NONI HOME: origin and vision
Eight years ago, when I was a consultant at a Montessori school and I saw a child neatly and confidently peeling an egg by themselves, I knew that when I had a child of my own eventually, this is the system that I would be introducing them to. So it’s no surprise that when I got pregnant with Noni in 2019, I began devouring books on the subject, and told my husband I was going to need an acre or two to fulfil my dream of setting up a school for her. Unfortunately, due to his passing away a month after she was born, I had to pay attention to the other facets of life and the dream of NONI HOME was put on hold. Even though we were meant to live in Bangkok originally, when I saw the house in Chiang Mai, I knew that fate had brought us to the perfect place to develop. A year of hard work has turned this property from a house into a home school, with four distinct areas for SLEEPING | FEEDING | DIAPER CHANGING/SHOWERING & PLAYING. There are several distinct play areas, both indoors and outdoors, all equipped with height-appropriate washing stations and toilets - a homely set up in which each child is free to choose for themselves what they would like to explore and learn. There are activities focused on improving hand to eye coordination; there are art stations with easels set up, comfortable reading nooks, kitchenettes; and swings and slides and climbing walls for the active periods. There is also a thriving vegetable garden next to a hen coop and rabbit enclosure, for the children to experience first hand the healing pleasures of caring for mother nature and her creatures. At Noni’s home, she is free to decide what she will learn on any given day. Activities, whether physical, mental or behavioural are set up ahead of time and are presented at eye level with the element of choice. There is no pressure to perform tasks “correctly” nor is there a need to complete a task that has been begun. Children’s wandering focus and self absorbed exploration is accounted for, and they are free to leave a project and return to it when they wish to complete it. New tasks are gently suggested and guidance is provided by the teacher if the child requests help. The environment is set and a choice within that environment is offered. At Noni’s home, we also understand the importance of food, and the deep and lasting effect of the nutrients we ingest on the development of physical and behavioural traits. We believe wholeheartedly that all ailments (including diagnosed ADHD for instance) are treatable through the right kind of eating, and we wish to share this information with all of you. The goal of Noni Home is to make life easy for a child; to provide true freedom to them - to assist them in their discovery of this world and themselves; to steward their journey without imposing any ideas on them other than self-reliance and consideration of others. We wish to facilitate the development of manners and habits that can carry on into their lives at home, and provide parents with the tools to maintain them, such as collaborative calendars and love-language cards. Our aim is not to rear children who are smart, but to help form beings that know the greatest thing: how to love and be loved in return. Feelings of pride and accomplishment come from being seen, especially by our parents. However, many these days have lost touch with this, thanks to the demands of modern life. We would appreciate the opportunity to bridge the gap by sharing tried and tested ways you can reconnect with your child; and how to make even short periods of time count and contribute fundamentally to their well-being.
