Dear Montview Families and Community,
This year at Montview, our overarching theme is celebrating the profound and heartfelt ways culture shows up in our lives. Whether it’s through families coming together to celebrate Diwali, or Korean Thanksgiving, or the sweet aroma of French pastries filling the air, our children are learning about the world and its rich diversity through their five senses. Culture is not just something we talk about, it’s something we experience, and Montview has always embraced this with open arms.
One of the most recent and meaningful cultural connections is our support for a small school in rural KwaZulu-Natal called Thanda. Thanda’s mission is to empower communities to create positive change, and in many ways, Thanda feels just like Montview — yet wonderfully different, too.
I was honored to be asked to help Thanda develop a math curriculum for their preschool, which, like Montview’s, is play-based with strong parent involvement. In the most rural of Thanda’s schools, parents or grandparents often serve as teachers, much like Montview’s early days. Even halfway around the world, the connections we share are deep — from play-based learning to home visits.
My love for this incredible school mirrors the love I have for Montview. After working on the math curriculum, Thanda invited me to collaborate with my dear friend Dr. Elizabeth Dowling from Tufts University to write a year-long curriculum for their 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds. The curriculum, now being reviewed by South Africa’s rural education authority Dr. Mary James, has received high praise for its creative and thematic integration across subjects.
Montview’s support for this effort is unwavering, giving me the time to visit Thanda and work directly with their teachers. Last January, I had the privilege of spending time with 17 Thanda educators, sharing many of the wonderful practices our Montview teachers use daily — counting children, teaching through literature, fostering holistic development, open-ended art experiences, and, of course, math! The hands-on training was a reminder that true learning happens when it’s felt in the heart and explored with the hands.
Most Sundays, while I miss out on football, you’ll find me in my home office pouring my heart into creating this curriculum. Social-emotional development, math, social studies, movement, music, and literacy are all part of this holistic approach. I’ve even become a big fan of Google Translate, which helps me ensure stories can be shared in both English and Zulu.
This cultural exchange was life-changing for me, just as the cultural exchanges happening in our classrooms can have life-long impacts on your children. I encourage you to keep sharing your culture with your child’s class — you never know what they will take away, but they will take something, and that is learning beyond measure.
Thank you for being a part of this beautiful journey of learning and cultural celebration. Together, we are shaping a world of empathy, understanding, and joy.
If you are interested in seeing a short video about Thanda and their mission, click on this link, the work they do is really amazing.
Fondly,
Kim
