Hands-on Materials (and Food!) Inspire Learning

In Montessori lower elementary classrooms for ages 6-9, the central point of interest is the Cosmic Curriculum -- a series of Great Lessons that begin with the biggest possible questions that humans can ask. When was the Universe born? How did the planets form, and why do they remain in orbit? Of what substance is our planet made? Why does water exist on Earth? What happens during an earthquake or volcano? The first two Great Lessons -- the Coming of the Universe and the Coming of the Earth -- capture and captivate the child's imagination due in part to their size, scope, and level of intensity. We are so fortunate to live in a time when technology and science can show us things only previously imagined by early civilizations through the stories told in each culture.

An important aspect of Montessori classrooms is the mixed-age format, which allows children to work at their own pace with a variety of student peers and mentors. As a child moves through this three-year cycle, s/he becomes emotionally and socially more confident and eventually enjoys giving lessons to others. The child develops depth, since the first exposure to a concept may be very impactful yet shallow. The next year, when revisiting a concept such as Earth history and geology, a student's interest and ability may become increasingly fascinated with the subject. In his/her third year, a child often researches a topic, makes a model, and presents information and ideas to the class. For this reason, I try to vary presentations each year so children see studies from different perspectives and with various materials.

These photographs demonstrate a lesson I gave recently on Plate Tectonics, following study of the layers of Inner Earth -- the crust, mantle, and core. In past years, I have demonstrated Plate Tectonics using an orange peel, an onion's layers, and (last year, memorably) with marshmallow fluff and graham crackers. This year, I used maple syrup (representing viscous magma), crackers (symbolizing continental plates), and fruit leather (for oceanic plates, which are much thinner than continental plates). The work remained on our sink counter for two days so that students could repeatedly encounter the tasty materials and be reminded of the lesson by using their senses of smell and sight.

We finished our week together with "family-style lunch", pulling all of the desks together into a long communal table and waiting to begin eating until everyone was seated. We started by discussing how each student has dinner with his/her family and what makes this time special: setting the table, an absence of distracting media (no television, computers, or cell phones), soft voices, polite manners ("Please pass the pepper."), caring questions and observations from the day, and the intimacy that comes from sitting closely with those about whom we care. Students asked one another about the contents of their lunch and conversation turned to personal questions about pets, siblings, and the impending holidays. (I was inspired to try this approach to our sometimes chaotic lunch time by recalling a 9-12 Montessori classroom where I worked many years ago in Portland with lights off, lit candles, and classical music in the background.) Children deserve to experience this spiritually-grounding and peaceful setting throughout the year!