History
Tellus was founded in 1970, as the third Montessori school in Lund, and was then called Nya Förskolan. Until the spring of 1988, the school was a part-time preschool which was extended to full-time preschool in the autumn. In the spring of 1993, we started a small child group and since then the preschool consists of the Little Department, "Månen", for children aged 1-3 years, and the Large Department, "Solen", for children aged 3-6 years. In the autumn of 1997, we moved to large lovely premises at Magistratsvägen 55 SC and in the summer of 1998 we changed the name to Tellus, since after almost 30 years we no longer felt like a "new" preschool.
Children and Teachers
"Månen" consists of 11 children aged 1-3 years and "Solen" consists of 20 children aged 3-6 years. The composition of the groups is done with regard to age. At the Little Department, three teachers are present, while four work at the Large Department. Everyone has extensive experience of working with children and the majority of the staff at Tellus is familiar with Montessori.
Premises
Tellus premises consists of 300 square meters located on the ground floor of the house with entrance from our own yard. Each child group has its own space consisting of several rooms, kitchen and toilets.
The small department has a large playroom, a "pillow room" / rest room, a corridor where things are constantly happening to experience with all the senses as well as a Montessori room / playroom where the children can work concentrated with mainly practical materials that catch their interest. The kitchen has a size that is adapted to small children where all the furniture is at the right height for them to explore. From time to time, the staff moves furnitures around to adapt to the current group: the focus is always on listening / feeling what the children need.
The large department has a generous, bright Montessori room where the traditional Montessori materials are available as well as puzzles, books, technology etc. We do a lot of material ourselves, we follow the children's interests and change out regularly. In the studio, limits are set by the children's imagination, and there is always an educator to exchange ideas with. The dining room is used to play games and perform role-play with kitchen and dollhouse. All furniture is fully adapted to the children, both table and chairs and shelves and cloakrooms. In the "Green room" various types of play are going on during the day, e.g. construction, role play and dance. Furthermore, most traditional play equipment is used daily. The kitchen is centrally located in the Large Department, adjacent to the dining room. In addition there are common cloakrooms, toilets and washrooms.
Yard and Surroundings
The school has its own sheltered yard with a boat built by a parent, a large sandbox, rocking horses, a kiosk, climbing trees and a flagpole. We have a small hill that is used extensively throughout the year for various games, a straight stretch for fast rides with tricycles as well as exciting stumps and hides for both balance and role play. In addition, we make use of nearby green areas consisting of large open grass areas and playgrounds.
