Herbert Street

Woodentots Montessori Nature Nursery takes outdoor learning one step further bringing together Montessori and Forest School. We use the community as our classroom. Forest School compliments the Montessori ethos, enabling children to make decisions and take risks our aim to nurture creative, resilient and independent learners. Our blended approach to education has evolved over the 33 years of Woodentots,.Whilst Montessori leads the way, our inspiration comes from Waldorf Steiner seasonal traditions, Forest School and Reggio Emilia creative processes.

Our Herbert Street school established in 2015 offers a rich mix of the indoors and outdoors. Two days a week the children go to Forest School in Belsize Woods and one morning in St. Martin’s church garden where they work with clay, build with loose parts and enjoy music with Caroline Chan. Back at our base, our warm and welcoming classroom is equipped with Montessori materials and natural toys that are carefully chosen for their play value. The children are introduced to the Montessori ‘work cycle’ where little by little independence grows – selecting materials and replacing them back after use. Each child has a ‘Key worker’ to guide them through the materials. We adopt a sustainable approach limiting the use of plastic. Following the seasonal rhythms we bake bread, churn butter and chop vegetables for soup making using real tools with increasing control. At Forest School the children have lots of fun in an enchanting woodland, transferring the skills they learn in the classroom to real life experiences. We foster a responsive guidance rather than reactive to support children with their emotional well-being in emotionally charged situations.