Blog for 1/14
Peace Curriculum
Peace is a significant part of Montessori education. Maria Montessori lived through two World Wars in her lifetime. Her experiences and observations led to her belief that world peace must start with children. Throughout her life and career, she advocated peace through education, starting with very young children.
“Averting war is the work of politicians; establishing peace is the work of education. ”
Maria Montessori
Education and Peace, p. 24
We begin our Peace curriculum in P1 by recognizing and identifying basic emotions such as happy, sad, mad, and scared. Once we understand what these emotions feel like, we talk about which emotions we like experiencing: happy, excited, proud, peace, etc. Our lessons continue with how to get to these calmer feelings when we feel sad, mad, frustrated or scared. One technique we introduce is deep breathing. This simple practice helps children calm down and regain their emotional equilibrium.
We learn that while we feel all these emotions, every person in our world has the same emotions (even moms and dads!). We practice how to recognize emotions in others by looking at their faces. We discuss how our words and actions can have an impact on others. Kind words and deeds make others happy while hurtful words and deeds make others upset, sad or even mad. Treating each other fairly and respectfully (2 of our classroom rules) helps our classroom feel like a safe place for everyone.
We learn to resolve conflicts by using a Peace Rose. Children learn to take turns holding the peace rose while speaking about how they feel. They talk with each other until they have resolved their conflict. Learning how to use the Peace Rose takes time and is modeled through demonstrations. Teachers help children with words they can use to resolve their problem and, eventually, students are able to do this independently.
Another component of our Peace Curriculum is the Good, Kind Deeds Tree. When children do something they are proud of, such as completing a challenging work, they are encouraged to put a flower on the tree. When teachers see a child performing an act of kindness (helping another friend, saying kind words or giving a compliment to another, cleaning up work that has been left out, etc.), we acknowledge this deed by inviting that child to place a flower on the tree. During the course of the week, we see the tree “blossom” with the kind deeds that have happened in our classroom!
Another lesson in our peace curriculum is learning to make silence. Making silence requires the use of every part of our bodies! We practice by sitting in our group, placing our hands on our knees, breathing deeply, keeping our bodies still, then closing our eyes to feel how peaceful our classroom is when we all work together. Making silence is how we close our peace lesson each week and the children have been doing an amazing job!
This month, we are also learning about people who have helped create peace in our world. A picture of Maria Montessori is displayed in our classroom all year, but we took some time this month to delve deeper into her history and why she is important to our school. We also discussed who Martin Luther King Jr. was and how he promoted equality and fairness for everyone during his life. Other peace makers we will be studying this month include Tegla Laroupe, a Kenyan long-distance track and road runner, who has advocated for peace, human rights and education as well as being an inspiration to many female athletes and Jimmy Carter, for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.
Here are some photos of some of the Peace Activities we do in our classroom.
This month we have also been reaching out to all of our families via phone or Zoom to discuss your child’s progress. It has been wonderful to speak with all of you and let you know how much we enjoy your child!
A few important dates to remember this month:
Picture Re-take Day is January 26. Please watch for more information via email and flyers.
January 26 is Kindergarten Information Night (for families with children going into Kindergarten next year). Information will be presented via video and Zoom.
January 27 is Lower Elementary Information Night (for current Kindergarten families going into first grade next year). Information will be presented via Zoom.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.
Thank you!
Ms. Melissa, Ms. Diana and Ms. Kini