Dr.Maria Montessori’s concept of Cosmic Education Curriculum introduces children to cultural activities including science, history, geography, and the arts stimulating both intellectual and moral development.
In the early 20th century, the world experienced massive socio-political turmoil, which became more prominent after World War 1.
Dr. Maria Montessori found it necessary to promote peace, and as a result, she adapted a new teaching method to support child refugees.
Her objective was to propagate the interconnectedness of knowledge, presenting it in unconventional ways to children.
In her concept of the Cosmic Education System she firmly believed that children possess the natural curiosity to explore the world. Therefore, their natural curiosity could only be quenched by teaching them about interdependence, responsibility, and sustainability.
Furthermore, if children can learn through stories, lessons, and hands-on experience, they can see how everything in the universe is connected.
Importance Of Cultural Studies In Montessori:
We know that the Montessori path to educational knowledge originates in the children’s sensorial exploration.
In the Montessori Children’s House, they learn how to talk about pitch, sound quality, and rhythm. Similarly, this language development extends to cultural knowledge that includes geography, history, science, and art.
In addition, Montessori teachers introduce specialized vocabulary through picture cards featuring animals, plants, seasons, and human lifestyles around the globe.
Moreover, children’s interests evolve when they engage in sorting, matching, model-making, artwork, and writing.
In this way, cultural activities in the Montessori Method play a crucial role in the overall development of children.
Montessori Cultural Activities:
Montessori culture activities aim at teaching students science, history, geography, and the arts for their overall growth and development.
I have discussed earlier that Montessori teachers gradually introduce each subject and activity according to the age of the student.
For example, toddlers and preschoolers learn language activities and as they grow older teachers introduce them to basic science activities. This process continues.
To be more specific, in Montessori schools, children about 6 years old learn the story of the Universe. In some cases, they get the chance to study the local neighborhood.
Science: As early childhood science activities Children in Montessori schools learn the names of objects and natural phenomena through spoken language lessons, often using three-period lessons.
To support this process of learning teachers often create teaching-learning materials like pictures, labels, and illustrated booklets.
Furthermore, the physical science curriculum covers topics like gravity, light, magnetism, and sound.
To maintain interest teachers place selected activities in the classrooms. For example, a teacher may set up a nature table that displays objects like rocks, seeds, shells, and leaves, fostering sensory exploration and classification exercises.
The beauty of the Montessori education system lies in the fact that it allows children to explore the outdoors which helps them study living creatures in their natural habitat, propagating respect and concern for the environment.
On top of that, Nature walks and field trips help children explore local ecosystems and seasonal changes.
For children aged between six to nine, the Montessori science curriculum starts with the grand narrative of the universe that includes the Big Bang and the Earth’s formation.
Teachers present it to them through engaging experiments and illustrated charts.
Geography:
In Montessori cultural activities, the study of geography occupies a conspicuous place. It begins with small globes that children love to feel and touch.
Then they move on to puzzle maps. They love to play and learn with the puzzle maps. In almost all Montessori classrooms, one can find two Montessori globes, both with the oceans painted in glossy blue.
As geography is a broad topic with many interesting subtopics, the concept of the two globes is introduced.
The Globes:
I have told you earlier that there are two different globes that children can find in Montessori classrooms. On the first globe, the land area of the earth is shown using fine sandpaper.
Conversely, the water is shown as a smooth surface. Slowly children try to perceive the difference between rough and smooth on the touch boards.
Once they learn how to turn the globe slowly, they begin to differentiate between land and water. Moreover, they learn to compare the first globe with the second one.
They even notice that each continent is represented by a distinct color. In this way, they learn the words “continent” and “ocean”.
In addition to this, there are four pairs of small trays. Each pair contains a landform in earth-colored mold and its corresponding water form.
These pairs help teach children pairs of land and water forms such as islands and lakes, peninsulas and gulfs, and capes and bays.
Besides, the tactile exploration of land and water forms, teachers provide children with real photographs for matching and labeling.
These are language-based activities. It helps them to connect physical models to real-world geography.
Puzzle Maps:
Puzzle maps are large wooden puzzles. Each puzzle represents a separate country.
Each piece has a small knob located where the capital city would be.
By exploring these puzzles children can physically explore geography and become familiar with political boundaries and capitals.
History:
For children aged six to nine, Montessori teachers introduce history through interesting stories and scientific exploration. To get the best results we, the Montessori teachers, help children in the following ways:
- Creating personal timelines
- Using movable materials to explore time (months, weeks, days)
- Using long timelines to trace history back to 21st century BCE
- Learning to tell time with movable clocks
- Unrolling a long black strip to visualize humanity’s brief presence on Earth
The above tools and structured activities help enkindle children’s interest in history and to some extent research and project works.
Here I want to tell you that the very first history lesson begins with the story of the” Coming Humans”. Furthermore, it is presented as a continuation of life’s history on Earth.
In the following lessons, teachers structure the study of history around a picture chart that demonstrates fundamental human needs, both material (food, shelter, clothing, transport, and defense) and spiritual (art, religion, cultural identity).
In this way, children learn how different human groups have met these needs across time and places.
Benefits of this approach:
- Helps children recognize commonalities among humans while appreciating cultural differences.
- Highlights human dependence on natural resources (mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms).
Visual Arts:
Visual arts activities in Montessori Children’s House resemble Montessori practical life exercises. Teachers carefully keep materials on a tray for each activity. Next, they guide children on how to use and clean them.
Here’s what they look like:
- Free work with clay, paint , or crayons is always available
- Teachers offer a rotating selection of activities like sewing, weaving, printing, or collage.
- Teachers try their best to link classroom themes and children’s interests.
Visual arts extend sensory exercises, organizing and naming sensory impressions for inspiration.
Here I cite a real-life example where I helped a group of six-year-old students to learn about the formation of the Earth and the Solar System. I inspired them to build a model, researching the planets in books and online.
I also help them in making paper-mâché spheres from balloons, adjusting sizes for relative scale. Once dried, they painted and added textures representing planetary surfaces.
Sumanta De is an educator. He has been teaching students for more than 16 years following the principles of Dr.Maria Montessori. He has a 7-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter.
He is nurturing his children abiding by the principles of Dr.Maria Montessori. His passion for Montessori methods goes beyond the classroom.
Hence, he shares his experiences and insights through a dedicated Montessori blog and a YouTube channel under the name “NewChild Montessori”. He aims to offer valuable guidance to both parents and educators.
Education: M.A. English, Masters in Child Psychology & Bachelor’s Degree in Montessori Teachers Training