Adventurers

In Montessori thinking there is a belief that the environment is the “third teacher” and that it is crucial to provide children with plenty of natural light, space for movement, stimulation and access to open-ended play resources. Our Adventurers (2 year olds and younger 3's) are in two inter-connected rooms, one acting as a ‘studio’ where children have access to an array of art mediums for creative expression, and a larger space for exploring ideas that have been presented to them. All of our materials are open-ended and encourage children to explore, enquire and experiment. The children in this age group are really learning about social development. They make friends with their peers and start to play together in a dynamic and meaningful way. At this point children begin to look outside themselves;

‘to conceive of himself from the standpoint of the welfare of the group to which he belongs.’ John Dewey

We strongly foster this time as a period when children begin to collaborate with each other, working in groups on ideas and interests and playing together. Children learn about the needs of others, respecting each other and themselves. We

It’s a fun and busy time, visiting the meadows or the Arts Centre for children’s shows as well as the library, park and market. A small group of children from Adventurers get the opportunity to spend the whole day in our yurt classroom, on a rotating basis. This is very popular and the outdoor classroom takes place three days a week. Please let us know as soon as possible if you would like your child to take part. All-in-one suits are provided. Nature plays an important part in all that we do and we encourage children to spend as much time as possible outside in our large garden, playing in our mudpit supported by our Outdoors team.

We focus our planning based on careful observation and evaluation. Our teachers spend time each week discussing what has happened in the classroom and outside, and what this could mean for the children. We discuss what the children are curious about, then with thoughtful and creative planning we turn the observations into concrete learning opportunities. We welcome feedback from parents in this process, and pictures and ideas are added to our ‘story’.