SPACES, MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES
The pedagogical organization of spaces and materials aims to create a rich and welcoming environment where the child can become the builder of their own path of knowledge, through interaction with others. It is related to the need to balance the child’s need for intimacy/emotional security with the need for exploration/discovery.
WORKSHOPS
The workshop is conceived as the "space of doing" and requires an environment where the child can move autonomously, engaging in processes of observation, exploration, and production. In this view, the physical space becomes a 'modifiable space' that hosts tools and resources for creating experiential contexts. We regularly conduct artistic-expressive, heuristic, and manipulative workshops with various objectives, including the development of language, literacy, socio-emotional security and well-being, creative expression, and mathematical and scientific thinking.
SYMBOLIC PLAY
Symbolic play is crucial during this developmental stage when children are unable to verbally communicate every experience and emotion. Through the use of toys that replicate household objects, children actively explore their environment by reenacting real events or experiences, becoming active participants in their play. During this intense expressive activity, educators can engage more closely with the children and use this space as an important tool for observation.
REST TIME AREA
Rest time is one of the most important activities in nurseries, and the attention that educators give to this moment brings many benefits for the children, whether they stay at the nursery until late in the evening with extended hours or leave right after waking up. Our space is equipped with breathable Montessori beds and shutters to create an environment that promotes better rest. An educator is always present to maintain constant contact with the children. The space is organized according to the children's specific ages, adapted to their ongoing growth, and designed to be a calm, comfortable, safe, and trustworthy place for the children.
READING CORNER
One of our classrooms is dedicated to the library and reading area.
Reading books, in their various forms, is one of the most versatile and stimulating educational tools that educators can use with children in this age group. It stimulates listening skills, increases potential stimuli to develop attention, extends attention spans, and fosters the creation of mental images and connections between different aspects of the story. We not only encourage listening but also the handling of books to foster a deeper familiarity with them.
GYM
The psychomotor lab and simple obstacle courses take place in the largest hall of the facility. This activity allows children to explore and understand themselves, their bodies in relation to others, and the surrounding environment using mats, mirrors, balls, cushions, tunnels, and slides. Through this important activity, children develop self-control, autonomy, balance, and, by perceiving the space around them, begin to recognize their own potential and limitations.
OUTDOOR AND GARDEN AREA
Our outdoor space is a constant companion throughout the day, becoming not only a place for free and social play but also a learning environment. Since September 2021, our nursery has a dedicated garden area with the primary goal of emphasizing the importance of "caring for the earth." This space allows children to learn about the origins of plant-based products that contribute to good and healthy nutrition and to build a connection with the earth that provides food and nourishes the whole person from a physical, emotional, and cognitive perspective. It encourages children to explore and discover their environment using all five senses, enhancing scientific skills and attitudes such as curiosity, the drive to explore, and the joy of discovery. This space also helps children learn, experiment with, and internalize rules and behaviors that contribute to a healthy lifestyle.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Friedrich Fröbel, Maria Montessori, and John Dewey are some of the most important educators who have emphasized the fundamental relationship between children and nature, its manifestations, and its rhythms from the earliest years of life.
Nature provides children with an immense wealth of natural materials rich in stimuli. The physical, perceptive, transformative, aesthetic, and evocative qualities of natural elements, along with their diverse structures, essences, and scents, open up opportunities for multisensory exploration. These elements stimulate curiosity, creativity, and children's divergent and metaphorical thinking, acquiring a completely new value, no longer tied to their original function. They are characterized by their ability to be used in a multifunctional and unconventional manner.
