The NatureTot System will require your attention and focus as you learn how it works. However, once it is established, you can expect your children to largely maintain the system as a community. Your work will be to observe the child, step in where needed, and to maintain the prepared environment. To achieve this goal, I recommend that you have Montessori training and that you feel confident that you can give presentations effectively.

As with any practical life activity that includes water, soil or food, daily attentive care is required for safety. We have taken safety very seriously. We have designed the presentations with this in mind. While ultimately it is your decision how you maintain your safety protocols, we can help you make an informed decision. For example, we recommend that sterilized soil be used to plant the seeds and recommend that you have children wash their hands before and after all work at the cabinets. The NatureTot Masterclass gives you several tips on maintaining a safe environment for the children, including thoughtfully prepared presentations, checklists for quality control and to help you delegate tasks effectively, and careful maintenance instructions that will help to eliminate many risks.

It can if you do not have the training or expertise as a Montessori educator! The presentations included address many issues that may develop, such as spilling of soil or moving containers. The order and focus upon the small movements of the child embedded within the Montessori prepared environment are your keys to successfully integrating this into your classroom! The cabinets and learning materials support this and make it much much easier for the educator and child, but the first requirement for this being manageable in your classroom is your training and expertise as a Montessori educator. Presently, educators have found there to be little mess in the prepared environment. Again, much will depend on your skill as a Montessori guide.

Absolutely! We will provide you with the tools and the knowledge needed to implement the system. Your children will be learning incredible insights on nature, even if your nature knowledge is limited. One of our goals is for this to help any educator bring nature into their classroom today! Nature, always, is the teacher. Sometimes it is best if we let nature teach and guide the child, stepping back to allow this to happen.

Currently the guidance and exercises are for the trained Montessori educator. If you are interested, please leave us your email and we will update you when we have support for the non-trained Montessori educator.

How wonderful that you have an outdoor space! Even more so if the Casa child has free access to this space in the morning work period. Clearly, the NatureTot system does not replace going outside and experiencing nature! What the system does, and which is tricky in any outdoor space, is provide a deeply engaging and independent experience of nature-cycles to the child under six. I think that this would be valuable to any educator, with or without outdoor nature access.