Kodaikanal – Friday 20 September to Monday 23 September
Departing our hotel in Bangalore at 3am wasn't easy, however, to get to our next destination in a day, we needed to be on an early flight to Madurai followed by over 4hours drive up the mountains to the hill station of Kodaikanal.
Our destination for the weekend was the 100 acre Elephant Valley Eco Farm Hotel, 20 kms from Kodaikanal, and nestled in the Palni Hills where the scenery was stunning and the atmosphere very quiet. No horns, no traffic, no calls to prayer, limited wifi and ever so peaceful. Elephant Valley is known to be one of the 25 most important biodiversity hotspots on Earth and is situated on an old migratory trail of the native elephants. We didn't see any elephants, but Ian heard one in the forest.
On the long climb up the mountains we stopped to stretch our legs and were entertained by the monkeys. As we got closer to Elephant Valley, the road became more and more 'interesting’ and our speed slower and slower.
At Elephant Lodge, much of the food for our meals came from the organic garden on the property. Organic coffee and lemongrass oil were for sale.
An unexpected invitation from Sankar Chandru and Salma Syed from 'Vruksha Montessori' saw us head into Kodiakanal on both Saturday and Sunday to spend time with their management team, students and children. After a traditional welcome and meeting everyone (about 30 people in total) we went to see the Lab School at the Training Centre. We sat with those who were in training and shared stories of who we are and how we found Montessori. The children were very inquisitive, and one child’s interest is singing National Anthems from many countries.
A long awaited highlight was visiting 'Rose Bank', (one of the homes of Dr Montessori and Mario during their internment in India), the shed at Rose Bank where Mario made many materials, the post office where Dr Montessori posted her mail back to Europe, meeting the Post Master and his wife, seeing the ancient dolmens visited by students who were learning about the Stone Age and 'going out' with Dr Montessori (now a preserved historical site), the lake at Kodai, a museum of natural history, and more. It was truly something to be in the space where so much of the 6-12 curriculum was developed, tried and tested by Dr Montessori, Mario and the children at the school next door.
Home cooked delicious local dishes were offered to us for lunch and we all said 'yes'. The dishes smelt so good and tasted even better. What a delight for our taste buds.
Vijay Kumar, a very knowledgeable and gently spoken man from 'Trails and Tracks', joined us and he was able to find out more about Dr Montessori and the important work she and Mario developed for 6-12 year olds whilst at 'Rose Bank'.
What a weekend! What delights! What wonderful people doing great work in the name of Montessori! How blessed we felt.
Little Flower Montessori School, which provides quality Montessori for children of local farmers and manual workers, is set on the hillside not far from the township of Kodaikanal. Started by Fr. AMA Samy in the years 2008-2009, Little Flower Montessori School offers free education and food in a clean environment, and is well-equipped with Montessori materials.
We arrived on Monday morning, 23 September in time to see the children participate in their Monday morning ritual. Observing children working in their beautiful classrooms which have stunning views to the nearby mountains was a highlight. The children were so calm and went about their work as though we weren't there. It is always wonderful to see concentration and great work done by the children.
Chitra Kahla met us and showed us around the school. We all wished we could have stayed longer, but we had a plane to catch to Chennai for the next part of our adventure and we were still over 4 hours away from our departure airport.
We have all greatly appreciated the kindness and generosity of those we met at this very special hill station. We left feeling as though we had gained a new family.
Our destination for the weekend was the 100 acre Elephant Valley Eco Farm Hotel, 20 kms from Kodaikanal, and nestled in the Palni Hills where the scenery was stunning and the atmosphere very quiet. No horns, no traffic, no calls to prayer, limited wifi and ever so peaceful. Elephant Valley is known to be one of the 25 most important biodiversity hotspots on Earth and is situated on an old migratory trail of the native elephants. We didn't see any elephants, but Ian heard one in the forest.
On the long climb up the mountains we stopped to stretch our legs and were entertained by the monkeys. As we got closer to Elephant Valley, the road became more and more 'interesting’ and our speed slower and slower.
At Elephant Lodge, much of the food for our meals came from the organic garden on the property. Organic coffee and lemongrass oil were for sale.
An unexpected invitation from Sankar Chandru and Salma Syed from 'Vruksha Montessori' saw us head into Kodiakanal on both Saturday and Sunday to spend time with their management team, students and children. After a traditional welcome and meeting everyone (about 30 people in total) we went to see the Lab School at the Training Centre. We sat with those who were in training and shared stories of who we are and how we found Montessori. The children were very inquisitive, and one child’s interest is singing National Anthems from many countries.
A long awaited highlight was visiting 'Rose Bank', (one of the homes of Dr Montessori and Mario during their internment in India), the shed at Rose Bank where Mario made many materials, the post office where Dr Montessori posted her mail back to Europe, meeting the Post Master and his wife, seeing the ancient dolmens visited by students who were learning about the Stone Age and 'going out' with Dr Montessori (now a preserved historical site), the lake at Kodai, a museum of natural history, and more. It was truly something to be in the space where so much of the 6-12 curriculum was developed, tried and tested by Dr Montessori, Mario and the children at the school next door.
Home cooked delicious local dishes were offered to us for lunch and we all said 'yes'. The dishes smelt so good and tasted even better. What a delight for our taste buds.
Vijay Kumar, a very knowledgeable and gently spoken man from 'Trails and Tracks', joined us and he was able to find out more about Dr Montessori and the important work she and Mario developed for 6-12 year olds whilst at 'Rose Bank'.
What a weekend! What delights! What wonderful people doing great work in the name of Montessori! How blessed we felt.
Little Flower Montessori School, which provides quality Montessori for children of local farmers and manual workers, is set on the hillside not far from the township of Kodaikanal. Started by Fr. AMA Samy in the years 2008-2009, Little Flower Montessori School offers free education and food in a clean environment, and is well-equipped with Montessori materials.
We arrived on Monday morning, 23 September in time to see the children participate in their Monday morning ritual. Observing children working in their beautiful classrooms which have stunning views to the nearby mountains was a highlight. The children were so calm and went about their work as though we weren't there. It is always wonderful to see concentration and great work done by the children.
Chitra Kahla met us and showed us around the school. We all wished we could have stayed longer, but we had a plane to catch to Chennai for the next part of our adventure and we were still over 4 hours away from our departure airport.
We have all greatly appreciated the kindness and generosity of those we met at this very special hill station. We left feeling as though we had gained a new family.
