Blog

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, even for 2020. The lights are twinkling, the songs are playing and the treats are flowing. We all need this magical time more than ever. But it can be a confusing time for our children, who crave routine and stability. We’re not suggesting that Christmas is cancelled, far from it, but some simple Montessori principles can help navigate the season with as few tears and tantrums as possible.

It’s been a long year hasn’t it? And with many families still isolating and so much time being spent at home, it’s fair to say that ideas for how to keep pre-schoolers busy are wearing thin. We’ve crafted, we’ve baked, we’ve completed all the jigsaws but those little, curious minds are desperate for more.

As lockdown number two hit on November 5th, parents all over the country breathed a sigh of relief on hearing that children under the age of five are exempt from the limits on two people meeting outdoors during this month-long period to halt the continued spread of Covid-19.

It’s 2020 and supposedly, the world is more educated and open minded than ever. Or is it? Too regularly, I see adverts for dolls on the television with not one boy in them and children’s clothes shops split into two clear halves, the pink side and the blue side.

I am raising a family who gets everything it can from the outdoors! Singing practice in a natural auditorium, cricket, golf, running and for our newest arrival from his very first days, there have been daily dog walks and back garden biology courses amongst plants, trees, birds and squirrels. Children simply need the air and space of the natural world so that their bodies and souls can function.

Covid-19 is a serious illness and before we could reopen, I needed to create a plan to minimise risk within our nursery, for our children, families and staff teams alike.  For our policy to work and for Coronavirus to stay out of our doors, it has to unite home and nursery.