From 9am to 9.30am, the arrival at school is a time when children need a welcome, a time to connect, an adult look that attends them… In short, a necessary moment of presence and availability.
The relaxed entry allows us to accompany, so that both children and families can be cared for, with the necessary time and commitment to make the transition from home to school in a careful, child-friendly manner. The arrival is also accompanied by a series of very beneficial morning routines that the child will carry out calmly: put the fruit in the basket, hang up the coat, put down the rucksack, put the shoes in the shoe rack, check the drawer…
The triangle sounds, children and accompanists come together to create the circle of ‘Bon dia!’. During this time, between approximately 9.45 and 10 a.m., we look at each other, we pay attention to those present in the circle, we mention those who have not arrived, we greet each other, we start the day, we sing songs according to the seasonal climate, we play with the calendar, we explain those things that we like to share… The circle is a moment of togetherness in which we also take the opportunity to discuss, give information, anticipate what will happen during the day, and even celebrate birthday rituals.
There are days when the game takes place in the movement space, others in indoor and outdoor spaces of the school and, once a week, it moves to the facilities of the Fundació S’HORT VELL (cross country, sand courts, corrals, area of wild olive trees, etc.)
A wide variety of games are on offer between 10am and 12.30pm, either indoors or outdoors. They can emerge from the children themselves, as well as from those accompanying them, and when we must take charge of our own environment: feeding the animals, watering the trees, tending the garden, collecting the eggs, preparing the sawdust, etc. Each child participates voluntarily in whatever interests him or her.
Throughout the free play day, fruit and nuts are available for the children on the porch tables.
At around 12.45h, we know that the free play time is over when we see María de Lluc, the cook at Els Molins school, arriving with lunch.
The dynamic of this moment leads us to tidy up our projects, wash our hands, set the table, and enjoy the meal. Each child, as they finish their meal at the pace they need, picks up their own dishes and washes them in the sinks.
After lunch, at around 1:30pm, one of the adults accompanies the story time and explains it to the group of children interested in participating. It is a routine that helps the little ones to slow down after eating, encouraging the necessary time for the body to slow down while digesting, facilitating the children’s rest for those children who need to take a nap.
After story time, families start arriving gradually from 2pm until 4pm. This is a time for the companions to exchange information with the child’s family and discuss how the day went. Slowly and calmly, each family says goodbye to the classroom and sets off for home.
If we had to define the concept of Nexes in a single sentence it would be this: “Nexes, an integral experience of education in nature”.
This concept gives the project its name and derivates from the Latin word for knot or interlacing. So, we understand Nexes as the approach, the connection, and the union of the child to nature and the processes that occur in it. Living in a natural environment implicitly offers a rich and valuable learning experience: respect, awareness, care, and appreciation of this nature that we live day by day and that, step by step, we understand.
With Nexes we want to give birth to a system in which the explosion of movement, the connection with the natural environment and animals, learning through free play, emotional awareness, and accompaniment from the respect for the needs of the stage and the individual rhythms of each child, are the main axes of the project.
This is a proposal aimed at the second cycle of infant education (for children between 3 and 6 years of age) that has been designed from a perspective of care and respect, considering the stage of development that children of these ages go through and their needs. The pedagogical project is developed by three professionals in the field of education, early childhood education teachers, trained in respectful pedagogy and continuously maturing their knowledge through the study of non-directive educational styles, family accompaniment, systemic pedagogy, animal-assisted interventions, among others.
The activity takes place at S’Hort Vell, the estate of the same name located at the gates of the village of Biniali (in the municipality of Sencelles), Mallorca.
Both the team and the project draw on a variety of pedagogical sources, schools and authors that are based on respect and care for children, as well as full confidence in their abilities. We promote a lively and active pedagogy:
Based on a thorough understanding of the developmental stage of children from 3 to 6 years of age.
Respecting different learning rhythms and accepting their internal growth processes without making demands on them for which they are not biologically prepared.
Linking learning to experience touching, exploring, feeling the content.
Educating in a free-flowing environment where it is the child himself who goes in search of learning according to his needs and interests.
Inhabiting spaces and environments that have been designed and cared for to meet the needs of children and invite them to participate.
• Living the school as a living organism to where they can investigate, experiment, create, make mistakes, revise, learn, solve, enjoy…
Emmi Pikler, Montessori, Waldorf, Pestalozzi, Reggio Emilia (Malaguzzi) y las Escuelas Bosque, among others, are some of our references and pillars that make us work in an eclectic way.
We currently have many educational experiences of active pedagogies that have been in place for years, decades and even centuries; they work successfully due to the benefits they bring to the integral development of the child and are a worldwide reference. These methodologies are explained and analysed from science and have the recognition and support of many professionals and disciplines: science, neuroscience, psychology, education, paediatrics, philosophy, arts…
All of them have in common respect for children, confidence in their abilities, knowledge of the stages of development and consideration of individual rhythms through experiential learning in which children learn by doing and from experience.
Respectful accompanimentNatural environmentLiving with animalsFree playHomemade and sustainable foodFamily and school
The school has an indoor space as a reference building, which is open and directly connected to the natural outdoor space. The children can move freely through both environments as they need to, as both inside and outside there is an adult who accompanies the play. The interior space is always available during the day to meet the needs of rest or shelter, so that children can live in it autonomously. It has different areas for reading, experiments, constructions, unstructured material, mattresses and pillows, fabrics and swings, mirrors, costumes, tables for artistic expression…
The outdoor space at Nexesis where most of the symbolic play takes place and is made up of a large porch where we enjoy our meals, a vegetable garden area, chicken coop, experimental table/kitchen, tool corner, several small houses, pond with fish, fruit trees and various natural elements. At the same time, it can be connected to another outdoor space right in front of the school. We call it a space for movement as it has several ramps, swings, ropes and a climbing wall that invite children to play in a more active way.
In addition, the facilities of the Fundació S’HORT VELL are also part of our daily life, and we use them continuously when we visit the horses and ponies, go for food, or go on an excursion. So, the sand tracks, the cross country, the paddock paradise, the paddocks, or warehouses are also spaces that are filled with play when we set foot in them.
I hear, and I forget; I see, and I remember; I do, and I understand.
Confucius
Integrated development: body, mind and emotion working together to strengthen learning
Aimed at 2nd cycle of infant education
Nexes, Natural Learning
Learning amidst nature, bonding and caring for the animals, emotional awareness and accompaniment based on respect for the needs of the stage and the individual rhythms of each person are the cornerstones of the project.
Outdoor School in the middle of Nature
Nature offers us infinite possibilities, there are already many school projects that adhere to this methodology, and we can say from experience, that not only are the objectives and content at the curricular level achieved but learning at a competence level is always present.
The environment that we offer has an open space with different elements that encourage movement and exploration. This space, surrounded by wooden fencing, offers a confined and safe space in which to move freely. Outside this boundary, we also have areas for walking, investigating and exploring with the peace of mind of feeling accompanied and respecting the educational guidelines.
What happens if the weather is bad?
We have two covered porch structures in the reference area, as well as interior spaces designed so that different environments can be created in accordance with the pedagogical basis of the project. S’Hort Vell has covered infrastructures for multiple uses that can be used if necessary. Storms are exceptional on our island and although treacherous weather is rare, we are always aware of the forecasts and can offer alternatives in case of need.
Do not forget that “there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing”. This means good equipment and staying on the move. Suitable clothing does not mean special clothing, but simply comfortable clothing adapted to the weather and always “at hand”. Dressing in layers is practical and especially useful for life, as each person can self-regulate their own body according to thermal needs. This is a particularly important aspect in our project, as accompanying the development of the proprioceptive sense through self-regulation is one of the main bases of respectful education.
Intrinsic motivation
People are born with the capacity to learn and this impulse in early life gives us the basis for education. Human beings are instinctively curious to discover and understand the world around us. Nowadays, over-stimulation and a fast pace of life disconnect us from our inner selves at an increasingly younger age.
Learning in Nexes is linked to experience and the experience that comes from within a person; this impulse is called intrinsic motivation. By allowing children to explore at their own pace, guided by their needs and interests, we ensure that they associate new discoveries with positive experiences and emotions, helping to anchor learning and fostering their curiosity and investigative spirit.
Respectful accompaniment
The presence of companions in childhood learning processes is a key element. With an attentive and caring outlook, putting emotions into words and trusting in the children’s potential, bonds are created. They give the children the necessary confidence to investigate the environment and establish relationships independently.
The accompanying adult must be able to grasp the subtle boundary between intervention and interference, taking advantage of the opportunities provided by day-to-day living. The presence of two professionals in the educational setting, always accompanying individual and group processes, helps to manage conflicts and to put words to the emotions that arise and provide a secure base to draw on and explore.
Observing the dynamics generated during free play and intra-group interactions helps and guides the intervention when necessary, generating as little interference as possible to promote the individuality of each child. At the same time, observation allows us to recognise their interests and maturational rhythms and to promote dynamics to work on the three main curricular areas.
Free play
We propose free play as a way of relating to the environment, a potential work tool, in a natural setting full of challenges and materials to discover. Free play encourages self-determination, expressing what the child wants and needs. By not always having a guide who plans every step the child takes gives the child the opportunity to make decisions, to be creative and proactive.
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Everyone chooses how and with whom they want to play… and this sometimes leads to conflict with their peers. Little by little, they come out of their egocentrism to begin to see and respect points of view different from their own.
Living with animals
S’Hort Vell is a space inhabited by animals; horses, ponies and dogs are life companions in this environment, with each other and with humans. The animals are accustomed to working with people, supporting them both in teaching and therapy. The bonding and care of these animals, together with the natural environment, will develop a more holistic view in children. By getting to know their needs and the different forms of communication between people and animals, they will experience the different way of behaving between humans as well. The care of a simple hen house and the way the hens behave will make them see and experience their own behavioral pattern as if it were a mirror.
Contact with animals stimulates the creation of respectful bonds and promotes the development of self-esteem, empathy and group integration. Living with animals of other species, with their own needs and characteristics, requires learning about the appropriate and safe way of relating to them, which encourages children’s self-regulation.
Emotional awareness
Childhood is potentially actively linked directly to emotion, so life experiences result in both pleasant and unpleasant experiences. At Nexes we do not recognise emotions as good or bad, positive or negative, but as indicators of a need. Having an experience that generates a pleasant or unpleasant emotion will give the opportunity to connect with oneself. In these moments, the presence of the companion who listens and accompanies, not instructs, is extremely valuable, creating the link that will give security and confidence.
The learning acquired in these moments is for life. The objective of the accompanying person is to allow him/her to experience the learning and thus be able to incorporate the knowledge acquired through the felt emotion indefinitely.
By helping children to put into words and give meaning to their feelings and emotions, whether pleasant or unpleasant, and without judging them, any emotion is permissible – although the way of expressing it at this age may need some guidance. The caregivers are responsible for setting limits in a firm but affectionate manner, as well as offering alternatives so that the child can express their feelings, guaranteeing respect for others and for themselves.
Healthy and sustainable food
We offer a menu based on local or Km 0 products: cereals, organic vegetables, with no sugars or processed products. With a holistic approach, we consider food to be of vital importance and fundamental in children’s education. Children learn to manage independently and become aware that the planet is not an infinite resource. They value what they eat and see this moment as a space of time that offers multiple learning opportunities.
Reduced ratios
We carry out the activity in an educational partnership. To guarantee the quality of the programme and effective accompaniment, the maximum ratio is 10 children per professional.
Methodology
The team and the project draw from various sources, which is why we use methodologies from different schools/authors. Emmi Pikler, Montessori, Waldorf, Pestalozzi, Reggio Emilia (Malaguzzi) and forest schools, among others, are some of our references and the pillars that help us work in an eclectic way.
We currently have many educational experiences of active pedagogies that have been in place for years, decades and even centuries, which work successfully for the benefits they bring to integral human development, being a worldwide reference. Currently, these methodologies are explained and analyzed from science and have the recognition and support of many professionals and disciplines; science, neuroscience, psychology, education, philosophy, arts…
The bases of these methodologies are respect for children and confidence in their abilities, knowledge of the stages of development and respect for the maturational rhythms of each stage and child, based on experiential learning where children learn by doing and from experience.
Trying to teach a child something he or she can learn on his or her own is not just useless, it is also harmful.
