“There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature;
to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony and the beauty in nature.” Maria Montessori
“It is also necessary for his psychical development to place the
soul of the child in contact with creation, in order that he may lay up for
himself treasure from the directly educating forces of living nature.” Maria
Montessori
Nature is an important part of the Montessori curriculum. At
Saraswati Preschool, we are lucky enough to have a front and back yard. Although
the yard’s not too big, every now and then, the children find interesting
things, such as a chameleon, ant holes, a cocoon, and spider eggs, seeds, star fruits and figs. 
To extend the children’s interaction with nature, last
Friday, together with parents, we went to experience the natural beauty of the
kampong at Cinangneng village. The children found snails and pink snail eggs.
They climbed the big rocks and bathed the buffalo in the river. They immersed their feet in mud and planted
paddy seedlings. They even followed the ducks waddle along in a row.
The children also made kampong traditional rice cakes, and
played the gamelan. They learned to dance the Jaipong dance and make puppets
from stems and leaves. They even painted their very own farmer’s hat and learnt
to play the angklung.
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