sábado, 1 de marzo de 2008

Click to play Casa de Niños Rakara

Bienvenidos! Casa de Niños Rakara es una pequeña escuela Montessori de 3 a 6 años en Creel, Chihuahua.

Welcome! Casa de Niños Rakara is a small Montessori school for 3-6 year-olds in Creel, Chihuahua, Mexico.

Pincelada de una Historia

Hace seis años, cuando mis hijos estaban pequeños descubrí la filosofía Montessori. A partir de ese momento inicie un viaje inesperado, recorriendo un camino de aprendizajes y experiencias. He tenido la gran oportunidad de contar con el apoyo de Guías Montessori, con muchísima experiencia y sabiduría, que han enriquecido mi caminar con los niños. El contacto con la filosofía Montessori ha sido una experiencia que ha cambiado mi vida.

Dicha experiencia me llevo a abrir “Casa de Niños Rakara” para ofrecer a mis hijos, a los niños del barrio y a niños indígenas una maravillosa alternativa de educación para la Vida y para la Paz. La escuela se sostiene por medio de donativos de gente interesada en el proyecto. Las familias de los niños pagan una cantidad simbólica de acuerdo a sus posibilidades, alrededor de $100 pesos al mes. Somos afortunados de contar con sillas, mesas, estantes, barras, letras hechas a mano ya que Juan Daniel mi esposo es carpintero y colabora en distintas actividades con los niños.

“Casa de Niños Rakara” es un espacio, que está preparado con mucha dedicación y amor. Dedicamos dos tardes de la semana a elaborar material para la escuela, planear, compartir nuestras observaciones y preparar el ambiente de acuerdo a los intereses y necesidades de los niños. Contamos con diversas actividades adaptadas a la cultura local como hacer tortillas, desgranar fríjol y maíz, sembrar o cosechar dependiendo de la estación etc. El ambiente exterior es una parte importante de la escuela en donde los niños riegan plantas, muelen maíz en el molino, elaboran jugo de manzana, caminan en un laberinto, hacen yoga, preparan composta, alimentan y cuidan conejos, gallinas etc

En “Casa de Niños Rakara” la base es el respeto a la Vida. Tenemos la esperanza de crear una comunidad donde los niños aprendan a respetar, admirar y convivir con otros seres humanos, a partir de la cooperación y el dialogo, dentro de un ambiente que propicie el desarrollo de las potencialidades de cada niño, respetando su individualidad y a la vez aportando algo para el Bien Común.

Un abrazo,

Adriana

About Our School

I am a self-taught Montessorian, having come in contact with the philosophy when my own children were young – about six years ago. I was fortunate to have as my mentors some amazing, AMI-trained guides who have much life and teaching experience. My contact with Montessori philosophy has been a life-changing experience, both as a mother and a guide. When my own children were young, I opened a Montessori Children’s House to provide for their education and also to provide a wonderful educational alternative for neighborhood and indigenous Tarahumara children.

We now have 19 children, a number of whom are indigenous, and the majority of whom are neighborhood children with little economic resources. The families pay a symbolic amount for their children to attend, according to their income. On average, a family pays about 100 pesos a month, or less than 10 US dollars, for their child to attend. I rely on donations from generous individuals and family friends to fund the school.

The school itself is equipped with (almost) all of the requisite materials in the AMI Children’s House curriculum. My husband, Juan Daniel, is a carpenter, so we are fortunate to count on handmade tables, chairs, shelving, red rods, number rods, sandpaper letters and numbers, etc. The enviroment is prepared with a lot of care and dedication. We dedicate two afternoons a week to material making, planning, sharing our observations, and preparing the environment according to the needs and interests of the children.

The uniqueness of our rural Mexican and indigenous culture has led us to adapt practical life exercises to meet the needs of our students. You will find materials for: removing kernels from the cob, grinding kernels, removing the beans from the pod, feeding chickens the ground corn and making tortillas, among other activities.

The outdoor enviroment is integrated into the daily life of the community: the children participate in purposeful activities such as planting or harvesting depending on the season, watering plants, tilling the earth, walking a stone labyrith, doing yoga, taking out the compost, washing the laundry, etc.

The hope is to create a community where children learn to respect, admire, and live alongside each other as fellow human beings. It is the foundation of respect for all life- different cultures, animals, plants, personalities, etc.- that makes the Montessori method particulary suitable for all children.

If you are an Elementary Guide and you are interested in the school, please contact me at delavegazam@hotmail.com We have a dream to one day open an Elementary Montessori program as well.