Fundacja Korelacja

The Correlation Foundation was established on the initiative of four women who met in their motherhood. They decided to create a suitable place for the children on their own. Thus, in November 2019, the Correlation Foundation was established, based in Łódź. The aim of the Foundation is education in its broadest sense. The name Korelacja underlines the founders' approach and willingness to develop children in harmony with nature and in mutual cooperation through non-formal education. It is also a way to make children aware of the importance of ecology and sustainable development. The Foundation runs the Baza pod Lasem Kindergarten and carries out its activities on the basis of regular classes for children aged 3-10 years, which are not divided into age groups. At this moment, 11 children take part in the activities, and it is planned to expand the group. In the future, we want to create a group of school-age children, who are formally in home education, and who in Baza pod Lasem, under the supervision of an educator, will implement the core curriculum, but in their own individual way using informal education methods and according to European values. In the next 2 years we are planning to expand the group to 16 children, divided into 2 groups - the older ones with the realization of the core curriculum and the younger ones in the mixed age group. The activities take place in the ONJATY Association with which we cooperate. The Association provides the rooms of its manor house as well as 2,5 ha of land. Right next to a quiet access road there is an area of the manor house with the surrounding garden, where in spring and summer gardening works are carried out and a flower meadow is maintained. There is also a small infrastructure for children's play, tables for manual work and dining, secured by a wooden fence. The further part of the area is a small, wild forest, a piece of field, a young birch forest, a large field stretching from the young forest towards the Zielona Góra forest massif, and the top of the area is the Miazga riverbed - a shallow river through which you can easily get to the other side on a footbridge. On the other side of the river there is a large, wild forest, to which we arrange hikes, wanting to be as close to nature as possible and spend as much time as possible in the open air, discovering. These places are constantly explored by children and their carers, partly managed. Of course, as the seasons change, the action plans are adapted. When the weather is bad, the building is used to stay warm, hide from the downpour, have lunch or use the toilet. There is a large room available here, connected to the next rooms that we use. From the room there is a direct acces to the bathroom (toilet, shower, washbasin). A corridor leads to the hall where there are cabinets and hangers forming a cloakroom and a second toilet for parents and guests. On the ground floor there is also a kitchen which we use. For meetings of adults and conversations we can use a small, colourful room located right at the entrance. Our activities take place mainly outside. There we make a welcome circle, eat snacks, ride a bike, play, make bonfires and hike. In the summer, we spend 100% of our time outside. Baza pod Lasem is open from 9:00 till 16:00. In time, we would like to extend the working hours of the Base until 8:00-17:00. The inspiration for running Baza Pod Lasem is the idea of forest kindergartens, where children spend most of their time outside. We use reason to benefit from the benefits of nature and together with children we acquire practical knowledge how to live with it in correlation. We believe that the best way to develop a child in a harmonious way is to accompany him or her, follow them, give them the opportunity to be themselves among nature and respond to their individual needs. We focus on building relationships and the innate competence of each person. We want integration to take place within the group of children, but a