GAIA (EARTH) FOREST PRESCHOOL LEAVING THE PLANET IN SAFER HANDS THAN OURS… Gaia (Earth) Forest Preschool opened in July 2022 (after going through severe uncertainty and depression in COVID lockdown years of 2020 and 2021). It is the compilation of all lessons, learnings and experiences that I have gained as a teacher for over 20 years as well as seen in four other centres in our little group that we have launched since 2010. We became inspired to research into early education and search for a similar connectivity in teaching and learning as various civilisations and educational philosophies and approaches have done over the past 5000 years. In doing so over the last decade, creating four unique childcare centres, and receiving over a dozen national awards and recognition along our journey, we have methodically tested and blended the approaches of ancient cultures via storytelling techniques with more recent 60-100 year old theories of Reggio Emilia (Italy), Montessori (Italy), Waldorf (Germany), Pikler (Europe/USA), Forest movement (Denmark), and Friluftsliv (Scandinavia). What has emerged is a set of principles and delivery framework for educational and life-lesson outcomes for children and teachers that can be connected with Earth itself. We call this the “Gaia (Earth) Education Philosophy®” which is a complete immersion of our principles and practices into “Earth inspired environments, buildings, operations, teaching, learning, values, curriculum & outcomes for children“. This full spectrum approach values all existing education philosophies, theories and approaches as mentioned above, and encourages to deepen teaching and learning where appropriate via visible connectivity, affiliation and reflection with Nature and Earth Science systems. Our centre (Gaia) brings all of this to life by physically expressing our philosophy. WHAT MOTIVATED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CENTRE LIKE GAIA? Both my husband and I come from humble beginnings and both family histories include parents and grandparents who were also teachers. In fact, my grandmother taught in Fiji for 40 years, my parents were both teachers and my father-in law is still actively teaching, and has been serving at De La Salle College (Mangere, South Auckland) for nearly 50 years!! Our parents and grandparents migrated to NZ over half a century ago, in search for better opportunities for their future, and carrying little more than pocket change with them, with which to build their lives here in NZ. I NIKEETA SINGH (A QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED TEACHER IN NZ FOR TWO DECADES) ALONG WITH HER HUSBAND DR DARIUS SINGH (A FORMER NZ UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR IN ENGINEERING) OWN THE CHRYSALIS FAMILY OF EARLY LEARNING CENTRES AND RECENTLY OPENED THEIR LATEST VISIONARY CREATION, THE GAIA (EARTH) FOREST PRESCHOOL IN HILLPARK, SOUTH AUCKLAND. NIKEETA SHARES THEIR JOURNEY BELOW. WHEN DID YOU FIRST BECOME INVOLVED IN THE ECE SECTOR AND WHAT WAS THAT FIRST ROLE? I started as a relief teacher for about six months and then had my first permanent teaching role after graduating as a fully qualified teacher in 2002. It was a beautiful, cosy, homely ECE centre. I worked with infants and later pre-schoolers where I was in charge of the transition to school programme. WHAT OTHER ROLES HAVE YOU HAD IN THE ECE SECTOR AND ACROSS WHAT TIME PERIOD? Since then I moved into larger centres which took a more systemised, centralised and corporate approach to their operations, where I took on roles of leadership and management. The difference in ECE philosophies and approaches between small and large centres really solidified in my mind the approach I would want in the future if I were to ever take the risk and venture out to run my own ECE centre one day. WHAT IS GAIA FOREST PRESCHOOL AND WHEN DID IT OPEN? September 2022 { 26 }
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