Everyday is Earth Day in our Montessori classrooms! Montessori classrooms awake a child's sense of awe and wonder about the Earth from an early age. Dr. Montessori believed in giving children experiences in nature and viewed the natural world as part of the classroom environment. She wrote, "
The land is where our roots are. The children must be taught to feel and live in harmony with the Earth." In our toddler program and continuing through the upper elementary classroom, the Montessori environment creates opportunities to cultivate a child's curiosity and respect for the world around him/her on a regular basis. Children learn to care for plants within the classroom and in the outdoor environment. Nature is incorporated into scientific, geographic, and in cultural studies. In the Montessori curriculum, cosmic education shows the interconnectedness of all things in the universe. By teaching children to be stewards of the Earth, we instill a sense of global awareness.
Around Earth Day we do a project as a school to promote environmental awareness in our community. This year Meadowbrook Montessori is participating in the twentieth annual
Earth Day Groceries Project. Hannaford grocery in Yarmouth, ME allowed us to borrow paper grocery bags and the children decorated them with environmental messages. We returned the bags to the store to be passed out to shoppers that request their groceries be bagged with paper.
We hope people will think about reusing or recycling their grocery bags. The people in our neighborhood will get a very clear and positive message that the students at our school care about their environment.
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