Our hearts were beating a little faster, in preparation of our first Showcase Montessori.  The purpose of the event was to bring our Classroom Studio to our customers and Montessori community in Gauteng, to explain who we are and what we stand for.

People from as far afield as Swaziland, Kuruman and Gauteng, arrived to share the day with us.  In attendance were teachers, students, assistants, and heads of schools.  Thank you all for your attendance, you are what made the day so special for us.

A special thanks must go to our 4 speakers who very kindly stepped in to act as facilitators for the groups; they were Kym van Straaten of Randburg Montessori, Susanne van Niekerk of Montessori Centre South Africa (MCSA), Irmgaard Pringle and Charl du Toit of SAMA.

Kym presented the Fraction Circles (incorporating the cut-out fraction circles), to an enthralled audience, using one of the young teachers as “the Child”.  It was fascinating to watch a Guide in action.  Every now and then she would step out of role and explain to the audience a finer point of why she did something in a particular way.

Tom, our digital marketing manager, explained the role that social media plays in our company, emphasising how careful we are to protect the privacy, not only of the child, but also of our customers.

A large part of our business is the packaging and unpacking of products.  Childrens House have taken the environmental concerns to heart and Claire explained what we do to limit our carbon footprint.

Susanne van Niekerk  conducted a fascinating presentation of the Constructive Triangles.  She explained how the various Sensorial activities presented to the 0 to 6 year old child, aid the child to  develop their skills; thus preparing them for work with the triangles.  Suzanne then presented the work to another student, once again the audience were mesmerised by her quiet dedication as she completed the presentation.  We broke into groups and were invited to sit on a mat, each group took a box and were instructed to see what they could discover.

Our product development process was presented to give our customers a behind the scenes look at how we develop products relevant for the Child in the classroom environment.

Irmgaard Pringle and Charl du Toit took this opportunity to present a video which explained the role that SAMA can play in the life of a Montessori school and teachers; supporting and assisting them throughout their careers.

Based upon the positive feedback received, we hope to host similar events around the country in the near future.