“Let the children be free; encourage them; let them run outside when it is raining; let them remove their shoes when they find a puddle of water; and when the grass of the meadows is wet with dew, let them run on it and trample it with their bare feet; let them rest peacefully when a tree invites them to sleep beneath its shade; let them shout and laugh when the sun wakes them in the morning.”
—Maria Montessori
VMS’s Outdoor Classroom program enhances each child’s learning experience by integrating it with the wonderful outdoor setting surrounding the school building. The program provides opportunities for the students to engage in a wide variety of outdoor activities, which help them to experience the wonder of our natural world.
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As part of the Outdoor Classroom program, students, parents and teachers work together to plan, plant and lovingly tend vegetable, herb and flower gardens each year. In every season, students hike nature trails through the property, observing the seasonal changes in the landscape, signs of wildlife and native plants. Families gather regularly to lend a hand in creating the outdoor setting: grooming woodland trails, preparing gardens, participating in VMS’s annual “plant a bulb day”. Additionally, students have the opportunity to spend individual and group time outdoors, working on projects of their choosing including: painting, drawing, music and movement, wood working, building, digging and exploring.
Village Montessori was awarded a Greenworks! grant from Project Learning Tree to create a Pollinator Garden, named “Village of Pollen” by the students. Students researched, planned and created this wonderful addition to the Outdoor Classroom cooperatively with parent volunteers. The garden, filled with native plants in three settings (meadow, woodland and pondside (wetlands) provides a habitat to attract, feed and protect native pollinators.
Village Montessori would like to extend a special thanks to our community partners, who helped in the development of Village of Pollen, Abernethy & Spencer Greenhouses of Lincoln and Local Wood of Berryville.
We would love to answer any questions you have! Give us a call at (540) 454-7514, schedule a tour, or send us a message.
