Dear Pigeon Plum Families:
Spring has sprung! I hope everyone had a fun and restful spring break. I spent some of my spring break getting caught up in my garden. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that “there must be provision for the child to have contact with nature; to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature.” Toddlers are sensorial learners and enjoy the sensorial experience of being in nature. Dr. Montessori understood that children must experience the world through their senses in order for the brain to develop. Being able to feel, hear, see, smell and taste their environment, is critical to their development. Through movement and sensory input, children develop neural pathways, shaping their minds and gaining control of their bodies. While working outside toddlers also learn about the natural world around them and how to care for it. The more children are outside, the stronger their connection with nature will become.
“When children come in contact with nature, they reveal their strength.” Dr. Maria Montessori
The following are some activities that you can do outdoors in nature with your toddler to enjoy spring. Notice the beauty of nature together; listen to the wind in the trees, look at all the flowers in bloom, smell the spring rain, watch insects at work, the movement of the ocean and water droplets on leaves. Find moments of quiet; find a peaceful place to sit and just breathe or sit and watch the clouds. Take a basket to the park or beach to collect leaves, rocks, shells, and sticks. Grow your own vegetables. The garden provides toddlers with a chance to dig in the soil and plant seeds and plants. Ms. Šárka planted tomato seeds in a pot outside of the classroom and now the Pigeon Plums have their very own tomato plant to care for. Soon we will be able to eat freshly picked tomatoes for snack, yum!
“Let the children be free; encourage them; let them run outside when it is raining; let them remove their shoes when they find a puddle of water; and, when the grass of the meadows is damp with dew, let them run on it and trample it with their bare feet; let them rest peacefully when a tree invites them to sleep beneath it’s shade; let them shout and laugh when the sun wakes them in the morning as it wakes every living creature that divides its day between waking and sleeping.” Dr. Maria Montessori
Happy Spring,
Ms. Dori and Ms. Šárka
