CLASSROOM UPDATE - CARE OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Last week one of our not yet three year old girls opted to work with a puzzle and whilst doing so, accidentally knocked a flower vase onto the floor. Being engrossed in the activity she forgot all about it until some 30 minutes later, after she had moved onto a completely new activity of washing snack plates and glasses with a friend. Whilst drying the plates she must have some how remembered the water spillage from the flower vase and, without being prompted, returned to fill the vase with fresh water from a bucket, pick up the flowers and dry up any spillage. The child was learning the importance of caring for the flowers and on a much more wider level, care of the environment.
“Care of the environment” is a subject area in the Montessori Pedagogy and forms part of the practical life activities that helps children build up a personal responsibility towards their environment. Another example occurred on Thursday, when one of our four year old boys noticed that there was some litter and leaves in the garden and wanted to sweep them up. He was concerned that the “birds will eat them”, which would make them sick, so he chose to spend the afternoon tidying up the garden - rather than playing with friends. In a world where the human race is littering our oceans with carrier bags and dumping huge amounts of waste into landfills, some would say it’s time we took responsibility for the consequences of our actions. Care of the environment, then, is a small but important step for the start of this process. It is how children learn about how their actions impact life on the planet and what they can do to contribute to the environment they live in. As Montessori herself said:
"Through practical exercise of this sort, the children develop a true 'social feeling', for they are working in the environment of the community in which they live, without concerning themselves as to whether it is for their own, or for the common good. "
To find out more about any aspects of Montessori education, please contact us.