which way do you want to go? At Little Earth our compass is pointing towards becoming a more sustainable preschool.


Create a vision map
The purpose of the vision map is to plan your future programme and actions. To make sure it gets acted on it is crucial your vision map is incorporated into your strategic plan. At Little Earth we created a vision map for our outdoor environment as part of a more sustainable preschool community. It is a list of all the things we want for our outdoor area. This map will be used for our annual goal setting.


Set realistic goals
Following your vision map, set goals. Keep them realistic. We have several goals, but at both our preschools we have a goal for education for sustainability to be embedded into the whole curriculum.


Implement tangible and small projects
Projects are implemented one step at a time as it is important that all aspects of your philosophy and your sustainability goals are implemented. This includes the frame of mind that is necessary for the project to fully meet its goals. Start with something small and tangible that you can celebrate with the children and that you can maintain. Make sure your practices are embedded. It is not how much, but how good you do these practices. Over the last few months we have implemented several outdoor projects at Little Earth.


Develop strategies, policies and procedures
This is the core. Develop policies, an enviro care code, a sustainability statement and strategies that support environmentally friendly and sustainable practices and embed these in your strategic planning and blue print. Look beyond your classroom practices, beyond your recycling and wormbin.


Keep the process going
Reflection is an integral part and helps you giving direction for the journey ahead. Investigate the impact and quality of your actions. Listen to your children, watch them, observe them, see what they do and want and need. Ask them. At our preschools we constantly ask ourselves is this what we want, is this the best we can do for our children?


Celebrate
Celebrate the achievements. Celebrate when children take on ideas and pro actively manage the sustainable practices. Celebrate when your environment is a rich source for learning and growing, a living space. Celebrate when your older children are peer tutoring the younger children and you have a genuine community of life long learners. Celebrate when you have an integrated curriculum, a living curriculum in and outside.And celebrate when you have a community of self-directed and motivated care takers, children helping each other, and the animals and plants in their environment. At our preschools we have plenty of reasons to celebrate!

Our journey is taking us to places undiscovered, unimagined, and unexpected. We have challenges and obstacles, achievements and highlights. By sharing our journey I hope you get some ideas and inspiration to help or to start you on your own journey. Please feel welcome to leave comments or  share ideas.

“To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping” 

- Chinese proverb

- Anja

Links:
-  Our journey at Little Earth (1) - The start

A precious moment

Friday morning at Tawa Montessori Preschool ...

- Anja

Photos copyright Tawa Montessori Preschool/Little Earth® Montessori

Our journey at Little Earth (1) - The start

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end”

- Ursula LeGuin

Words can not describe enough the buzz of excitement at Little Earth Montessori. We opened our new purpose build enviro pre-school last year. The one thing we did not “build” when we opened our new preschool, was our outdoor environment. We did not want to use plastic playhouses, toys, or static climbing structures made of steel and rubber safety surfaces. however, we did create a sand area, using driftwood logs, some river boulders and a truckload of sand. The rest of our outdoor environment was left as a big field of grass.

With that, we started our outdoor journey at Little Earth with the goal to create an outdoor prepared environment with a soul. We are now ten months into our journey and our field of grass is slowly, but surely, starting to convert into a place with trees, gardens, logs, rocks, animals, insects and birds, a place for exploration and discovery, a magical place for children. And it is creating a real buzz!

Our journey is a continuing story of trial and error, assessment and re-assessment, observations and discussions, evaluation and reflection, and lots of reading and learning. As a Montessori preschool we are committed to preparing our outdoor environment with the same passion as our indoor environment, an environment that is set up with plenty of purposeful activities that are meaningful and engage our children.

What does all this mean for Little Earth? First of all, it means we have had lots of thinking to do. We all agreed we wanted our outdoor environment to be as natural as possible and to be a child’s space, rather than an adult space, a place maintained by the children without any out of bounds corners or areas. We also liked the idea of permaculture, as this would complement the enviro character of our preschool and our quest for a more sustainable preschool community. Permaculture is a new concept for us. Whilst we have experience with naturalising our outdoor environment at Tawa Montessori Preschool, developing a complete blank slat from scratch into a permaculture garden proved to be a bit more challenging.

As we embarked on our journey we came across several questions:

• How is our curriculum meeting our children’s development and learning needs currently and how will it meet the need for a naturalised environment and a more sustainable preschool community?

• What are our current practices and how do they reflect our wish for a naturalised outdoor environment and a more sustainable preschool community? Are our practices developed so they can be embedded in our daily thinking and actions?

• What resources, knowledge and skills have we got available?

• What support systems do we have in place for our teachers?

• Does our philosophy, including our values and believes, need rethinking?

Answering these questions required lots of reading and studying, and months of research, workshops, hui, meetings, discussions, brainstorming and consultations. Along the road we have drawn a dream map, a mind map and a vision map. Our journey continues, but we are now at a point where we can see results outside.

Over the last few months we have implemented several outdoor projects. Our outdoor area is slowly, but surely, changing into a more natural garden that functions as an outdoor classroom. An environment created by and for the children. As stakeholders and active agents, the children are our driving force throughout our journey. Their ideas, feedback, wishes and needs are crucial to the success. At Little Earth they have a voice that is listened to and supported. Where ever the journey is taking us, we make sure their experiences are enjoyable, rich in learning and secure.  And let’s not forget to celebrate!

- Anja

Next post -  Our journey at Little Earth (2) - The process

The joy of olives

A few years ago we bought two olive plants from a nursery. We planted them at the back of our garden at Tawa Montessori and sort of forgot about them. The guinea pigs, which have a corner in our garden where they can roam free, scratch themselves now and then against their stems, other than that, the olives stand there, side by side. While the plants have grown olives in the past, the birds beat us to it and we have never really had any expectation of getting a crop out of them. But this year proves to be different.

By the end of summer, the plants, now starting to look more like little trees, were full of olives. As the weeks went past, the olives started to look very inviting and we were sure that by the time autumn arrives, the birds would have had their feast. To our big surprise the birds haven't been interested in the olives at all. We are not sure why that is?

The children find it amazing that those little white flowers, earlier in the year, turned into green pills that are now growing bigger and bigger. With the trees at the children’s height, the dangling olives have become very tempting to pick. I tried to read up to find out when the time is right to pick an olive, but I got rather confused about the variety in ripeness, and colour, not the least the fact that olives are sensitive and bruise easily, meaning that the timing of picking is crucial to the outcome of the olive. Since winter has arrived, including its frost and the famous Wellington icy cold southerly winds from Antarctica, we decided to pick the olives, ripe or not ripe.

Armed with basket and scissors, the latter proved to be unnecessary, we headed down the garden. The children had great delight in picking the olives and filling their basket. Not that we had that many olives, but the pleasure and satisfaction of picking a crop, no matter how big, is enough to reward the virtue of patience practiced by the children in the previous months.

Now we need to cure the olives, any suggestions?

- Anja

Creating memories!

One of my most precious childhood memories involves the campfires we had when I was a child. Growing up in potato country Holland, we would put a potato at the end of a stick and roast it above a fire lit with twigs and branches inside a small circle of rocks. If we didn’t have a potato, we would use a piece of apple. Marshmallows were unheard of in those days. The flickering of the flames, the smell of burning wood, the shadows of our comrades, the smoke up in the sky. There was just something magical about those campfires.

Living in New Zealand, a few years ago my family gathered around a campfire celebrating a birthday at one of the local beaches. The children, and their friends who accompanied us, had an unforgettable time, playing with sticks in the fire, toasting marshmallows and singing silly songs. We supervised and made sure the fire wouldn’t get too big or get out of control. My children, and their friends, fondly reminisce about our first campfire on the beach.

My oldest daughter recently left New Zealand to be a Camp America camp counselor in the US. When she asked me, the day before leaving, if I knew of any campfire songs, I realised that our children today are hardly exposed to campfires and the traditional songs we, and our parents, and even our grand parents or great-grandparents learned as children and that have been around for many years. Is the singing of campfire songs becoming burned out?

As I look around I see children, as young as four, singing and dancing to Miley Cyrus songs. As our preschools are about building precious, life shaping childhood memories the idea was born to teach our children some traditional campfire songs, in an effort to keep the art alive and to create some memories for the children based on generations who have gone before us. We organised a sing-a long evening, for parent and child where we would sing traditional songs, enjoy each others company and drink warm chocolates with marshmallows.

Ideally this would all take place around a real campfire, but as Tawa Montessori is in a suburban residential area strict regulations and permit applications tossed the idea of a real campfire into the “too hard” basket. Given also that we are in the middle of winter, here in New Zealand, we decided to organise an indoor gathering.

A few weeks ago, we had given the parents the words of the songs we were teaching the children, so they could practice at home. The sing along night arrived and fairy lights, wooden logs, an old brazier, red and yellow cellophane and some hessian with scattered twigs and pine cones all helped us to create the ambiance felt with a real campfire (that almost looked like real!) Dimmed lights and candle lanterns hang around the room, way out of reach of little hands.

Words cannot describe the excitement of the children when they arrived at their preschool, in darkness! Each child brought one parent and we all sat in a semi circle, parent and child seated together. One of our teachers, together with a parent, sat at the front and they played the ukulele, leading us through the songs. Waltzing Matilda, You are my sunshine, and many other favourites echoed through the classroom. Both young and old were singing their hearts out, clapping their hands and stamping their feet to the rhythm. The campfire may have been staged, but the magic was definitely there. Precious childhood memories, that only took an hour to create, but will hopefully last a life time and keep the sing a long alive.
- Anja

Winter in Aotearoa

Yesterday we celebrated Matariki at my youngest daughter school. Matariki is the Maori name for the group of stars known as the Seven Sisters. In the northern hemisphere this group of stars is known as Pleiades. Matariki appears in Piripi/June, and marks the start of the Maori New Year. It is celebrated as a time of new beginnings, a time to pause and reflect on what has been and what is to come. Matariki marks the start of Winter in New Zealand.

At our preschools we have noticed other signs that Winter has arrived. A few days ago we had our first frost with the pond at Tawa Montessori having a thin layer of ice. The fruit trees have all but lost their leaves, the grass has stopped growing and the garden looks bare and empty.

The lambsear in our garden, usually a fervent grower, has slowed down, its silvery foliage is covered in dew or frost in the mornings, making it look even more silvery.

The chilren are always very excited to discover a frozen pond upon arrival in the morning. Touching and feeling the frost, the crispiness, coldness and wetness of it is a very different experience.

Throughout the year, the garden provided us with plenty of food. We have harvested carrots, beans, lettuce, herbs, courgettes, and tomatoes, to name a few. We have used these to make curry or soup. It is even more rewarding to make a big pot of soup when the cold and wetness keeps us more inside then we prefer. A nice hot cup of soup nourishes the body and the soul, especially when made with love!

Not all trees in New Zealand lose their leaves during Winter. Most native trees retain their leaves as our Winters are mild, but the poplars at the back of Tawa Montessori always lose their leaves during Winter.  Our new earth flag brings a bit of colour and vibrance to our garden!

We are lucky with our new bird feeder, both at Tawa Montessori and at Little Earth. With the colder weather there are less insects around and less berries and nectar, available. The birds are happily visiting our feeders. Our children love feeding the birds. They clean the bowl, fill it up with seeds and some fruit or some nectar water and place it on the feeder at the back of our garden. Then they retreat back to our deck, to sit down and watch the birds visiting, which is very rewarding!

For New Zealanders, Winter is the time to visit the mountains for winter sports with the north island volcanoes covered in snow and of course the Alps in the south island. It is the time to take your child up the mountain to introduce them to the snow, and, if lucky, a beautiful sunset at the end of the day!  Winter gives us new opportunities to introduce our children to the magic and wonder of another season!

- Anja

The force of the forest

"There is a life force in our forest, some people say it’s just a forest, but we know there is more ..."

After several days of heavy rain, and by heavy rain, I mean really heavy rain, I was pleased to see the sun and blue sky for a change. I think the children must have been pleased too. After so much rainfall, everything does look a lot greener and fresher. This is the perfect time to kick of our shoes, put on our gumboots, head for the bush and shake of any cabin fever! We are lucky, at Little Earth, that the bush is only a five minute walk away.


Nikau Reserve is a lush nikau palm forest, a lovely little heaven in a place you least expect it. Once entered, you find yourself in a realm of palm trees, ferns, and dense undergrowth. The reserve is full of native flora and fauna, and we often see kereru, tui and fantail. The kereru is New Zealand’s native wood pigeon, which plays a crucial role to the  regeneration of our native forest as they disperse seeds. The fantail is a little bird with a curious nature, which follows us around, hopping from branch to branch. The tui is a nectar feeding bird and endemic to New Zealand. The tui has a distinctive call, and it is always fun to spot a tui up in the trees.

At Little Earth we have been learning about Tāne Māhuta, the forest. In Maori mythology, people, and all aspects of nature are descended from the Sky Father (Ranginui) and the Earth Mother (Papatuanuku). Everything is interrelated and interconnected; the light, the sun, the energy, the forests, the oceans, the air, and the food we eat. At Little Earth we use the Maori mythology to introduce the children to care and respect for our Earth.



The forest is also the bringer of knowledge, Tāne te Wānanga. There is so much to learn. We started our  relationship with Nikau Reserve by exploring our surroundings, going for regular walks.  We began to transfer the care we were giving the plants and animals at our preschool to the plants and insects in Nikau Reserve. We have returned to Nikau reserve many times, each time reflecting on our previous experience, recalling instances of care and discovery. What did we notice?  More observation and sensory exploration, periods of silence, more discoveries, respect and care. We look at fungi, discover whare pungawerewere (spider webs), and find kākano (seedpods). We use our eyes, we use our ears, we use our gentle hands, we smell. We see life everywhere and we know there is more to discover. Nikau Reserve has become a treasure. The forest teaches us!

- Anja

Book source: “In the beginning” by Peter Gossage

About Linchpins, Wii’s and Wisdom, or do preschoolers really need a Wii?

It is a holiday weekend in New Zealand. A good time to catch up on some reading. I am in the middle of Linchpin (Seth Godin), just started Business Stripped Bare (Richard Branson), as well as reading (in Dutch) Vrij spel voor natuur en Kinderen (Willy Leufgen and Marianne van Lier) and I have just finished What the dog saw (Malcolm Gladwell). I am taking in a wealth of wisdom, inspiration and thought provoking ideas. My mind is overloaded, and I am looking for a moment to reflect on what I am reading, when my eye catches this headline in the news, “Wii for the wee ones”   - three- and four-year-olds at early childhood centres are being encouraged to play games on the arm-waving Nintendo Wii gaming consoles, post comments at online blogs and Skype other children.

While I can understand the value of using technology for posting comments on blogs and using Skype with others, I can not comprehend the value of a Wii in early childhood education. Using technology as a tool to communicate, if used wisely, can be a learning experience. However, a Wii used for playing games, is no more then mere entertainment. I have always seen, and I will continue to see, myself as an educator, not an entertainment provider. I question what children learn from Wii games.

The Head Teacher of the kindergarten* in the article is quoted as saying, “Wii was introduced at the start of the year as a fun introduction to numeracy, literacy and fine motor skills, while also providing social interaction.” Really?

What happened to counting apples, picking flowers and looking up bugs in nature books? What about carefully planting a seedling in the garden, measuring the amount of food to fill up the rabbit’s food bowl and finding the letter N on a compass outside? Or how about threading beads, using scissors for cutting, pasting, collage, drawing and painting, picking berries, sweeping up leaves, and watering plants? Does a three year old need a Wii to be introduced to fine motor skills. Really?

How meaningful is a Wii game in teaching numeracy skills anyways? Here comes three year old Johnny. Parent of Johnny: “Johnny is able to do additions, Johnny, how much equals 3 plus 4?” Johnny answers “7”.  I give Johnny a handful of beads and ask him to show me three plus four. Johnny can’t sit still to do the task, Johnny does not know how to arrange the beads, Johnny has no idea what three plus four means. But Johnny has a good memory, Johnny has knowledge, he knows that three plus four equals seven. But Johnny does not have wisdom, Johnny does not understand the concept of addition. Johnny is three years old and Johnny needs concrete introductions to numeracy and literacy skills, for his brain to develop the wisdom and understanding of abstract concepts and thought. No Wii game is going to teach Johnny the concrete skills he will be learning when he is engaged in normal play and daily tasks.

The Head Teacher continues, "It's really great to watch them teaching each other." Really? What exactly are they teaching each other?

The words of Seth Godin come to my mind. In his latest book Linchpin, Seth comments about the current public schooling system: “We train the factory workers of tomorrow. Our graduates are very good at following instructions. And we teach the power of consumption as an aid for social approval.”

Isn’t that what a Wii game does too? Head down, just follow the instruction of the game, no need to create, no need to connect. The cog is standing by, waiting for instructions (in Seth’s words).

Seth has this idea about what school should really look like: “We teach people to take initiative and become remarkable artists, to question the status quo, and to interact with transparency. And our graduates understand that consumption is not the answer to social problems.”
Seth writes about the importance of creating art. With art, he is not specific referring to music, or painting, but to a gift that causes a change in the receiver. This can be a smile, a gesture, or a product design, as long as it is a gift of generosity. Creating “art” is the work of linchpins and linchpins are the essential building blocks of our future. I am not sure how playing a Wii game during early childhood years teaches children to take initiative, to use their creativity and to become a remarkable “artist”.

Previous I wrote about wisdom and teaching in the post Grow your wisdom. Young children need concrete experiences. The best teaching occurs when the emphasis is more on joining the child in hands-on interaction and discovery than on imparting knowledge. More then anything, young children need the chance to develop their skills and attitudes and to grow their wisdom. In another post I mentioned Barry Schwartz and his 2009 TED talk on our loss of wisdom, "Wisdom depends on experience, and not just any experience". Schwartz continues how we need practical wisdom "because it's what allows other virtues -- honesty, kindness, courage and so on -- to be displayed at the right time and in the right way."

The preschool years are a critical time for brain development. While watching TV and other electronic media can increase children’s knowledge, rapid-fire stimuli and passively absorbing images can create negative outcomes for the rapidly developing brain and foster restlessness, impulsivity and disruption in attention. At our preschools, Tawa Montessori and Little Earth, we strongly believe in the value of hands-on, concrete learning experiences that are meaningful and purposeful. We believe in authentic interactions, interactions that involve people, animals and the natural world, rather than a screen or a game console. We believe in the potential of each individual child. Every minute spend on a Wii is another chance missed for great learning and creating great art.

It is sad to read that in a time when research increasingly confirms the importance of outdoor, natural, authentic, learning experiences and real life connections, an increasing number of early childhood centers, including our kindergartens, are introducing our children to more screen time, rather than more green time. Our children deserve better!

- Anja

* In New Zealand, Kindergarten is the public preschool for 2, 3 and 4 year olds

A Peace Pole in our garden - A silent message

He maungarongo ki runga i te whenua

Children are our most vulnerable group in society, and the most susceptible to unhealthy environments. At our preschools we aim to use more renewable resources and sustainable practices. When building our new preschool, Little Earth, in 2009, we wanted to make sure it would be a healthy and more ecologically sustainable building, a healthy environment for our children and teachers to learn and teach. We are now busy developing our outdoor naturalised environment. We will use local elements as much as possible to create a living landscape, with natural discovery spaces, an organic garden and spaces set aside for the development of natural habitats.

The outdoor environment is a key element of our philosophy. We believe in the importance of the development of children's love and appreciation for nature and their surroundings. At Tawa Montessori we have a beautiful outdoor classroom, a living landscape where children interact and are engaged with the natural world. At Little Earth we are developing a naturalised outdoor environment, where our children can create happy and joyful childhood memories that will last a lifetime.

Many of us will have childhood memories of happy and carefree days, unlimited play, and spending time in the outdoors. We are creating the childhood memories of the children in our care and it is important to help make these memories warm, rich, diverse, safe, happy and loving. The environment plays an important role in this. It is the soul and the atmosphere of the environment that contributes the most to the child’s belonging and wellbeing.

There are many aspects that make up the soul of your environment. Your programme, your adults, your interactions, your values, and your community all create an atmosphere. For us, as a Montessori preschool, aesthetics play an important part in our prepared environment (see previous post). Placing a mood setting device, like a statue, a bird feeder, or a wind vane, adds beauty and ambience. To celebrate the Montessori Centenary in February 2007, we placed and dedicated a Peace Pole in our Tawa Montessori garden, as a tribute to Maria Montessori, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Peace three times. We are very excited that a Peace Pole at our new preschool, Little Earth, has now been placed.

A Peace Pole is a hand-crafted monument that displays the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” on each side, in different languages. There are more than 250,000 Peace Poles in 180 countries all over the world. Our Peace pole is hand-crafted and recycled from a century old pole. It displays the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” on six sides, in six different languages, representing six continents, and six peace activists.

Peace is about respect - respect for ourselves, each other, and the planet we share. Our Peace Pole is an inspiration to embrace compassion, to respect life and to live in harmony with one another. Maria Montessori firmly believed in the importance of education for the attainment of world peace. Having a Peace Pole at our preschools announces that they are a special place, dedicated to peace on Earth. They add soul to our environment, and create an ambience of love and respect. We often sit around our Peace Pole, sharing and celebrating, creating little snippets of fond memories that hopefully last a lifetime!

- Anja

For more information about the Peace Pole Project, visit the Peace Pole Project website

Sunflowers, messenger of aesthetics and beauty

Time has come for our sunflowers to be taken out. The flowers have wilted: the leaves have died, the seeds have ripened, and the sunflowers are sadly dropping their head. We have thoroughly enjoyed our sunflowers, both at Tawa Montessori and at Little Earth.

Sunflowers are very fast growers, making it one of the best flowers to grow with children. They are also one of the tallest flowers, as they can easily grow up to 3.00 m. When we planted our seeds in the potting shed, we had seedlings within days and it looked as if we could “see the flower growing in front of our eyes”. Sunflowers will need support to stop them from blowing over or breaking, especially in windy weather. Our children have enjoyed taking care of the flowers and watering them dutifully, taking regularly note of its growing length. A milestone was reached once the plants grew taller than the teachers!

When the flower heads open, bees and other beneficial insects will visit for nectar and pollen. Heaps of bumble bees visited our flowers, sometimes as many as five at a time on one head. The nearby bug hilton may have played a role in this! We harvested some of the heads once they started to turn brown and into seed and hung them to dry underneath the roof of our deck. We left some flowers for the birds to feed and some to ripen in the sun.

Sunflowers are used for their oil and for their seeds, which are used in salads, breads and other foods. Sunflowers have called to peoples imaginations for centuries, most famously Vincent van Gogh, whose sunflower paintings are well known. The flowers at our preschools definitely add aesthetics and beauty to our garden, which is a most important aspect of our classroom environment, inside and outside.

Maria Montessori strongly believed that the child should live in an environment of beauty. Although aesthetics is subject to one's taste, and is strongly dependent on sense perception, hence the derivation from the Greek aisthetikos, aesthetics in the classroom are strongly encouraged and nurtured.

Nature provides many aspects of beauty and aesthetics, if not physical, it is emotional or spiritual, making it a perfect classroom. At our preschools we work very hard to keep our gardens, which function as an outdoor classroom, beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. Our sunflowers have been a big part of this.



It is with sadness we pull the dead flowers out, but we will collect the ripened seeds, using tweezers as part of our practical life activities,  and keep them for next season’s planting. This will teach us an important lesson about the cycle of life, close up!

- Anja

Messages from our children

"Within the child lies the fate of the future"

- Maria Montessori

Over at The Grass Stain Guru I wrote a guest post, The virtue of the Dandelion. The children of Tawa Montessori and Little Earth Montessori shared their thoughts and dreams for a more sustainable world to grow up in. Here are some of their messages written on the dandelion labels:

“Flowers grow with water and sunshine, and dotty rain” - M, 4 yrs
“We found a REAL insect in the sand” - D, 4 yrs
“My flower needs sun and water and rain to grow and the leaf needs all that too!” - E, 4 yrs
“I think the slugs are sleeping, they are tired from racing” - C, 3 yrs
“The sun makes the plants grow up, up, up” - G, 4 yrs
“I’m going to tip the water out. I ‘m going to tip it on the plants so they will grow” - C, 3 yrs
“Did you know ... if you scrunch a piece of paper, you waste a whole tree?” - C, 4 yrs
"We don't squish the butterflies. We let them go" - S, 4 yrs
"We leave insects where we find them" - S, 4 yrs
"Don't take the bugs. We put them back in their homes" - C, 3 yrs

A Story for Earth Day

In a previous post about children's books, A book is a gift you open again and again, I wrote about my quest of finding good children's picture books. Recently, one of our teachers pointed me towards a book which has become my absolute favourite.

The Tin Forest, by Helen Ward is a story about an old man's persistent dreams which transform a garbage dump into a forest full of life.

“There was once a wide, windswept place, near nowhere and close to forgotten ...” And in the middle of this wasteland lives an old man in a small house. "Every day he tried to clear away the garbage, sifting and sorting, burning and burying. And every night the old man dreamed." Every night he dreams of a real tropical forest.

One day he has an idea and goes to work on it. From the garbage he builds a forest. He uses tin, metal, glass and other scraps to build trees, and animals and flowers. Then one day a bird visits one of the trees. The old man feeds the bird some crumbs. He makes a wish and the bird returns, this time with a mate and seeds. As time passes from the earth sprout shoots and soon there are insects, and other living creatures.

“There was once a forest, near nowhere and close to forgotten .... And in the middle of this forest lived “an old man who never stopped dreaming.”

The Tin Forest is a wonderful book for all ages, with beautiful stunning artwork and prose. It is an empowering story about the power of dreaming and hard work, about not giving up and believing in the future. There is also a strong environmental message in the story, which can initiate discussions about rubbish disposal, recycling, and reusing. Our world may sometimes look like a dump, however, with a change in attitude we can make it a better place to live!

"He made a forest because he doesn't want a whole place of garbage. Because that is soooo boring." - D, 4 yrs

The Tin Forest is magical. A true gem! An inspiring story for Earth Day!

- Anja

image source: Salisbury International Art Festival

Model as you Teach!

This upcoming weekend I will be presenting a workshop during the national MANZ Montessori conference "In Service of the Child" in Christchurch, New Zealand. The workshop "Beyond recycling, creating a sustainable community" focuses on nurturing sustainability as a frame of mind and as an embedded culture in early childhood settings. While preparing and researching about education for sustainability, and reflecting on our own practices at Tawa Montessori and Little Earth, I have come to realise how important it is to "model as you teach".

One of the aims of education for sustainability at our preschools is to help our children to understand that they are global citizens with shared responsibilities to the environment and humanity. This introduces them, amongst other things, to the concept of caring. For the children to really understand the concept of caring, they have to experience it. At this young age, children learn most from observing and doing, they need to see you model what you are teaching and they need opportunities to practice it. To foster or teach positive attitudes, you need to model positive attitudes. This means that as teachers, introducing our children to the concept of caring, we need to model the concept of caring.

While this may seem simple, I have found it one of the most challenging aspects of teaching. Not that I find it hard to model caring, or kindness. What I find hard is to truly model the frame of mind that is needed to foster these attitudes, especially when that frame of mind is transient. Teaching is a journey, you never stand still. A true teacher is a lifelong learner, and as I learn, my mind shifts.

The positive attitudes needed to support a thriving community need to be integrated in how we think. Becoming a sustainable community is a transformative journey. I am still learning, and I am learning by acting and experimenting. As I am still learning, and practicing, my modeling is not always what I say or teach.

Here is an example from one of our preschools. At Little Earth we take our children on regular walks to a nearby forest reserve full with Nikau palm trees. In the forest we show them how to look for insects, how to listen to the birds, how to feel the texture of the bark and how to smell the scent of the flowers, all in an unobtrusive way. We teach our children about respect for all living things, and talk about the branches and leaves on the forest floor and how they are potential homes for lizards and insects. During one of our walks I took one of the big fallen palm leaves back to preschool, for further exploration. Not long and the children started questioning me: "Why did I take this treasure from the forest?", "Why didn't I leave it where it belongs?", "Why did I disturb the homes of the many insects that live on the forest floor?" Did I model what I teach? What was my agenda? What was the children's agenda?

As teachers and as part of our own self review and reflection, we need not only ask ourself the question "Am I doing the right things, in what way does this activity contribute to a more sustainable living?", we also need to listen to our children. They are our biggest teachers. Their questions, observations and remarks show us that teaching goes beyond our practices, it is about what mind shifts we make as a result of our practices.

The transformative journey of teaching sustainability can be challenging, but very rewarding. At Tawa Montessori and Little Earth we have the privilege to learn from and with each other and the children as we share the journey. We are learning our way forwards to a more sustainable way of living. Reflecting on our own daily thoughts, decisions and actions help us learning to model as we teach, together!

As an educator or parent, does "model as you teach" come natural to you? What are your challenges?
- Anja

Park your car and celebrate!

Over at one of my favourite Montessori blogs, Montessori Matters, Pilar writes about pick-up time at her school. My jaw literally dropped when I was reading it. Is it really common practice in the US for the parent to sit in a long line of cars, waiting for a teacher to put their child in a car seat and buckle them up, sometimes even without exchanging any words? This is unheard of, even unthinkable in New Zealand. The more I think about this, the sadder I get. It makes me wonder how often parents visit their child's classroom beyond the twice yearly parent teacher conference? What is wrong with parking the car and visiting your child's school?

It makes me think about all those lost opportunities that are so important to a young child. The opportunity to say hello to your child's teacher, the person who spends a considerable time with your child and most likely plays an enormous role in their development? The opportunity to greet your child with a cuddle after a busy session or day at school? The opportunity to say hello to your child's friends, to invite them over for a play? The opportunity to meet and connect with other  parents? And most importantly, the  opportunity to share in your child's learning in a place that is so important to your child. A place where they have build up a sense of belonging and where they are creating their most precious childhood memories for years to come? How is your child going to share this if they are ushered into a car, only to steer at a video screen?

The above made me realise how blessed we are with an amazing parent community at both our preschools, Tawa Montessori and Little Earth. Parents park their car, they walk up the path, often with a younger sibling in tow, through rain and sunshine, wind and gale. They talk to the teachers, other parents and to the children. They cuddle their child (witnessing the reunion between parent and child is a daily moment of joy). They show a genuine interest in their child's day at preschool, either by watching a daily slideshow of photos taken throughout the preschool day, or by listening to the child's stories. More then once, parents will hang around for a bit. They will sit down in our garden, chat with other parents while their children are playing, sometimes even sharing a little picnic. Yes, we dream of a cappuccino maker!

It is wonderful to see our families enjoying our garden. Often the children take their parents on a tour, proudly showing them where the best place is to find worms, how many weta are in the hotel, marveling at the sprouting beans or looking at the cocoon that is about to hatch. Our garden is more than a classroom, it is a community place. Many grandparents have visited our garden in awe and wonder, engaging in discussions with their grandchild about the broody chicken, the ripening strawberries or the emerging carrots. Think of all the intergenerational wisdom sharing taking place!

In our quest to become a sustainable community, our families play a most important role. A true sustainable community nurtures nature AND people, now and in the future. At our preschools, Tawa Montessori and Little Earth, we are blessed with a community of champions, parents who contribute to our preschool by sharing their passions, creating excitement and passing on their wisdom. It may be through felt making with the children, teaching Sri Lankan dancing, making ginger beer (unbrewed!), introducing the children to yoga, weeding in our garden, making paper with the children, taking our families on a bush walk or sharing their culture with the teachers. We embrace all parent contributions. Engagement leads to enactment. We need more engagement to create a more sustainable future. Park the car and join in the celebration of your child's learning!

Thank you to all our wonderful families at Tawa Montessori and Little Earth who park their car and take time to share and celebrate. You are remarkable.

- Anja

Creating a frog pond

Note: I wrote this post before our January holidays (Summer in New Zealand).  I didn't post it earlier as we have had no frogs. However, reflecting on the project, I still think it is a great project to do. It may not work in our garden (please leave a comment if you have any suggestions for improvement), but it may well work for others. The project also shows that not everything we undertake has the desired outcomes, however, there is always something to be gained and learned. If it is not a visiting frog, it will be the many water insects that have made themselves at home or the learning that took place at implementation. As with any journey, our journey as an enviro preschool has obstacles and highlights and we embrace them all!

One of the great advantages of attending conferences is the sharing of ideas and meeting like minded people. Last year I came away from the Sustainability and the Early Years Conference in Melbourne with many great ideas. The fantastic team of The Point Preschool in Sydney shared the idea of creating a frog pond with us.

Place a basin or bowl into the ground in a sheltered spot in your garden, ideally surrounded by greenery. Make sure it has sloping sides so the frogs can get out. Fill the basin up with rocks and add water from the rainwater tank. Some frogs have a "homing" instinct and it is best to wait for the frogs to come on their own goodwill, rather then displacing them. It can take anywhere between six weeks and many months for the frogs to arrive, so the crucial part is patience.

At the back of Tawa Montessori runs a small creek, which we suspect may house frogs, so we decided to give the frog pond idea a go. With the children we discussed the habitat of our local frogs, the southern bell frog. We made a list of what we would need in order to recreate a frog habitat. Over a week we collected the items from our garden, mainly rocks and a log. We explored our garden for a good "frog" spot and decided on a bushy spot at the back, close to the creek and away from the pathways and the preschool building.

We bought a big bowl, the biggest we could find. Although it is still not big enough for our liking, it will be good enough to start. The children dug a hole in the ground and placed the bowl in the ground. Strong muscles were required to carry the rocks which were placed around the edge of the bowl. Pebbles and smaller rocks were placed inside the bowl to enable the frogs to climb in and out and also to make sure the pond is not too deep. We planted the odd water plant from our turtle pond. Several loads of water had to be carried from the rainwater tank to the frog pond. A sign warns our young explorers to be vigilant and to be on the look out for frogs. Our next task now is to keep the pond filled up with water from our rainwater tank and to practice the virtue of patience!




Creating your own backyard frog pond is a great project to do with young children. You can make it as big or as small as you want. You can use any type of container that holds water, but watch the depth if you have little children around. The most important part is the spot you choose to create your pond. Frogs are amphibians, meaning their babies, tadpoles, live in the water, but as adults they spend most of their time out of the water. Therefore it is important you choose a spot where the frogs can find shade and can hide out of the water. Plants, rocks and logs are ideal for this. It is also important your spot is pesticide free, and rich with insects as this is the staple diet for the frogs.

We finished our frog pond in our last week of school before Christmas. The preschool will be closed for five weeks over summer. We are not sure what we will find when we come back, but we will let you know!
- Anja

With thanks to Catherine and Peter from The Point Preschool in Sydney, Australia for sharing this idea.

Helpful link:
- Backyard Buddies, New South Wales government