Care and compassion, we are all part of the web of life

 "He nohonga ngātahitanga ahau me te taiāo"

 - We live as one with our natural world -

Kaitiakitanga is the practice of looking after something, just as Tane, in Maori legends, looks after the forest and Tangaroa and Hinemoa look after the oceans.  We have been working with our tamariki to get them to understand that to take responsibility for our environment we need to be caring.

At our preschools we help our children to look after their relationships, not only with the environment, but also with each other, and their place within.  Our aim is to bring harmony and well being to all involved. After all, we are all part of the web of life.  It is important to explore these relationships, to introduce the children to the concept that everything is connected and inter-related, whanaungatanga and whakapapa.  We have a past and a future and our choices and actions make a difference.  We show our tamariki how to be respectful to all that is around us, kaitiakitanga, that we are part of a community and act in harmony with nature.

One means of doing so is the garden at both our preschools.  The garden provides our children with many opportunities to cultivate their curiosity about nature and gives them a sense of community and responsibility.  In the garden, children see and experience how their actions either help or harm the environment.  It nurtures their aroha, a feeling of love for the natural world, and of the urge to protect or take care of it, manaaki.  These are important values we'd like to instill in our children as our future guardians.  Aroha is more than love, it is about compassion for the environment and understanding the environment and our place in that environment, our connection with the natural world.   A connection that, according to Richard Louv in his latest book "The Nature Principle" is fundamental to human health, well-being, spirit, and survival.

Respect, care and compassion underlies all we do at Tawa Montessori Preschool and Little Earth.  This weekend I will be attending The Natural Phenomena, an outdoor nature education early childhood conference in the "Wild Woods" in New Zealand.  I will be presenting a workshop on the interconnectedness and interdependence with the life force of every natural thing and how to introduce our tamariki to care and respect all things and the correct ways to interact with them.  We must care for our natural world, be good guardians or kaitiaki.

If you are attending The Natural Phenomena, come and say hello. 

- Anja

Touch the Future - Introducing the Nido

Our youngest people are our stakeholders! 

Little Earth is currently developing The Nido, a new parent/infant programme, geared towards sustainable parenting practices, based on a culture of respect.

Last month we opened The Nido room at Little Earth, a special place where parents can come for classes and workshops, to learn and to share knowledge and to connect with other parents.  Our philosophy is inspired by the works of Maria Montessori, an Italian educationalist, and guided by research from Joseph Chilton Pearce and Emmi Pikler, pioneers in parent and infant relationships.

The aim of our Nido programme is to tighten the bond between parent and child in their journey of creating a magical childhood, based on respectful relationships and in harmony with nature.

The first 3 years of life is a critical period in a child's life.  The young child is constantly learning, absorbing everything in her environment.  At the Nido we acknowledge that the young child will develop according to nature’s plan in a culture of respect where they can be a free and equal human being.  The Nido classes will explore various topics that deepen the parents’ understanding of their important role as the child’s first teacher.

This weekend I will be attending the 'Heart Dancing Class for Facilitators',  a course facilitated by Pennie Brownlee.  This course is the first facilitator course in the 'Heart Dance revolution'.  It is a dream  coming true for Pennie who is a well know early childhood educator facilitator in New Zealand. She has worked tirelessly for nearly forty years educating parents and teachers in respectful parent - infant relationships with the aim to grow communities which have the well-being of children central, communities based on respectful partnerships.  I feel privileged to be one of the inaugurate course participants and to be able to spend a whole weekend in the companionship of Pennie and other great people who are passionate about adults - children partnerships. 

For those who would like to know more about the 'Heart Dance Revolution', I recommend Pennie's book "Dance with me in the Heart, the adults guide to great infant-parent partnerships".  You can also read 'The Partnership Dance', one of her many published articles.  Here at Little Earth we are excited about our Nido classes and the prospect of creating a caring compassionate community.  If you want to join us at the Nido or want more information visit our website.

- Anja

Akonga, a community of learners

Recently we achieved the GREEN GOLD Award from Enviroschools.  Last week we celebrated our GREEN GOLD Enviroschools achievement with a visit from our sister preschool Tawa Montessori Preschool.  Children and families from Tawa Montessori took the train up to Kapiti.  After a “Thread the Earth Lightly” candle walk in Nikau Reserve, and our special forest walk song "Ko Te Ngahere", we had a picnic at Little Earth.   The Enviroschool team send their Green Gold fairy to congratulate us.  The special award and flag was presented to Little Earth by a delegation from the Wellington Regional Council and the Kapiti Coast District Council.

We continue our journey at Little Earth, not only as an Enviroschool but as akonga, a community of learners, children, teachers and parents.  While the children are our stakeholders, we, the adults are their mentors and it is important we not only empower and engage our young children, but also enact.  We know how our planet is in peril, we know we have to make changes to the way we are living. Here, at Little Earth we want to do something about it.  We want to give our children, the stakeholders, the skills and attitudes to grow into global citizens who will act as responsible caretakers.  Nature has no reset button.

Little Earth sparkles with GREEN GOLD! You can read more about our GREEN GOLD award on the Kapiti Independent website.

- Anja