Our goal for Natasha's Natureland was to create a space for children that, while maintaining and fulfilling all the necessary requirements of a "traditional" preschool—such as those set by law regarding space organization, safety, cleanliness, and more—aligns with our school’s philosophy. This philosophy encourages children’s free movement in the space, experiential learning, a love for nature and all its creatures, care for their bodies, and a more conscious approach to nutrition.
We aim for our school to help children explore the world around them and prepare them with life skills they will need throughout their lives, not just for elementary school. We want the children to move freely in the space, play both indoors and outdoors freely yet safely, in accordance with the educational model we have chosen. This model is more experiential and does not focus solely on "school readiness" but rather on preparing them for everyday life. We care about raising our children in the tranquility and harmony of nature, fostering feelings of love and empathy for the world, and cultivating critical thinking.
For Natasha’s Natureland, we set two significant goals:
- To design the indoor spaces, spanning 600 square meters, as comfortable and bright activity rooms for the children.
- To design the outdoor spaces, covering two acres, as well as the balconies, as beautiful areas for play, creative learning, and nature exploration, with various sections developed as "centers of interest" for this purpose.
We ensured that our large garden includes areas with artificial grass, primarily for the safety of our infants and children who are not yet ready to explore nature. At the same time, we preserved natural areas so children can have direct contact with soil, water, trees, and the animals in nature.
All our school’s rooms allow free movement for the children and either provide direct access to the garden or open onto our balconies, which are designed as play and creative activity areas. We want our children to feel that the outdoor space is not just for "recess," as is often experienced in traditional schools, but instead serves as an unlimited space for creative engagement.
In the same way that traditional preschools and kindergartens create centers of interest indoors, at Natasha’s Natureland, we have created centers of interest outdoors as well.
