With permission from the head of our lovely Montessori school, I wanted to share some photos from the school grounds with a focus on the importance of nature in the Montessori environment. Although I do not feel comfortable sharing which school we send our boys to on the blog, if you are interested in sending your child to a Montessori school in St. Louis, please let me know and I will email you the details and contact information to our school.
Nature and the natural environment is a crucial piece to the Montessori method. Maria Montessori believed that the outdoor environment should be an extension of the classroom. Children go outdoors in almost any weather, and are encouraged to engage in purposeful outdoor activities. But there is also space for exploration and creativity, as evidenced by the many projects in progress I encountered on my walk around my boys’ school grounds.
“When a child goes out, it is the world itself that offers itself to him. Let us take the child out to show him real things instead of making objects which represent ideas and closing them up in cupboards.” — Dr. Maria Montessori
In many school yards, tree-climbing is prohibited. This was the case at the previous school our boys attended. And after the school children (many from the inner city), who returned to climb day after day, left for the day, the school officials had the city come and cut all the lower limbs off that tree.
The spaces we explored together were magical: woods carved out with little pathways winding in and around and back out again, the undergrowth mostly kept at bay by the sheer use of the space. I observed small trees whose lower limbs were smooth from the many small hands that gripped and rubbed and hung from them. There were feathers and sticks tucked away deep in the woods, clearly placed there on purpose, and sculptures made from stones and old clay pipes and pots. Everything held some degree of magic, and as my boys showed me around, I was struck by their respect for it all; Milo knew who each project belonged to and encouraged his brothers to leave alone the collection of small bright red berries, and the hole dug into the hard dry earth with the “bridge” across. And they did. There seemed to be an unspoken rule, a reverence for the outdoor projects of their peers. 
Above, gathering places / berries carefully collected in a hollowed-out piece of wood / forest sculptures / a mortar and pestle made from a rotting log and rounded piece of wood (with berries in the hollow)
I felt so moved when exploring this space. There was a part of me that felt like I was rediscovering this lost world to adults — spying on what our children do, what they choose to engage in when outdoors, and a piece of it feels very private and intimate. It was an honor to document it. 
The playground also lends itself to purposeful play and self-expression. It is simple and cared-for all at once: a simple stump walk, a platform shaded by pines, an open-sided house with a high roof.
But perhaps the boys’ favorite place of all: the chicken run and coop, right alongside the vegetable and flower garden. The beauty and care of this place is so obvious. The hens were docile and sweet, letting the boys pet them from time to time before running off to peck at grass and bugs. The boys searched for eggs amidst the run and fed the hens cherry tomatoes off long sticks (so they would not get pecked, ha!). The joy they found in rounding up the hens to return to their coop was obvious by the amount of time they spent doing it. Once all nine were returned, Emil almost let them all out again to do it again! I suppose that repetition aspect of Montessori is already a part of him! 
We are so happy that the stars aligned and our boys (and we) ended up here. A gentle, child- (really human) centered approach that treats the individual as a whole; nature is such a big piece of this puzzle.
Thank you, Laura, for permission to post these pictures of your amazing school!
“The land is where our roots are. The children must be taught to feel and live in harmony with the Earth.” — Dr. Maria Montessori
The school grounds look amazing! I bet the classrooms are equally lovely. Thanks for sharing!
Lauren! I am so happy that your family is having this amazing experience! We looked into sending Jackson to the Montessori school in our neighborhood for kindergarten, but were unable to make it work out. We ended up opting for a half day kindergarten program instead and got extremely lucky with his teacher and classmates, but I still just feel uneasy with the entire public school system in today’s world. Being a teacher, I see how negatively impacting the common core and standardized testing is for our children, teachers and ultimately society. Putting kids inside of a box and making them all think the same way, problem solve the same way, write the same way…it makes me sad, especially when I see that my child definitely does not always fit into that box, and I am sure that many elementary children do not. Someone recently said to me that, we live in a public school world, and although they are correct, I really do believe that your children grow most based on the home environment in which they are being raised and nurtured (or lack there of) in. If we are supportive proponents of their education environment, no matter where that is, then they will each thrive in their own way. For now, we are in one of the best school systems in NJ, (we moved about 6 months ago-I MUST send you our new address so I can get your Christmas card..we wait all year for it 🙂 and our experience thus far (1 month) has been very positive. However, I find that each time I find myself saying we have only enrolled Jackson in half day kindergarten to other parents (there are 16 kids in his school in the class – as opposed to a few hundred in the district in kindergarten) we get a look of disbelief and lots of questions. I get it, I get why parents make the choices they do and we have struggled to try to make the best choices for our son and still second guess ourselves – this is parenting I suppose – but, ultimately I want to preserve his childhood and innocence AND love of learning for as long as possible. That is my job and duty as his mom. I am thrilled to see you posting about the boys school and life experiences and continuing to inspire so many with your spirit! You really do have an amazing lease on life and wonderful family to enjoy it with!! xoxoxo
Kathy, it’s hard to think differently about schooling in a society that oftentimes doesn’t question our current public schooling situation. It sounds like you are doing what is right for your family — keep at it, lady! Stay strong and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks. You know what is best for Jackson, and I know you are an amazing mama! Good work!
And yes, please send me your new address! 🙂
I love this post because it is spot on. I had both my children in a Montessori school through to 8th grade and if given the chance I’d do it all over again. It’s a gift to the child to be educated this way; where the authentic nature and innocence of childhood is respected. Children are allowed to let their natural curiosity guide them to discovery. The classroom “work” is self-correcting so their is freedom within limits. Note that all Montessori schools are not equal. If you are interested in Montessori find one that is AMS certified. Certification is a rigorous process that will help insure the very best for your child.