Building the imagination through nature

One of the important themes of our work with the children, after safety and social skills, is developing an awareness of the natural world. This is accomplished in several ways: The books we choose often have a nature theme to them, and foster a gentle approach to the world outside. We keep a lot of plants around - they purify the air, they move (the venus flytrap and sensitive plant), their flowers are decorative, and we learn which continent many of them come from.

We also have a horde of plastic animals that represent life in other areas. They may have seen many of these at the zoo, so it gives us a talking point, even for the littlest ones! Around 2 or 3 years of age, we introduce the alphabet and the sounds made by each letter. The animals help the children learn the alphabet, too. For the older children, finer distinctions develop (is this an Adele penguin, a macaroni penguin or an emperor penguin? Is this a leopard or a cheetah?) and we start to place animals in habitats and on continents.

First we learn about North American animals. We start from the familiar, the known and move to the less known. Every year we visit the zoo a couple of times, augmenting visits with family. Then we choose a new continent, sticking with it for a month or two. This is classic Montessori practice but is adapted to the age and space requirements of our program. The children love to do imaginative play with the animals once they learn their names - they acquire personalities all their own. : ) Dinosaurs are a particular favorite. This week we asked if anyone had ever seen a live dinosaur. 'No', they all said. 'Why?' I said they were extinct. 'Exink?' 'That means there are no more of them living.' 'Oh'. The word 'extinct' came up a lot yesterday!! One thing one must never do with children is paint a bleak picture of the world - just enough information to keep them engaged and upbeat!