Six years ago… in the mountains of the Alpujarra Alta, a dream began to take shape: a group of mums and dads with small babies started to get together to share ideas, questions and concerns about their impulse to raise their babies in a respectful way…
And the need arose to create a common space, where these questions could have a shared perspective… This is how our playgroup project Pan y Cacahuetes was born.
The families themselves who took on the management and cost of the project as well as forming the pedagogical team. Thus giving coherence and a continuum between the life of the families and that of the playgroup.
Pan y Cacahuetes consists of an old renovated stable divided into 3 rooms: the kitchen, the “quiet” room (for stories and quiet games) and the psychomotricity room, the floor of which is covered with mattresses.
Outside we have a large garden with a teepee area, a play area with water and mud, a sandpit, a breakfast table and, in the centre, a large wooden “pirate ship” built by the parents.
We are open 4 mornings a week, from Monday to Thursday. There is an excursion day for the little ones, an excursion day for the older ones, and a day dedicated to reading and writing for the older kids, in an outdoor area…
From the beginning it was clear to us that if we adults did not follow our own growth path, the children would not be able to follow theirs.
That is why our work with the children is based both on a therapeutic framework of reflection on our personal growth journey, and a pedagogical framework that places an emphasis on respect and trust in the children’s own development processes.
Where we have seen our children enjoy and learn the most has been in our continuous excursions.
Forests, irrigation ditches, meadows, wild boar trails…. These sceneries offer endless exploration and create in them a close bond with mother nature of love, respect and enjoyment.
Our little ones are growing up and entering a new stage.
They are beginning to shape their place in the world:
– Among their peers they invent games where they debate their own rules.
– They are curious to understand how their community works.
– They project their inner world onto their creations while exploring all their personal potentials.
To facilitate all these developments, we are eager to offer them new spaces and materials, in the form of a dome on the plot below.
We hope to be able to cover the costs this new space through our crowdfunding initiative…
We talk about news from our little school ("escuelita"), our excursions, and all the things the children are learning...