Nido (5-18 months)

The Montessori Nido is a calm, cosy, homelike environment for babies. “Nido,” which means “nest” in Italian, captures the idea of warmth and security. Maria Montessori used this word to describe the infant classroom, within which little people feel cared for and loved, so that they will feel safe to explore and grow. For babies and toddlers to learn coordinated movement and develop strong bodies, they need an environment where they have the time, space and freedom to  move: they will be practicing constantly to build gross motor ability, and you will notice in the Nido classroom that there is  nothing to inhibit their movement in any way.

Confidence is built all the time and each time your young baby or toddler masters a new skill, this confidence is strengthened. The Montessori guides strike the right balance in supporting the children to take these new steps. Maria Montessori understood that “the hand is the instrument of intelligence”, where babies very early on start to use their hands to grab and bang, and pick up and put down. The Nido classroom nurtures your child’s intelligence by offering increasingly complex objects to explore and manipulate. Given the time and space for this exploration, the children in our care learn and develop in the best possible way.