The Nest
The nest is open from Monday to Thursday, 8.30 am to 3 pm and welcomes children from 1 year old up to three and a half years old. Our group consists of a maximum of 4 children and me.
While in my care, your child will be nestled in my beloved nest—a warm and cosy wooden house situated at the back of the garden. Through the low windows, children can enjoy the beauty of nature as they observe the birds, squirrels, and cats that visit our garden amidst the changing colours of the seasons.
Our days follow a simple, homely life rhythm, and my role will involve tending to your child’s every need with calm and gentle attention. I will provide a balance of adult-led activities, such as food preparation, baking, cleaning, and singing, alongside opportunities for self-initiated free play.
Based on the principle that children are natural imitators full of curiosity and that they love to be involved in real adult work, I aim to create an atmosphere where children can actively engage in their play or participate in the activities I am doing around them.
The daily rhythm
A typical day at the Hummingbirds’ Nest starts indoors with time for creative free play. Play is children’s real “work”. Children learn through play, making sense of the world around them. Together, children learn to share, take risks, and resolve conflicts.
The toys available are open-ended, simple, and made of natural materials to inspire creativity, imagination, and curiosity. They freely move from one idea to another.
While they play under my attentive eyes and guidance, I prepare the morning snack and do the activity of the day. Children may choose to keep playing or to help me.
Then, we gather for our morning circle. This is a moment when we sing seasonal songs, use movement, and do fingerplays that are repeated over three or four weeks. This repetition aids the children’s memory and builds their fine and gross motor skills. Additionally, pre-literacy skills such as listening, rhyming, recognizing letter sounds, and counting, which are crucial for formal literacy, are also developed during this time. In the end, we will wash our hands and sit together at the table to have our snack.
Slowly, we start tidying up and getting ready to go outside. While in the garden, children can dig in the earth, climb and balance in cut logs, play in the sandpit and mud kitchen, find wiggly worms and snails or help me take care of our garden.
When the time comes, we return inside. We wash our hands, then gather together for a puppet story that takes us to the world of fantasy and imagination. Afterwards, we sit together at the table to enjoy our lunch. Before beginning our nourishing and homemade vegetarian meal, we light a candle and sing a song to thank for our food.
Following our meal, it is time to rest. While some nap in a cot in a quiet and cosy corner that I prepare, others who don’t sleep have quiet time with me as we read books together. Then, while they play quietly, I tidy up the kitchen and begin preparing food for the following day.
Gradually, children begin to awaken and have a light snack before going home.
The activity of the day
Monday: Chopping
Tuesday: Baking
Wednesday: Bread-making
Thursday: Home-loving and domestic tasks
The Approach
The foundation of everything I do at Hummingbirds’ Nest is built upon the understanding of life and human development presented in Waldorf Education and the principles presented in the Pikler Approach: the respectful relationship between an adult and young child, a naturally paced motor development, free self-directed movement and uninterrupted play.