To Be

Children need free time.

Large blocks of free time.

To be bored.

To explore nature.

To find themselves.

To be in silence.

To be in company with others.

To be.


So do adults.


Make that time.

Cosmic Education at all Planes: An Aid to Life

Margaret Stephenson as quoted in NAMTA Journal 23:3 Summer 1997:

Underlying the Montessori idea of "an aid to life" is her vision of the child as the cosmic agent of humanity and its survival. The theme that runs through the four planes is putting the child in touch with the cosmic task of the world and its inhabitants in a manner that is fitted to the psychology of each discrete plane. If a child does not get the connection in one plane, he or she cannot move on to the next plane fully prepared. 

(end quote)

The child does move on to the next plane, just not fully prepared.

What is given at each plane:

1. This connection is made subconsciously yet concretely through the materials. 
2. This connection is made more consciously, through approaching Cosmic Education as a drama, not as a lifeless curriculum. This drama is the vision of Montessori. If this drama inspires the child of the second plane...,
3. then when that child reaches the third plane, he or she will be able to ask, "What is my role in this drama?"

Ms. Stephenson again:

Going Out is also important to give the Elementary child a complete vision of the universe, and a particularly valuable aspect of Going Out is community service. This is the basis for the service we've been talking about for the adolescents; it needs to begin earlier than adolescence (in order to reach its fullest fruits). 

Keys at Every Plane of Development

Consider how the following words apply to EVERY plane of development. 

John McNamara as quoted in NAMTA Journal 23:3 Summer 1997:

Like I did when I taught at the Elementary level, I am still trying to help the students' passage to abstraction, to stimulate their interest, to capture their imagination, to meet their need for group work, to respect their growing moral awareness, and to give precise keys so they can proceed to make discoveries on their own. 

He refers to the adolescent age, but how does this apply to every age?

Environment Not Working

Always keep in mind the psychological characteristics of the children and teach to them. 


Anytime there are bored or frustrated children in a Montessori environment, the adult must ask, 

“Where are the needs of their psychological characteristics not being met? What should be done differently within the environment to change their attitudes?” 

It is the adult’s role to find those solutions.