Raising a strong, resilient generation of planet protectors requires significant social change. A facet of that change is educating for conscious consumption as well as environmental responsibility. With students already being surrounded by learning furniture,...
Some might argue that creativity in the classroom is a lost art. In many classrooms, this truth is playing out on a daily basis. High stakes testing and meeting local/state/provincial/national standards has put a damper on creativity in our schools and that is not a...
At Natural Pod, we believe that sustainability is more than just certifications and labels. It’s about continuously evaluating our choices to ensure they are the best for both people and the planet. With this ethos in mind, we are excited to share the remarkable...
This past month we proudly reached a nice milestone for our natural play community on Facebook. Five thousand+ fans are now following along with our work in the natural play, furniture and toys movement. In appreciation of all of our fans, we held a small contest...
As part of our ongoing collaboration with New Society Publishers, we’re excited to share three more low- or no-cost nature activities for kids from the summer excerpt of The Big Book of Nature Activities. These hands-on projects are perfect for children of all ages,...
At Natural Pod, we’re advocates for outdoor learning whenever possible – learning that is experiential, embodied, and connects a child to their senses with respect to their surroundings. It’s the opposite of learning about Nature in a classroom via a screen! To...
As one school year closes, the rush to prepare for the next one begins. We know that in many cases, you need your school furniture ready to go before September. Your mind is fresh with what worked and what didn’t, and while this is a perfect time to plan, the timeline...
We are proud to announce that following a thorough evaluation process, Natural Pod has been certified as a Women Business Enterprise by WBE Canada, recognizing Natural Pod as a company where women manage ownership and strategic leadership. As a diverse, purpose...
Educators across the world pay attention to the design and set up of learning environments. We look at how to arrange the furniture, whether we like the overall look, flow and practicalities of the room. When done, we review, and change the organization of the...
The Natural Pod team and myself are, and always will be, committed to creating the most healthy and beautiful learning spaces that welcome and inspire students and educators. As technology like AI transforms the world in ways that we’ve still yet to realize, I truly...
MeTEOR Education recently hosted an insightful event, FUTURE PROOF: Are Your Learning Environments Ready for the Future?, at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California. The event brought together educators, administrators, and industry experts to discuss future-ready...
At Natural Pod, we know how important it is to create learning environments that inspire creativity, collaboration, and curiosity. As 2024 wraps up, our goal is to support you in refreshing your classrooms by using any budgets that may not carry over into the new...
As a Principal, Craig Cantlie at Caulfeild Elementary knew that classroom environments play an important role in how children’s learning is shaped. If you are sitting in rows of desks all day, and are doing all your work in one spot, what does that really do for...
Already thinking about how your learning environment will influence student engagement next year? Your mind is fresh with what’s working—and what’s not—and now may be the perfect time to cement some plans for September. We’ve found this is actually one of the best...
Woo hoo! We’re delighted that our Christene Play Loft is an Interior Design Best of Year Awards Finalist! It’s wonderful to be recognized for our sustainable play and learning furniture, and especially for our most unique and popular Play Loft, the...
One of the most important principles behind our work is understanding how children learn through play. It informs all aspects of our better learning environment, furniture and toy design. Here’s a wonderful news story from ShawTV with Kerri Favreau and her...
You may have noticed for the last few months we’ve been sharing some interesting research by ‘MDR Education’ about how education spaces impact learning. Here we have grouped all the individual research pieces together that make up the complete...
In his book ‘Brain Rules’ (2014), John Medina talks about 12 rules that support the needs of the brain. There are three rules that stand out for me: that we learn best through sensory experiences; we don’t learn if we are bored, and we are born natural explorers. As...
As the dog days of summer linger, many educators find themselves in a race against time to prepare their learning spaces for the upcoming academic year. For those who haven’t yet ordered new furniture for updating existing classrooms or creating entirely new...
In every aspect of life, choice empowers and personalizes our experience. Consider the flexibility of a modern workspace where people choose between high-energy shared tables, quiet corners for deep thinking, or dynamic meeting rooms for collaborative projects. This...