Dear You!
I am so excited to tell you about my heart project. I have been teaching preschool age kids for a couple of decades and after having opened Greenleaf Mindful Montessori Preschool in 2015, I have been savoring the magic that has unfolded. Everyday I walk out to our indoor/ outdoor space and am in awe of the peace that the prepared environment is bringing to all of the children we are serving. The mix of Montessori, Mindfulness, Peace + Cultural education, Emotional regulation, contact with nature, and the individualistic approach has been the perfect ingredients to create this potion of love and peace.
As a teacher, a parent, and simply a human, this environment inspires me to take this container with me wherever I go and exemplify what we experience in the Greenleaf garden. I am such a better human for it! I am so much clearer on who I am and how I relate to the world around me. I am more compassionate and empathetic not just to the younger humans out there but to my peers and to my mentors. There is a transparency and authenticity that we have conjured and I am simply bursting with the need to share the pieces that make up this charming setting and meaningful container.
My experience has been so moving that I have been ruminating in my brain a way to share it with others. And there are so many entries that fill my brain, with tidbits, big philosophical questions, aha- breakthroughs, and simply the small moments that make up our huge collective heart. For now I am writing a blog entry weekly with some of these moments, details, and findings that tackle me and fill me with love- I am writing from my heart and hoping that you will read along and interact with your questions, comments, and moments that move you.
I am inviting you to join me in preparing the “educational” garden for growing. We will plow through the weeds, with what is not working and why. We will prepare the earth to make it a great and rich foundation, with the teachings of Montessori, Mindfulness, and few more gems I have picked up along the way. We will nurture it together and share our seeds of wisdom, in relation to peace education, emotional regulation, service based learning to name a few. We will endure the seasons, and grow an Earth that we can be proud to pass on to our younger generations. In the process we will get dirty and be unapologetic for the mess, we will take the path through a growth mindset and get scrapped along the way; all while looking at the sun and the stars that illuminate the road to a beautiful tomorrow!
This is going to be an educational lab for parents, teachers and all who interact or have interacted with the 3-6 year old seedlings; a resource and inspirational library where we explore together a way to protect the natural process of developing little humans and focus on growth. We will explore the tools that help us educate our youngest trail blazers that are digging the path towards a peaceful, loving and integrated tomorrow.
Join me in the garden, where the Greenleaf grows! 🌱
Con mucho amor,
Vanessa 💕
*PS. I am giving myself permission to share my imperfect process with you and invite you to join me in this path.