“The successive level of education must conform to the successive personalities of the child.” – Maria Montessori.
Dr. Montessori once said “Everything invented by man, physical or mental, is the fruit of someone’s imagination. In the study of history and geography we are helpless without imagination, and when we propose to introduce the universe to the child, what but imagination can be of use to us?” In the Montessori elementary program, the child’s own questions provide the basis for exploration of the world. Because these questions are heeded and nurtured, the child really connects with knowledge. Subject matter, then, is made relevant to the child’s personal quest, providing an inner motivation. In the elementary years, the student’s skills are polished in the meaningful context of a “big picture”. The child’s own philosophical spirit motivates their development, “passing from one stage of independence to a higher one, by means of their own activity, through their own effort of will, which constitutes the inner evolution of the individual.” A child’s imagination provides the mental impetus for exploration of the universe. Montessori elementary education speaks to a child’s imagination and sets him or her off on a lifelong voyage of discovery.
The Great Lessons
“Many many years ago, nothing existed. It is said that in those times there was a great emptiness. In this great emptiness there was darkness and cold. In the darkness and cold however, something did exist. Something that you could not see with the human eye – Hashem.Hashem constricted himself and crated a tzimtzum – making a small space where life could begin……… So begins one version of “The Story of the Universe,” the first of five stories known as the Great Lessons and told in the Montessori elementary program here at SHALOM MONTESSORI. As the children ponder the story, questions beget questions: I wonder how many solar systems there are? I wonder how the volcanoes cooled? I wonder what color the first ocean was. I wonder… .The Great Lessons are connected stories that span the enormous historical frames of time and space. “The Coming of Life” introduces the history of life on earth including single-celled animals and plants and human beings. “The Coming of Humans” relates the significance of human beings, their special abilities and what differentiates them from other life forms. “The Story of Communication in Signs” and “The Story of Numbers”provides a look at human invention in the context of expanding civilization. The essential underlying theme, throughout these Great Lessons is that everything, living or static, follows its own natural laws in the development of the whole. From the core of story frameworks emanate the details of the disciplines, science, mathematics, social studies and language.
The story provides an overview; the children then investigate the disciplines in detail. However, because of the unifying thread of the Great Lessons, no subject is studied in isolation from the others. Knowledge is intertwined even though discrete in its parts. After exposure to each story the children, in small groups or individually, freely explore their own questions prompted by the story. Some may work with timelines and other materials designed to support the stories and carefully presented by the teacher in response to a child’s question. Some may perform experiments using materials available in the classroom. Some may gather information from library books or a local elder in the community, enjoying the dignity of conducting research on their own, at their own pace, following their own interests. The Great Lessons develop sustained conviction in the child around the themes of progress and interdependency. The stories present not only the changes the earth has undergone since its beginnings but also the ways in which each new animal or plant affects all the others. The stories inspire awe and wonder about the ecology of the natural world. They also build a sense of the importance of making a contribution to the continuing stream of human progress. Thus the Montessori elementary program at SHALOM MONTESSORI provides the foundations for life commitment.
Elementary Environment
The elementary environment at SHALOM MONTESSORI balances the child’s developing imagination and powers of abstraction with down-to-earth, concrete, hands-on materials. Each material has its structured sequences designed to lead to discovery and understanding, moving from an understanding of the physical world to an understanding of abstract concepts. The prepared environment provides the “keys” of each discipline in a manner that meets the elementary child’s needs for inspiration as well as order. The disciplines are fully integrated and the child’s natural curiosity aroused, and the educator is intimately familiar with every aspect of the prepared environment and also with every child in the class. This lays the groundwork for the development of respectful, confident, aware, and responsible individuals.