* With thanks to Juliet from "I am a teacher, get me OUTSIDE here!" and the Creative Star Learning Company for the idea!
- Anja
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
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
* With thanks to Juliet from "I am a teacher, get me OUTSIDE here!" and the Creative Star Learning Company for the idea!
- Anja
Friday, November 26, 2010
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
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
Saturday, November 20, 2010
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.
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 ...
- Anja
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
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