At Natural Pod, we make long-lasting, sustainably made furniture designed to foster creativity and innovation in learning environments for all ages. We help create 21st Century Learning and play environments for educators and students and we do all of that using...
Many children and educators have now started school, others are about to, and some families have opted for virtual or home learning. So a ‘new normal’ really translates as ‘a fresh discovery phase’. While we are still exploring how education could look, not only in...
Our very own Michelle Carpenter, Chief Strategy Officer of Natural Pod, will be sharing the outcomes of her work as Southeast Chair of SchoolsNEXT at LearningScapes 2021 taking place on October 14-17th. The in-person session, Student Voice Informs Equitable Learning...
First, thank you to each and every one of you who submitted an entry in our Share Your Invitation to Play ~ Win a $5000 Classroom Giveaway. There was an amazing energy in our natural play community around this giving back and we are deeply appreciative of everyone who...
Recently I’ve been re-reading the MDR research report ‘The Impact of Learning Spaces on Student Success’ to further and deepen my understanding of how I can lead Natural Pod to better serve students and educators. This research is such a great resource - it was...
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...
Thank you to all of you who recently entered our Natural Pod newsletter subscription contest. Subscribing to our newsletter gave you a chance to be entered to win a pair of our beautiful, new, sustainably made Natural Pod Stools. They are the classroom stool you’ve...
With so many questions around the future of learning and education, it is certainly a challenging time. But I do feel this is also an unprecedented moment full of potential should we wish to take it. With bold leadership I think we have an opportunity to shift away...
Our world is in crisis: a global pandemic, economic inequality, racial disparities, and…climate change. Although climate change may not move as fast as COVID-19 or have immediate consequences, it too threatens human lives and the global economy in real and dramatic...
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a time of reckoning for our country’s institutions, including schools. Our response to this crisis must include bold, new ideas for what schools should look like and prioritize. Now more than ever, schools must focus on...
Designing an inspiring learning environment today is a complex, rewarding process that requires careful thought and collaboration. At Natural Pod, we approach each project with a focus on creating spaces that are functional, cohesive, and promote wellbeing for...
2024 has been a year of shifts, expansion, and growth for us here at Natural Pod. As we pause to reflect on the year’s highlights, it is clear that this was a year that renewed our steady rhythm of purpose, connection, and collaboration—the very heartbeat that...
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...
What matters in your learning space? At Natural Pod, we’re always exploring the conversation around the “why” behind what we do. Some questions we think about. Why do we work tirelessly to find the most sustainable materials to create our products with? Why do we...
In the ever-changing world of education, understanding a student’s mind is as important as delivering knowledge. Today’s educators, architects, and designers are presented with a pivotal question: How do we create spaces that not only facilitate academic learning but...
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...
Imagine a space where every corner invites curiosity, every level sparks adventure, and each step is a pathway to boundless imagination. Natural Pod’s Wonder lofts aren’t just structures — they’re gateways to exploration, places where children’s creativity takes...
Natural Pod, represented by myself and Marianne Honnaker-Kelly our President, was at LearningScapes, a conference by the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE), in Portland in October. Attending a conference like LearningScapes helps us at Natural Pod to hear...
Imagine stepping into a learning environment that’s more than just a classroom—it’s a vibrant space that ignites imagination, stimulates creativity, and enhances the educational experience. These dynamic, adaptable spaces are not just a distant dream—they’re a reality...
It was 1998 and I had just landed my first permanent teaching position four days before the start of the new school year. It was a full-time job teaching Kindergarten in a beautiful inner city school built in 1844. The school was led by Principal Judy Gard Puddester...