Monarch Montessori is tucked away between UBC and Kitsilano and surrounded by the true elements of what we know as Beautiful British Columbia. The Founder and Principal, Grace Chou has been a long standing supporter and customer of Natural Pod since October 2014. I...
Last week we brought you the story of the new Fernwood Elementary School, multi-age, nature based learning programs that are starting in just a couple of short weeks on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, Canada. There are no students at school at this time of...
Our very own Michelle Carpenter, Chief Strategy Officer of Natural Pod, is A4LE SchoolsNEXT Southeast Chair, National Co-Chair, and committed to the future of the SchoolsNEXT student design competition. Last year she documented her participation experience in the...
Well organized classroom storage can be one of the most effective ways to bring calm into your classroom as a new school year begins. After all, how can you create a truly functional and inspiring space while being surrounded by an overwhelming number of materials. We...
We spend ninety percent of our lives indoors in environments where we live, learn, and work. In some countries, that number is even higher due to extreme climate and outdoor pollution. If we spend ninety percent of our time indoors, that means that by the time our...
As schools are planning their reopening and educators, families and students are figuring out how teaching and learning will look going forward, we recognize the experience will be different for everyone. How we can help is to offer solutions from a place of...
Our classroom is moveable. We held various configurations depending on our intentions. Because the tables are so flexible, and hold so many bodies, we were able to use them in many different ways such as banquet-style for meal-times and large gatherings, to theatre...
I first fell in love with biomimicry while attending a county-wide science leadership meeting in February 2017. I was there in my capacity as science department chair at Oak Park High School in California’s Oak Park Unified School District. It was toward the end of...
We are often building and creating spaces for an audience we rarely interact with. Even scarier, we are often building based on our own experiences, some of which we had 10, 20, or dare I say 40 years ago. A few things have changed a wee bit since then. So, how...
Only two weeks ago my team completed Natural Pod’s first Indigenous Learners Ideabook, and I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s been a while in the making and the end result allows us to share some fantastic Indigenous learning spaces, the stories behind them and why as a...
'Our Education System Is Failing Because It Is Doing Exactly What It Was Designed to Do!' - Those are the bold opening words that set the stage for concepts within The Future of Smart: How Our Education System Needs to Change to Help All Young People Thrive This is a...
This is a time of needing to ask and answer big questions. Social Venture Institute (SVI) is a big-hearted, socially minded ecosystem of CEOs, entrepreneurs, advocates and changemakers who care about humanity and the planet, and see the urgent need for...
In collaboration with educators, architects and school leaders, Natural Pod intentionally creates learning spaces that are designed to set students up for success; both today, tomorrow and for this fast-moving world. Through the lens of this goal, we've learnt a lot...
The Interior Design Show (IDS) Vancouver is the go-to Pacific event for all things design. Taking place on September 22nd - 25th, the theme for IDS 2022 is 'New Futures': Thought-leaders with a local and global perspective will tackle the future of design....
For all educators, planners, architects and stakeholders interested in transforming early childhood education the A4LE Early Childhood Education Conference (ECE 2022) conference is for you! The annual ECE 2022, held on September 19-20th in Chicago IL, has partnered...
For those of you familiar with SXSW EDU (South by South West Education), you'll know it's a four-day conference that takes place in Austin, TX, each March, offering compelling sessions, in-depth workshops, engaging learning experiences, mentorship, film screenings,...
As a community that wants to make a difference in education, best learning outcomes for students, and the ways we can provide a safe and healthy future for them, as well as the planet and its inhabitants. Here is an opportunity to learn more about, discuss and help...
CEO and founder of British Columbia-based, learning solutions company Natural Pod, Bridgitte Alomes, is dedicated to creating better learning environments through the use of beautifully designed, multi-functional and high-quality education furniture and products, made...
People kept asking me, “How do you make time for self-care?” After getting asked enough times, I wanted to go deeper and study more about creating a Culture of Care + Connection for myself and the people in my life. This idea of Culture of Care + Connection is ever...
When designing for early learning, the most successful environments are those that are equally created to support parents and working families. By including early childhood programs, that include before- and after-school activities, larger goals that focus on parental...