Two young children picking herbs from a plant pot outdoors
“I do not believe there is a method better than Montessori for making children sensitive to the beauties of the world and awakening their curiosity regarding the secrets of life.”
Gabriel García Marquez

Why?

Parenting can be a bewildering journey. As parents and caregivers, we feel a myriad of emotions, from the moment we discover we are expecting, all the way to young adults and beyond. At Enriching Environments, we follow the Montessori approach to parenting to provide you with the tools to build your own Enriching Environment for your family.

But, why should you build an Enriching Environment?

In the early months and years of parenting, the focus is on all of the “stuff” we should buy for our children, and how we should decorate their nursery, but less about the optimum emotional environment for a young child. At other times, we are doing our utmost to work on ourselves, live consciously and parent consciously but we are not able to access the information to find out how we should arrange our homes so as to give our children a fulfilling space in which to grow.

What I, Charlotte Awdry and Enriching Environments aim to do, via training, workshops, videos and consultancy, is to show you the way to combine the elements of the physical, emotional and spiritual environment to create a truly holistic and child-led approach to parenting.

My work draws on the teachings of visionary educator Dr Maria Montessori. Enriching Environments has developed from my experience as a Montessori educator as well as all I learn from raising my own children.

In a world so starkly divided by social inequality, in some social groups, the value of children is placed upon how much they are given by their parents in the way of toys or clothes or material things. For some, childhood is geared towards achieving and competing, influencing them to take more (much more) than what they give back to others or to the planet.

For the majority of the world, there is not enough. There is hunger, lack of sanitation, pollution, and lack of education.

As parents and caregivers, all we want is to…

  • Create a world that raises up all humans – equality, empathy and kindness.
  • Give our children the values and the skills they need to contribute, collaborate and engage.
  • Help them live a childhood of freedom that nourishes their heart and soul so that they will want to do the same for others.
  • Support our children in appreciating the wonder and beauty of the world, so that as they grow they will want to nurture the green spaces around them, forests, mountains and oceans.
  • Build skills and behaviours that enable our children to grow into the people they want to be.

Now is the time to look at the world we want our children to inherit, to look at how we can contribute rather than consume, to look at how we can parent with such joy that our children will pass on that joy to others as they grow up.

The Montessori Method is a hugely popular and widespread educational system across the world, but it is still seen as an educational approach rather than a parenting approach, and for the most part, an alternative educational approach rather than a mainstream approach to education.

Montessori at-home for everyone

My vision is to make Montessori at-home accessible to everyone. For it to no longer be an approach that is only practised in private schools for the wealthy. The Montessori approach to parenting is a way of life, a way of being with our children, meeting them where they are, supporting them, freeing them, nurturing them and ourselves. It is a way of being with our children, and being with ourselves.

Come with me, let me show you how you can create an Enriching Environment …

Work with us in the following ways...

Personal consultations

Our bespoke personal consultations are tailored to your specific needs, In our discussions together we will uncover the right path for you, offering a holistic approach to bringing Montessori into the home, tailored to your personal journey.

An example of a personal consultation is:

  • Name: 1-1 in home Parent Enrichment Programmes
  • Sessions: Two x 1.5 hours, 2 weeks apart
  • Pricing starts at: 2500AED
  • All Private Consultations are conducted in your home or via video call.

Workshops

We host many Montessori at-home workshops and events that take place both online and in-person, usually in Dubai. We have some scheduled workshops and some which you can request to run. Check out our latest Montessori-at-home workshops and events here.

Online Training

We have recently launched our Six-week online course, Introduction to Enriching Environments – which is a Montessori at home inspired online course. Suitable for anyone who wants to explore or refresh themselves of the core principles of applying the Montessori method at home, to create an Enriching Environment for their family.

"Charlotte, I love working with you. You really know what you’re talking about. You explain everything clearly, the whats and whys of doing things this way and not another. With your guidance, we applied Montessori principles at our home. From the toilet, through the living room, to the kitchen, you transformed our home. Sometimes it was just a small, simple change. Something I wouldn’t even think of, or would previously just dismiss, but then it turned out to be super impactful. Through the changes introduced our kids gained a lot of autonomy, which makes the tough job of parenting a bit easier. You’re very experienced, empathetic and share your knowledge generously. When we meet I always feel like I learn something valuable."
Zuza
Mother