ASSIGNMENT NO: 11

MODULE NO: 11
INTRODUCTION TO COSMIC & PEACE EDUCATION

FOR: PAKISTAN MONTESSORI

COUNCIL
QUESTION NO: 01
Write a note on Montessori Cosmic Education and how it can be
introduced during the early childhood years.

ANSWER.

An Introduction to Cosmic Education

Cosmic Education is a cornerstone of the Montessori Philosophy. At its core,
Cosmic Education tells the story of the interconnectedness of all things. It describes the role of
education as comprehensive, holistic and purposeful; to encompass the development of the whole
person within the context of the universe. It also introduces the possibility that humanity might have
a “cosmic task”, to better the world for future generations.

Doctor Maria Montessori believed that Cosmic Education was vital to early
education because it provides children with a framework to understand their world and their place
within it. Children learn to respect studies of the past, develop an understanding of ethics, and value
the contributions of others. In this way, Cosmic Education teaches children to become aware of the
interdependence of all things, and develop a sense of gratitude that comes from that awareness.

Within the Montessori classroom, Cosmic Education forms a platform for

teaching children to understand and adapt to their environment. In the first plane of development
(0-6), Cosmic Education introduces the child to the natural world through experiences with nature
and the sensorial learning materials. These experiences teach children to refine their senses, and
thus the way they process and understand their world. These skills aid the child’s development, and
confidence with themselves, their society, and their world as a whole.

In the second plane of development (6-12), Cosmic Education introduces the

child to the repeating natural cycles in our world, the fundamental needs that all humans share, and
the connectedness of all living things. In the elementary years, children begin to draw connections
between how each particle, substance, species, and event has a purpose in the development of all
others. These “Great Lessons of Cosmic Education” are taught as a whole curriculum to show
children how all content areas, such as the study of history, culture, science and the environment,
are all interconnected.

Doctor Maria Montessori believed that children who received a Cosmic

Education in childhood were better prepared to enter adolescence as independent, socially
responsible, and emotionally intelligent individuals. This is because Cosmic Education launches
children into the world with a practiced understanding of who they are as individuals, as members
of the human race, and as citizens of the universe. It also provides children with a deep
understanding of their moral responsibility to address global issues that affect humankind and the
environment. In Montessori, every moment is an opportunity to understand the integrity of the
universe.

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Why is Cosmic Education important today?
Doctor Maria Montessori believed that the world was a purposeful place; and
that war, poverty and injustice, were deviations from that purpose. She believed that Cosmic
Education was a way to restore harmony and order, and thus allow humankind to realize their true
potential. In the twenty-first century, global awareness, peaceful communication, and ethical
cooperation are integral to resolving global disputes. By providing children with a Cosmic
Education, Montessori empowers students with the knowledge to transform the world. As Doctor
Maria Montessori states: “The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.”

COSMIC EDUCATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD (3-6 YEARS OLD)

Most children 3–6 years old are very much absorbed in experiencing their
immediate environment. These children feel close to and connected with the natural world. To lay
the groundwork for cosmic education, it is enough for teachers to ensure that children experience
nature as much as possible and retain their connection with the natural world. It is important for
teachers to realize that in experiencing the natural world, the children are the teachers. Any three-
year old lying in the grass will see much more than a teacher will! The teacher’s role is to not
interfere with this experience, but allow it to happen.

To help the children retain their connection to nature and to appeal to their developing
senses, the Montessori equipment, materials, and activities involve as much as possible natural
materials such as plants, wood, water, and sand. When teachers and children are working with
these and other materials, teachers can link the materials to their origins. For example, the
Montessori Thermic Tablets, which are made of stone, wood, steel, and fabric, can be described as
coming from different kinds of matter produced by the earth. Teachers can also discuss with the
children what materials can be recycled, where the materials came from, and how the materials
were made, linking the materials in the classroom with their origins in the world. At the same time,
teachers can indicate the role of human beings in the collection and production of the materials.
Even simple objects can provide rich material for cosmic education. Examining and discussing a
simple block of cedar wood, for example, could guide the children to making many different
connections.

In this way, each activity and material can be linked to the world beyond the classroom:

 By touching, lifting, and smelling the wood, children can assess in a general way how heavy
it is and whether it is hard or soft wood.
 By imagining what tree the wood came from, the children can think about where the tree
grew, and in what part of the world.
 By talking about how the wood came to be a block, children can think about what tool
might have made the shape, where the block might have been made and by whom, where
it might have been purchased and for what purposes.

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 Teachers can connect many activities in the classroom to the natural cycles of
the world. For example, while helping the children cook eggs for a snack, a teacher could
discuss with the children where chicken eggs come from. After eating together, the teacher
could invite the children to dry the eggshells, and then grind them up to make fertilizer for the
garden. The teacher could explain that the chickens needed nutrients from the earth to make
the eggs and that the children are now returning the nutrients to the earth. An activity like this
incorporates practical life skills, the simple human pleasures of eating whole foods together,
consciousness of the food chain, and the recycling of what is not consumed.

Introducing topics in a gentle, unobtrusive manner, teachers can initiate

conversations with children in many situations, such as walking in the schoolyard, planting a
garden, or just lying on the grass. Teaching within a cosmic perspective means seeing each
moment of the present as an extension of the past and a prelude to the future, and the entire
universe, both natural and manufactured, as existing in the present as a coherent, functioning,
unified system.

Children 3–6 are almost always open to being outdoors. This makes it easier for
teachers to support the children’s sense of connection to nature in a direct, physical way. For
example, a teacher might invite a few children to take a short walk outside on a bright spring
day, and then share a simple snack of fresh bread. The teacher could initiate a story like the one
below about the bread and all its connections with the world, inserting many pauses and
encouraging the children to contribute details. The point is for the teacher not to make the
situation into a fact-based cultural geography lesson, but to help the children link where they
are and what they are doing and experiencing to other people and places in the world.

Here is an example of dialogue from the teacher’s point of view:

 Look at this bread! Isn’t it beautiful? Won’t it taste good for our snack?
 Where does this bread come from? Further back than the bread basket in the school,
further back than the store where the teachers bought it, where does this bread come
from?
 So that we can have this bread today, last spring a farmer planted some tiny wheat
kernels in a big brown field. In the field, under the soft brown earth, the tiny kernels
would receive spring rains and warm spring sun, and the tiny kernels would start to
grow into tiny plants.
 Feel how warm the sun is on our faces today. The sun feels warmer every day now that
it is spring. The tiny kernels planted by the farmer would need lots of warm weather
like this to grow.
 Just like people, plants need water to grow. Put your fingers into the soil in the garden.
Does it feel damp enough for little wheat plants? We know that the little wheat plants
would need lots more rain over the spring and summer to grow into big plants.

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  At the end of the summer, the wheat plants will have grown big. They will be tall and
golden yellow, and they will wave in the wind. How much would the wheat plants wave
in a wind like we have today?
 After the summer, before the weather turns cold and rainy again, the farmer will take
the wheat from the field. While you are watching leaves turn color in the fall, the farmer
will take the wheat to a big, noisy mill. There the wheat will be ground between huge
stones into soft, soft flour.
 The millers will sell the flour to bakeries, and the bakers will use their hot ovens to
make the flour into bread and wrap it into loaves. Stores will put the loaves on shelves.
Teachers will buy the bread, and children will eat it outside on a bright spring day!
 Smell the bread in your hand. Doesn’t it smell good? It reminds me of that bright spring
day last year when that farmer planted those tiny wheat kernels... Other focused
activities can also be conducted outdoors. Each activity presents opportunities to
experience the connectedness of life.

For example, if the school has an outdoor area that can support even a small garden,
activities might include:
 Planning a garden, then working together to build it.
 Ordering or purchasing seeds or plants.
 Growing bedding plants.
 Planting flowers and vegetables.
 Arranging a schedule and assigning responsibility for tending and watering the garden.
 Building systems for collecting rainwater to water the garden.

 Picnicking on the vegetables from the garden, then recycling the leftovers by
composting.

 Picking a flower and placing it in a vase for a special school occasion.

Having a garden serves as an excellent real-life analogy teachers can use to

explain how all living things work together. Teachers and children can talk about how worms
aerate the soil for the plants while the decaying plants provide food for the worms. This sort of
example helps the children realize how they too can work together to accomplish mutual goals.
Some schools hold outdoor events that celebrate a season of the year.

Teachers and children can work together to include simple activities that involve the senses:

 Creating a dance that mimics the unfolding of the season, choosing music that conveys
the sounds and changes of the season.

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  Designing a walkway that passes by several “smell” features of the season, such as in
the spring a flowering cherry tree, a fragrant hyacinth, and composted earth.

 Designing a walkway that shows several examples of seasonal wildlife, such as in the
fall an abandoned bird nest, a tiny hole burrowed at the base of a tree, and a garden
plant nibbled by a squirrel.

 Preparing and eating a simple, local seasonal food (e.g., carrots in the fall, dried apples
in the winter, and eggs in the spring) and talking about how it came to be.

 Sitting in silence and just experiencing the sounds, smells, and sights of the season.

Socially, most young children prefer to work on their own or just alongside
others. Teachers can enhance relationships between children by helping them interact socially
through cooperative, rather than competitive activities. Always giving the children the
opportunity to choose what they are ready for, teachers can also gently encourage children to
work together occasionally on projects that require more than one person to complete, such as
making a poster or acting out a play. Teachers can also invite older children to read to younger
children or teach certain practical life skills.

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QUESTION NO: 02
Discuss Montessori Peace Program and its importance.

ANSWER.

An Introduction to Montessori peace program

"Averting war is the work of politicians; establishing peace is the
work of education." Maria Montessori.
To commit to the creation of a peaceful world is an exercise in requiring a broad
perspective and bottomless determination. The central message of cosmic education- that the
universe is a unified whole of interrelationships and interdependence– suggests that the
creation of peace requires effort in all spheres of life. Relationships between individuals,
communities, cultures, and the environment must all be put on a peaceful path in order to
transcend the arguments, civil strife, war, and environmental degradation that currently
characterize so much of modern life. To help students realize the power and responsibilities of
each person, the Montessori curriculum stresses the integrity of all of life. Through their
studies, students see that individuals, communities, and nations have changed the world before
and will again, but it is only when the spirit of peace pervades their efforts that the results are
for the better. One of the major goals of cosmic education is that seeking peace is the task
chosen by Montessori students as they take their places in society.

Students need to learn, practice, and develop skills in order to put that approach
into action. A Montessori education seeks to teach students, through daily activities in the
classroom, the skills to become peacemakers, people committed to working toward peace,
understanding, and non-violent ways of reducing or resolving conflict. Giving students
opportunities to see their own abilities develop is the surest way to make students confident
that they can make a difference in the world. As teachers, everyone places an important role
in inspiring students and modeling peace behaviors that the students need to learn.

The Peace Flower- The Four States of Peace Awareness:

There are, in fact, many forms and layers of peace. To think about what peace
is and how it can be practiced means analyzing possibilities for its application. The Peace
Flower diagram provides a simple, concrete framework upon which Montessori teachers and
parents can focus on.

There are, in fact, many forms and layers of peace. To think about what peace
is and how it can be practiced means analyzing possibilities for its application. The Peace
Flower diagram provides a simple, concrete framework upon which Montessori teachers and
parents can focus on.

Self-Awareness:
Someone that is aware of how he/she is thinking, feeling, and behaving. It
means being mindful about thoughts, words, and actions.

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Community Awareness
Someone is aware of other people in the community and the nature of
relationships she/he has with people, especially people with whom the person interacts every
day. Community radiates out from each individual to include family, other students, teachers,
school staff, shopkeepers, bus drivers, etc.

Environmental Awareness
Someone is aware of what the earth needs to stay healthy and how individuals,
communities, and cultures treat the earth.

Cultural Awareness
An awareness and appreciation of the differences in people’s attitudes, beliefs,
practices, customs, and social behavior.
In the primary classroom, we will spend a significant amount of time on the first
petal of Self Awareness. We want to help identify and name all of the various feelings the
child will have, and help them know that all feelings are okay. Continuing to move outward,
we want to show them what appropriate actions they can do with these feelings. We then want
the child to begin to contemplate and meditate upon their actions before they are performed.
While concentrating on the first petal of self-awareness, our overall goal is to
help the child move from a less egocentric state to one of community, environmental, and
ultimately cultural awareness.

The essentials for peace education are inherent in every level of the
Montessori curriculum.

 Ages 3-6: Continent and Peoples of the World studies provide a global view of life and
humanity’s part in it.

 Ages 6-12: This is the age of reasoning, abstract thinking, and an imaginative state of
mind. Students continue their study of Peoples of the World, learning about the
Fundamental Needs of Humans. They learn that the fulfillment of these needs varies by
not only historical time periods but also by geographic location. With emphasis placed
on the family of humankind and the interrelationship of all life, Montessori students
begin to realize that they are not separate from the rest of the world, but are an integral
part of creating a harmonious world.

Montessori believed education was the most powerful and universal way
through which to reconstruct society; a way to transition from war to peace. Therefore, it is
necessary to think of education as peace, not education for peace. While the curriculum teaches
about peace, it cannot by itself result in peace. As Montessori teachers, we realize that it is not
enough to simply talk about peace. We must create an environment that will promote the
development of peaceful individuals. We cannot create this peaceful environment if we
ourselves are interacting negatively or competitively with others.

Children easily pick up on hypocrisy around them. The old adage “do as I say,
not as I do” no longer is acceptable. It is necessary for Montessori teachers to look inward and

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 take note of their own beliefs and values. If we teach peace in our classroom, we must strive
for peace in our lives, in our home, and in our workplace. We are the models of peace. We are
teaching and nourishing the peace keepers of the future.

As the Montessori teacher sets the framework for the understanding that all
living creatures are important and interconnected, the next step is to encourage in each child
the skill and ability to become the peacemaker.

The Montessori Peace Place: An Important Part of the Classroom

This yearlong series looks at the experiences of teachers, parents, students,

and Montessori education itself, as we follow a student through his first year at
a Montessori Preschool. The Montessori Insights and Reflections of a Preschool
Student’s First Year is a collection of useful stories, tips, and information that has
arisen from one real student's Montessori journey, viewed through the eyes of
his Montessori Teacher, Bree Von Nes.

The Peace Place

Dr. Montessori recognized children as the redeeming factor in the evolution of
humankind. The Peace Place is a designated space in the environment where children can go
to take a moment, calm themselves and work out a problem in a peaceful way.

Our Montessori classroom is small so it has been a challenge to find the perfect
spot for the Peace Place, however, I am happy to say that I did! The table I chose is away from
the busy work area and right by a big window. The table is just the right size; there are two
chairs and on the Peace Table I have placed a beautiful vase with a single rose.

The Montessori Peace Place: An Important Part of the

Classroom
The first year I decided to create a Peace Place in the Montessori preschool classroom
was about 10 years ago, and I was full of doubt as to how it would be received by my students.
The Peace Table itself was beautiful; in fact we had an entire Peace Corner with a Japanese
garden, a table water fountain, a basket of beautiful river rocks, a chime, and of course, our
Peace Rose! The Montessori preschool classroom then was twice the size of the classroom that
I am currently teaching in, so it was easy to allocate an entire corner to our Peace Place.

For the first couple of months, I wondered if the Peace Table was a success, as it was
taking a great deal of adult mediation to ensure the appropriate language was being used and
to ensure the conflict was being peacefully resolved.

Then one day in early spring of that year, one of my five-year-old students, Cassia
approached her friend, Emma and said, “Would you please join me at the Peace Table?” The
two girls sat down together and I simply stood back and observed the magic unfold. The girls
passed the Peace Rose back and forth and Cassia expressed that she was feeling sad because
Emma was working with another classmate instead of her.

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 After much discussion, they decided to find an activity that all of them could do
together. The girls felt so proud to have resolved the issue and all three students sat at the snack
table together, tidied up and then each created a flag to take home. It was amazing to observe
these young Montessori students solve their issue honestly and fairly and it is amazing how the
Montessori Peace Table can help to maintain a harmonious and cooperative atmosphere in the
Montessori community.

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QUESTION NO: 03
Prepare the any two of the following peace crafts and send to your
tutor along with the assignment.

 Original Peace Crane

 Peace Door Hanger
 Peace Band

ANSWER.

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QUESTION NO: 03
Explain the following activities briefly in your own words:

 Introducing the Peace Flower

 Creating a Peace Place
 Something Good I have Done
 Practicing Conflict Resolution
 Saving Water

ANSWER.

Introducing the peace flower:

The Peace Flower- The Four States of Peace Awareness:

There are, in fact, many forms and layers of peace. To think about what peace
is and how it can be practiced means analyzing possibilities for its application. The Peace
Flower diagram provides a simple, concrete framework upon which Montessori teachers and
parents can focus on.

There are, in fact, many forms and layers of peace. To think about what peace
is and how it can be practiced means analyzing possibilities for its application. The Peace
Flower diagram provides a simple, concrete framework upon which Montessori teachers and
parents can focus on.

Self Awareness- Someone that is aware of how he/she is thinking, feeling, and behaving.
It means being mindful about thoughts, words, and actions.

Community Awareness- Someone is aware of other people in the community and the
nature of relationships she/he has with people, especially people with whom the person
interacts every day. Community radiates out from each individual to include family, other
students, teachers, school staff, shopkeepers, bus drivers, etc.

Environmental Awareness- someone is aware of what the earth needs to stay healthy
and how individuals, communities, and cultures treat the earth.

Cultural Awareness- An awareness and appreciation of the differences in people’s

attitudes, beliefs, practices, customs, and social behavior.

In the primary classroom, we will spend a significant amount of time on the first
petal of Self Awareness. We want to help identify and name all of the various feelings the
child will have, and help them know that all feelings are okay. Continuing to move outward,

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 we want to show them what appropriate actions they can do with these feelings. We then want
the child to begin to contemplate and meditate upon their actions before they are performed.

While concentrating on the first petal of self-awareness, our overall goal is to help the child
move from a less egocentric state to one of community, environmental, and ultimately cultural
awareness.

Creating a peace place:

“Find a time and place of solitude.
Look into the distance and into the future.
Visualize the tomorrow you are going to build;
And begin to build that tomorrow, today.”
Jonathan Lockwood Huie
As part of our Peace Curriculum that is incorporated into our monthly
studies at MCS, this month each of the classes is engaged in a study of creating space
for Peace as we prepare to celebrate International Peace Day on September 21st and in
honor of Maria Montessori’s extensive work in the field of Peace Education. Studies
show that a preventative curriculum that promotes communication, community and
self-advocacy is more effective than a punishing approach to bullying in schools. Ours
is a program that we expect will follow our students far beyond their structured
educational experience. We hope for and assist children in the development of skills of
peaceful conflict resolution, gaining respect for peers and incorporating communal
advocacy, taking in to account the needs of a community and how one’s behavior
affects another, and establishing a lifetime of self-advocacy, self-love and self-respect.

Averting war is the work of politicians; establishing peace is the

work of educators. ~Maria Montessori

Peace is a work rooted deeply in the approach in Montessori schools across the world
and Maria Montessori was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on three different occasions as
her passion for Peace Education led her to spread its good word in various countries. Her legacy
lives on as she is now widely recognized as an advocate for peace and her educational
philosophy is practiced throughout the world.

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“Peace is a goal that can only be attained through common
accord, and the means to achieve this unity for peace are twofold:
first, an immediate effort to resolve conflicts without recourse to
violence—in other words, to prevent war—and second, a long-
term effort to establish a lasting peace among men” (Education
and Peace, Montessori, 1949, p. 27).
Montessori education addresses Peace in a variety of ways, encouraging
children to first develop inner peace. At its most basic level the Montessori method does this
by honoring the individual interests, passions and ability of each child, giving children space
to develop confidence with making mistakes as they explore and the courage to fix mistakes,
and inspiring them to be part of a community. Because each student is recognized as an
individual, you will find children working on a variety of activities at any given time. This
gives children space and encouragement to accept that differences between humans exist at
varying degrees.

Inner peace gives children the foundation for supporting peace within their
classroom, school, social and family communities. Communities are an important aspect of the
Montessori philosophy in that there is an emphasis on the whole person and learning to function
within a community is essential to the success of human endeavor. A successful community is
made up of a variety of different talents, strengths, skills and goals. As our students engage in
peaceful conflict resolution, modeled by the adults in the community, they learn to function as
many parts making up a whole. As they assist in the management of the environment, including
caring for the physical space, taking on important leadership roles within the classroom, and
engaging in group discussion about how to make change for the better, students practice
lifelong skills of considering others and building functioning communities.

Some common Montessori terms/methods that directly and indirectly support Peace
Education include:

Cosmic Education is the child’s gradual discovery, throughout the whole of childhood,
of the interrelatedness of all things on earth, in the past, in the present, and in the future.

Intrinsic motivation (versus rewards or punishment) is a desire to do for the sake of

doing with no expectation or even hope for an outside motivator.

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 Multi age classrooms allow children to play varying roles throughout their cycle in a
classroom, allowing investment in the environment and practice of various skills, jobs and
identities.

Follow the child means that each child is considered individually and opportunities to
further develop special skills and talents is honored along with opportunity for extra, repetitive
practice of more difficult tasks.

Class meetings and agenda books allow children to bring up issues or concerns and
decide, with adult guidance, how to overcome challenges as a group. It also allows a sacred
place for celebrating one another’s accomplishments.

Peace areas in each classroom provide a place for children to go when they need to
find inner peace. Meditation, breathing and various other exercises are encouraged to help
students look within.

Outdoor education and care for living things (plants and animals throughout the school
and in each classroom) give children the opportunity to practice care for and consideration of
the needs of all living things and help them develop a love and advocacy for our earth and all
it has to offer.

By honoring each individual and supporting children in becoming their most

authentic, passionate, courageous and determined selves, we provide the world with a powerful
force for change for the better.

May you all find inner peace and enjoy a most lovely day of celebrating the
beauty and hope of mankind on this day set aside for celebrating Peace on earth.

Practicing conflict resolution:

Elementary children who have been nurtured in the Primary classroom have an
obvious and similar background with the other children in the elementary classroom of being
treated with respect and honor, and have developed into confident and competent learners from
the aid and support of the Primary Program.

Observers will notice in the Primary classroom, a child seems to work mostly
parallel to his peers, each on their own individual activity in order to concentrate best.
Elementary children, however, are entering a new period in their life and have a strong drive
to be social and collaborate.

Elementary Children Work Collaboratively and Cooperatively:

For this reason, most lessons and research projects in the elementary classroom
are done in pairs or groups of children.

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 Each day, the community setting of the elementary classroom allows the
children to practice social skills necessary to carry out their task by: delegating work, sharing
resources and materials, making group decisions, taking responsibility for actions, and
celebrating the success of peers. On the other hand, conflict is not uncommon, but the
motivation to resolve it comes from the children.

Learning to collaboratively and cooperatively work within a classroom

community adds countless value to the child’s education. Montessori is providing the child
significant life lessons with practical application for the home and in the “real world” of high
school, college, future career and marriage. The Montessori environment is an aid to life.

Saving Water:
The child is endowed with unknown powers, which can guide us to a radiant future.
If what we really want is a new world, then education must take as its aim the development
of these hidden possibilities. ~ Maria Montessori, the Absorbent Mind.

The World Water Day is a great springboard for Montessori activities in cultural
geography. Students of all ages can participate in activities that develop an understanding of
the geography of water, and the 2010 motto, “Clean water for a healthy world” can serve as a
catalyst for further exploration of the importance of clean water for people around the world.

World Water Day is a globally-recognized initiative that grew out of the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The decade
between 2005 and 2015 has been named “Celebrating Water for Life: the International Decade
for Action.” There are a number of activities and learning opportunities for you Montessori
classroom centered on World Water Day.

World Water Day: Montessori Classroom Activities and

Opportunities:
In the Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten classroom, activities using the globe and
Land and Water Forms material can be introduced or revisited to familiarize students with the
geography and vocabulary of various water forms around the world. These activities can then
be extended to prompt discussion about the importance of water in our daily lives, then further
discussion about the importance of clean, healthy water. Montessori teachers can then extend
the concept to raise awareness for water conservation, and for the challenge of access to clean
water in areas around the world, how children in these areas are affected, and what can be done
to help.

At the Montessori elementary level, students enter a sensitive period for community
care and service. Activities such as the water cycle and those covering the earth’s hydrosphere
and take on new meaning in the context of water conservancy. World Water Day can be a
springboard for taking action by identifying ways in which students can conserve water at
home, study how water is treated in their community, and advocate for water protection and

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conservancy in their community. A Montessori elementary classroom might even find a way
to help children in another part of the world that is directly affected by the absence of clean
water.

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