From Sister Kathleen Ann

Why do we do so much with the Outdoors?

In the best situations, Montessori classrooms have access to the outdoors, as nature is considered a direct extension of learning environment. In Montessori schools around the world, you are apt to find doors that lead to beautiful gardens and outdoor spaces for the children to enjoy or to busy themselves with planting, tending, and harvesting. There are benches on which a child can sit and rest in the sunshine. Here the children observe toads hidden among the plants, birds singing and calling, and spiders spinning webs. In warm weather children may carry small tables out to work in the fresh air, or to enjoy their snack among the butterflies and grasshoppers.

Montessori envisioned children freely moving between the indoor and the outdoor environment for she understood that being in nature is nourishment for the soul. In some of the earliest photos of the first Montessori schools, we see children enjoying lunch in the open air, napping on small cots, writing on the terrace, and engaging with the learning materials on their work rugs in the garden. This connection between the indoor and outdoor environment nourishes a love respect for nature and firmly roots children in experiences in the natural world.

This leads to our many “going out” experiences; Earth Experiences, plays, symphonies, operas, exhibits, garden museums, senior homes, soup kitchens, farms, etc. Our children are blessed in so many ways. Their learning consistently sees application and innovations. Let us continue to ignite learning and enhance living!

Truly our mission says it “to respect themselves, others and the earth.”