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A New Chapter in Outdoor Learning: Celebrating Our Rain Garden Ribbon Cutting

A New Chapter in Outdoor Learning: Celebrating Our Rain Garden Ribbon Cutting

On Friday, October 23, the Greenspring Montessori School community gathered to celebrate an exciting milestone: the official opening of our new Wild Play Rain Gardens! Students, families, staff, and community partners came together to mark the culmination of years of planning and the beginning of a new chapter in environmental education and stewardship on our campus.

Made possible through a $63,224 grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Healthy Environment, Healthy Communities program, this project represents an important step forward in our long-term Outdoor Campus Plan and our commitment to inspiring an allegiance to nature.

Head of School, Tamara Sheesley Balis, welcomed guests and reflected on Greenspring’s commitment to outdoor education and environmental stewardship. The new gardens are an extension of learning spaces, creating opportunities for children to develop a deeper understanding of the natural world through firsthand experiences, observation, and meaningful care of their environment.

Megan Andreasen of the Chesapeake Bay Trust shared an overview of the Healthy Environment, Healthy Communities Grant program, which distributed $865,000 to 13 projects throughout the Jones Falls watershed. Greenspring’s Gardens are part of this larger investment in healthier waterways, stronger communities, and sustainable landscapes across our region.

Alice Volpitta of Blue Water Baltimore spoke about the partnership that helped bring this funding opportunity to Greenspring and the important role of community stewardship in protecting our local waterways. Her remarks highlighted how individuals’ actions can collectively make a meaningful difference in the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

We were also honored to welcome Maryland State Senator Shelly Hettleman, who presented a special citation recognizing Greenspring Montessori School’s commitment to environmental stewardship and the completion of this important project.

Children and families had opportunities to explore natural materials, trace the journey of water from Greenspring to the Chesapeake Bay on a watershed map, and browse nature books from our school library. Families also took home packets of native seeds, extending the celebration’s message of environmental stewardship into their own gardens and communities.

One of the central messages of the celebration was that everyone has a role to play in caring for our environment. Whether planting native species, reducing runoff, protecting wildlife habitats, or simply understanding where our water goes, small actions can have an impact far beyond our own backyards.

This is a lesson we hope our students will carry with them long after they leave Greenspring. By developing meaningful relationships with the natural world from an early age, children begin to understand not only how ecosystems function, but also their own ability to protect and care for them.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Chesapeake Bay Trust, Blue Water Baltimore, Senator Shelly Hettleman, our project partner, Great Blue Co., and the students, families, and staff who helped make this vision a reality.

The celebration culminated in the official ribbon cutting, welcoming students and families into the new Rain Gardens. We look forward to watching these gardens grow, change, and flourish alongside our students for years to come.

Preparing a Beautiful Meal at School

Preparing a Beautiful Meal at School

One of the most cherished daily traditions in our Montessori classrooms is the Beautiful Meal. From our youngest Toddlers through our oldest students, children prepare the environment, share a meal together, and care for the space afterward.

What Makes It Different?

More than lunchtime, this is a daily lesson in independence, community, grace and courtesy, and respect for one another.

Each day, children help create an inviting space for eating together.

  • Laying tablecloths or placemats
  • Folding cloth napkins
  • Carrying glass or ceramic dishes carefully
  • Setting out real silverware
  • Placing drinking glasses
  • Pour water into glasses
  • Arranging flowers to make the table beautiful

Rather than eating from lunch containers, children transfer their food onto a plate or into a bowl before they begin eating. This simple act transforms lunch into an intentional meal shared with classmates.

Afterward, children also care for the environment by:

  • Clearing the table
  • Washing dishes
  • Wiping tables
  • Sweeping the floor
  • Helping clean up spills
  • Doing laundry

Even an occasional broken dish becomes an opportunity to practice responsibility, problem-solving, and resilience.

Why We Do It

A Beautiful Meal nurtures much more than healthy eating habits.

During lunch, children practice:

  • Independence by serving themselves and caring for their own materials.
  • Fine motor skills by transferring food, using utensils, and pouring drinks.
  • Grace and Courtesy by waiting for others, using table manners, and excusing themselves politely.
  • Conversation skills by listening, asking questions, and taking turns speaking.
  • Community by sharing an unrushed meal together with friends.

For many children, this may be one of the few opportunities each day to sit around a table, free from distractions, and enjoy meaningful conversation with others.

How Families Can Help

You can support this important Montessori practice by packing lunches with your children that they can easily transfer to their plates.

We encourage:

  • Foods packed in simple containers with easy-to-open lids
  • Sandwiches, fruits, vegetables, pasta, or other foods that can be transferred to a plate or bowl
  • Yogurt or applesauce that can be spooned into a bowl
  • Lunch items that allow children to practice serving themselves

We ask families to avoid, when possible:

  • Plastic bento-style lunch boxes designed for eating directly from the container
  • Squeeze yogurts, pouches, or similar packaging
  • Foods with excessive individual plastic packaging
  • Containers that are difficult for children to open independently

These products are wonderful for busy days on the go, but they make it more difficult for children to fully participate in the Beautiful Meal experience.

Using simple containers rather than compartmentalized lunch boxes allows children to:

  • Practice scooping and serving food with precision
  • Strengthen hand coordination and fine motor control
  • Develop confidence through independence
  • Experience the care and intention of a shared meal

These small, everyday moments are an important part of Montessori education. What may seem like a simple lunch routine is actually a daily opportunity to build lifelong habits of independence, responsibility, and community.

If you have questions about how the Beautiful Meal works in your child’s classroom or would like suggestions for packing lunches, please reach out to your child’s Guide. We are grateful for your partnership in helping create this meaningful part of each school day.

Greenspring Montessori School Awarded $63,224 Grant to Expand Outdoor Learning Environments

Greenspring Montessori School Awarded $63,224 Grant to Expand Outdoor Learning Environments

Over the past eight years, Greenspring Montessori School has been working toward an ambitious goal: creating a campus where nature is not simply a backdrop for learning, but an integral part of every child’s education.

This spring, that vision took a significant step forward. Greenspring Montessori School has been awarded a $63,224 Healthy Environment, Healthy Communities Grant for the Jones Falls Watershed from the Chesapeake Bay Trust. The award will fund the next phase of our Outdoor Campus Plan, expanding our Living Learning Gardens while improving stormwater management and supporting the health of the Jones Falls watershed.

The Chesapeake Bay Trust received more than $745,000 in funding requests for only $248,000 available during this grant cycle. We are honored that our proposal was selected for full funding because of its unique integration of environmental restoration with outdoor education.

A Campus Designed for Children—and the Environment

In 2021, Greenspring partnered with the Nature Learning Initiative at North Carolina State University to develop a comprehensive Outdoor Campus Plan for our seven-acre campus. The plan reimagines our grounds as a network of natural learning environments that restore habitat, improve water quality, and provide children with daily opportunities to learn through direct experience.

This grant will support four major projects:

  • Construction of the Wild Play Rain Garden and Susquehanna Courtyard by a professional ecological landscape contractor.
  • Installation of the Southern Courtyard Meadow, a native pollinator habitat designed with pathways and gathering spaces for outdoor learning.
  • Creation of the Peace Garden, a shaded woodland retreat featuring native ferns, shrubs, and quiet reflection spaces.
  • Removal of approximately 1,200 square feet of impermeable pavement, replacing it with rain gardens, filtration gardens, and permeable walking paths that better manage stormwater runoff.

Together, these projects represent four of the eleven spaces identified in our Outdoor Campus Plan.

Why This Work Matters

Research increasingly demonstrates that children need meaningful, sustained experiences in nature to develop cognitive focus, emotional well-being, and a lifelong connection to the natural world.

In the book Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv introduced the concept of “nature-deficit disorder,” highlighting studies that connect time outdoors with improved concentration, reduced stress, and stronger social relationships. More recent research continues to show that green spaces support executive functioning, reduce symptoms associated with attention challenges, and improve overall mental health.

At Greenspring, these findings affirm what Montessori educators have long observed. Our Toddler and Children’s House classrooms are intentionally screen-free through age 6, and students from 18 months through eighth grade spend two to four hours outdoors every day, exploring, observing, caring for living things, and developing a relationship with the natural world. These nature spaces will become outdoor classrooms where children investigate native ecosystems, monitor pollinators, study the local watershed, and actively participate in restoring the environment around them.

Learning Beyond Our Campus

The impact of this project will extend beyond Greenspring.

As part of the grant, we will host workshops for educators, school leaders, and families interested in creating outdoor learning environments and native landscapes within their own communities. Participants will tour the gardens, learn about rain garden design and watershed stewardship, and leave with practical resources to begin similar projects at their own schools.

By sharing what we have learned throughout our journey—from becoming a Certified Maryland Green School to developing our Outdoor Campus Plan—we hope to inspire more schools to create environments where children and nature thrive together.

Looking Ahead

The Living Learning Gardens represent much more than a landscape improvement. They are an investment in healthier ecosystems, stronger communities, and children who understand that they have an important role to play in caring for the world around them.

We are deeply grateful to the Chesapeake Bay Trust and Blue Water Baltimore for believing in this vision and helping us bring it to life. We also extend our thanks to our Greenspring staff and volunteers whose dedication made this opportunity possible.

This is only the beginning, and we look forward to sharing our progress as these new outdoor learning environments take shape.

Interested in seeing the project unfold or learning how to create outdoor learning environments at your own school? Follow our journey over the coming year as we transform our campus into a living laboratory for environmental stewardship. 

Living Our Values at Greenspring Montessori School

Living Our Values at Greenspring Montessori School

At Greenspring Montessori School, our values are not separate from learning — they are woven into daily life. From the youngest children in our toddler classrooms to our adolescents preparing for adulthood, students experience what it means to live with purpose, responsibility, compassion, and courage.

Creating Classroom Values

At the beginning of each school year, our Children’s House, Elementary, and Adolescent students create classroom charters together. These charters serve as ongoing reminders of the values that shape their classroom communities.

Students reflect on questions such as:

  • What kind of community do we want to create?
  • How do we want to treat one another?
  • What responsibilities do we share?

Because the students help define these values together, they also learn how to hold themselves and one another accountable with empathy and respect.

We believe children learn values best by practicing them within a caring community. Throughout the school experience, we strive to provide opportunities for children to grow into values such as:

Independence & Responsibility

From an early age, children at Greenspring Montessori School learn that they are capable of doing meaningful and challenging things for themselves.

In our classrooms, even the youngest children practice caring for their own needs — zipping coats, preparing snacks, washing dishes, watering plants, cleaning up spills, and helping care for their environment. These everyday moments build far more than practical skills. They nurture confidence, resilience, concentration, and self-trust.

As children grow, their independence grows with them. Elementary and adolescent students learn to manage their time, organize their work, advocate for themselves, collaborate with others, and contribute thoughtfully to their communities.

Rather than relying on adults to solve every problem, children learn that they have both the ability and responsibility to participate fully in the world around them. Over time, this develops into a strong sense of personal agency — the belief that their choices and actions matter.

Embracing Worthy Challenges

At Greenspring Montessori School, we believe children thrive when they are engaged in meaningful work that challenges them appropriately.

We do not believe in busy work or one-size-fits-all learning. Instead, our Guides and Partners carefully observe each child to understand their developmental readiness, interests, strengths, and areas for growth. Lessons and materials are intentionally matched to meet children at just the right level — challenging enough to inspire growth, but not so difficult that they create discouragement.

This individualized approach allows children to experience the satisfaction of genuine accomplishment. They learn that struggle is a natural and valuable part of learning, not something to avoid.

Over time, children begin to seek out worthy challenges for themselves. They become more willing to take risks, persist through difficulty, and approach unfamiliar situations with curiosity and confidence. These habits build a strong foundation not only for academic success, but for life.

Making a Meaningful Contribution

Children flourish when they know they are needed.

At Greenspring Montessori School, students experience themselves as active contributors to their classroom communities from the very beginning. They are not passive participants waiting for adults to do everything for them. Instead, they learn that communities are built through shared care, responsibility, and service.

Children help prepare food for celebrations, pour tea for classmates and guests, fold laundry, sweep floors, care for classroom materials, tend gardens, and support younger peers. These contributions may seem small, but they carry deep meaning. Through these experiences, children develop empathy, competence, and pride in caring for others.

In a world where many opportunities for meaningful contribution have disappeared from childhood, these experiences matter deeply. Children begin to understand that they belong to something larger than themselves and that their actions can positively impact the people around them.

This sense of contribution helps cultivate confidence, purpose, and connection — qualities that strengthen both individuals and communities.

Education for Peace

Peace education is at the heart of Montessori philosophy.

At Greenspring Montessori School, children learn that conflict is a normal part of human relationships and that disagreements can be approached with honesty, empathy, and respect. Rather than immediately turning to adult intervention, students are guided in learning how to communicate their feelings, listen to one another, and work collaboratively toward resolution.

These skills are practiced daily in both small and significant ways. Children learn how to repair relationships, include others, and navigate challenges within a community setting.

As students grow older, their understanding of peace expands beyond the classroom. They explore real-world problems, social responsibility, environmental stewardship, and the interconnectedness of humanity. Importantly, they approach these topics not with fear or hopelessness, but with compassion, critical thinking, and a belief that positive change is possible.

Education for peace is not simply about avoiding conflict. It is about preparing children to become thoughtful, capable people who can contribute to a more just, compassionate, and connected world.

These values are woven into daily classroom life, outdoor experiences, collaborative work, and community relationships. Values are not something we teach through lectures. Children learn values by living them — at home, at school, and within the communities that surround them.

When families and schools work together to lead with intention, children gain something deeply important: a strong sense of who they are and how they want to move through the world.

Leading with Your Values: Creating a Family Culture with Intention

Leading with Your Values: Creating a Family Culture with Intention

In a fast-paced world filled with endless choices, distractions, and outside influences, many families are asking an important question: What really matters to us?

At home and at school, values help us answer that question. They shape how we spend our time, how we treat one another, and how we make decisions when life becomes complicated. When we lead with our values, we create a stronger sense of purpose, connection, and belonging for our children.

What Are Values?

Values are emotionally meaningful beliefs that guide our attitudes, behaviors, and decisions. They help us determine how we want to show up in the world and what kind of life we hope to create together. In many ways, values become our internal compass. They influence everything from how we respond to conflict to how we spend our weekends, celebrate milestones, and support one another through challenges.

When families identify and live by shared values, they create a culture rooted in intention rather than reaction.

“Integrity is choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them.” — Brené Brown

Why Family Values Matter

Creating shared family values is not about becoming perfect. It is about creating clarity and consistency around what matters most.

Family values can:

Strengthen Connection

When everyone in the family understands what you stand for together, it creates a deeper sense of belonging and unity.

Guide Decision-Making

From screen time to extracurricular activities to friendships, values simplify choices. Instead of reacting to every outside pressure, families can ask: Does this align with who we are and what we believe?

Model Authenticity

Children learn far more from what we do than from what we say. When parents and grandparents align their actions with their values, children see integrity in practice.

Build Resilience

Children who grow up with a strong sense of family identity often feel more secure and confident. Knowing “what our family believes” provides stability in an uncertain world.

How to Create Your Family Values

Creating family values can be a meaningful conversation to revisit over time as children grow.

As a family, you might begin by asking:

  • What qualities do we hope our children carry into adulthood?
  • What do we want our home to feel like?
  • What matters most when life gets difficult?
  • What kind of relationships do we want to build with one another?

Many families discover that a handful of core values — perhaps courage, kindness, responsibility, curiosity, peace, or authenticity — become the foundation for daily life.

One helpful place to begin is with the values list created by Brené Brown or the Personal Values Card Sort developed by the University of New Mexico. Both encourage individuals to narrow a long list of values down to the few that feel most essential.

Cultivating Core Values at Home

Once you identify your values, the next step is living them consistently in small, everyday ways.

Share Stories and Family History

Your values show up in the stories you tell. Children absorb what matters through family conversations, memories, and examples. These narratives become part of your family identity.

For example:

  • f you want your children to value perseverance, tell stories about times you faced difficulty and kept going.
  • If you value generosity, share stories of people helping one another in meaningful ways.

Create Rituals and Traditions

Family rituals help values come alive. For example:

  • A weekly nature walk may reflect a value of presence or wonder.
  • Shared meals may reinforce connection and gratitude.
  • Volunteering together may nurture compassion and service.

Children remember repeated experiences far more than lectures.

Offer Your Full Presence

One of the greatest gifts we can give children is our attention. Slowing down to truly listen communicates that relationships matter. In a culture of constant distraction, presence itself becomes a powerful family value.

Cultivate Awe and Wonder

Children naturally experience wonder — in nature, art, music, meaningful work, and human connection. Creating space for awe helps children develop gratitude, curiosity, and reverence for the world around them.

Whether it is gardening together, watching the stars, hiking in the woods, or simply noticing seasonal changes, these experiences help children feel connected to something larger than themselves.

Aligning School and Home

Children thrive when the important adults in their lives are working toward a shared vision of childhood, learning, and human development. While no school or family will agree on every detail, alignment in core values can create a powerful sense of consistency and security for children.

When families choose a school that reflects their values, children receive a clearer message about what matters. If a family values curiosity, independence, kindness, responsibility, creativity, community, or peace, it is meaningful for children to experience those same values both at home and at school.

Choosing a school is about far more than academics alone. It is also about finding a community that reflects the kind of human beings you hope your children will become.