Signs of spring are visible at The Gower School Nursery in Islington, north London. Tables are decorated with yellow-print cloths, and recycled glass jars containing daffodils are placed in the centre. Two-year-old Ariel takes a tray containing yellow petals to a table and uses tongs to carefully transfer them, one-by-one, into a bowl. Millie works on another tray-based activity, using a small brush and a bowl of yellow coloured water to practise cleaning a boot.
‘Encouraging children to be independent and self-reliant is at the heart of the Montessori ethos,’ says deputy head of nursery Sofia Pedrana.
MODERN APPROACH
At the 130-place nursery, children are introduced to elements of Montessori methodology from the age of three months. ‘It starts with sensory-based exploration, moves into practical life activities and, by the age of three, children are using Montessori-specific apparatus to help prepare them for modern-day life,’ Pedrana explains.
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