In 2018, our children experienced a remarkable transformation after I incorporated a simple life cycle into the morning work period.
Within a few months, even the restless children were focused for extended periods. This resulted in a profound sense of peace and learning in the classroom.
We evolved into a nature-based community. The children spent their morning work period interacting with soil, water, seeds, plants, and composting worms, exploring growth and decomposition. This occurred even on the coldest days and without immediate access to nature.
However, I was the only one who knew how to implement the life cycle. I realized it could disappear from the environment when I wasn’t there.
Yet, with nearly two decades of Montessori experience, decades of working and thinking about experiential education, plus several years of running my own small school and a childhood spent living close to the land, I knew I had valuable insights to share. I understood that educators needed more support to bring nature to their students.
This realization led me to develop a premium product—one that would offer enough structure for any Montessori educator to integrate a simple life cycle into their environment.
The product includes materials designed to meet the needs of the child: independence, repetition, and purpose, leading to the creation of cherished microgreens and hard-working compost worms.
The strong interest and support this idea received from others gave me confidence.
I named this company NatureTot, with nature as the ‘teacher’ of the child.
I wanted to make it possible for anyone to incorporate this into their environment. Realizing that it takes a lot of thought and preparation to source and set up a system that provides independence, repetition and purpose, I created a complete system to make this more possible.
It is called the NatureTot System. The NatureTot System is a series of materials, cabinets and exercises that support a simple life cycle.
For schools wishing to integrate nature into their environments today, and who value high quality and a commitment to hands-on experiences for children under six, the full NatureTot System is the way to go.
Here’s what customers of the full NatureTot Classroom System gain access to: