Connections Among Living Things: Montessori Cosmic Education
I am polar bear, and I speak for all polar bears. The masks are gathered and can be displayed on a wall or bulletin board to serve as a reminder of what was said during the Council. The ice is melting and I have no place to rest. Look closely at the beauty of the earth around you. What happened next amongst these 50 children was nothing short of amazing. Our lives and ways are in danger. The teacher begins by welcoming the Council. Concerns, fears. After the masks have been made, invite the students to bring them to circle. They are killing us as we try to gather the pollen we need to survive. I have to swim farther and farther to find food. It is a reflection of Cosmic Education as it fosters compassion for the hardships facings other living things. Ask the students to choose which being they will represent. The Council of All Beings serves as a way to discuss what is happening in our world today. Masks can be made from paper plates, using grass, leaves, and twigs to embellish them. Though animals are the most popular, they can choose plants, rivers, oceans, wetlands, mountains, glaciers, soil, fungi, etc. We gathered at sunset on the beach and made s’mores and as it grew dark we invited the Council of All Beings to join us. With soft sounds of nature in the background, the Montessori teacher acts as the facilitator and introduces the exercise as a place to speak for a non-human being in a sharing circle called the Council of All Beings. My children are left alone, starving, unable to take care of themselves. Created in 1985 by Joanna Macy and John Seed, The Council of All Beings is a time for us humans to come together and take on the persona of non-human beings on earth. You may wish to invite the students to put on their ‘human’ masks as you return to your classroom activities. We learned about the Wright brothers and built and flew paper airplanes, studied coastal dune environments, learned about simile, metaphor, and onomatopoeia while writing poetry about the ocean. At the end of the Council, the teacher thanks the beings for participating. To hold a Council of All Beings, invite the students on a nature walk. I am drowning because I am so tired. So many insecticides cover the flowers. Examples:
Greetings & introductions. Often, the hardships are caused by humans and the Council of All Beings gives voices to those who don’t have a voice. It can serve as a catalyst for projects and activities which reach beyond the classroom, with your students making a difference in the world around them. She tells the students that humans are not part of the council be cause their voices are strong and now it is time for the other voices on the planet to be heard. There is much that needs to be said so that others may hear. But the most poignant part of the trip was our final evening. Next, ask the students to create a mask of their beings. - Thich Naht Hahn
A few years ago, my upper elementary Montessori class spent a few days on Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, camping and having class on the beach. Without us, many crops will not be pollinated and they will die. Listen to the nature sounds around you. I’m bumble bee and I speak for all pollinators. Many of us lay back on the sand to look at the stars. Beings offer their gifts to humans. The most important thing we can do is to hear inside ourselves the sounds of the Earth crying. This well help them indentify with their beings. Not a voice was heard as each of us thought about what had just happened. When you return to the Montessori classroom, explain that we are going to be having a Council of All Beings where the students can speak for the living things on earth. NAMC’s Montessori Curriculum Materials
North American Montessori Center: http://www.montessoritraining.net/ I, Bumblebee, offer you my sweet honey to sweeten your lives. There are three steps in a successful Council of All Beings. The collective “oohs” and “ahhs” echoed a deep appreciation for the natural wonder that had just occurred, when out of the darkness a young voice called out “The perfect ending to a perfect night”. On that North Carolina night, as the Council of All Beings drew to a close, we sat in silence watching the embers of the bonfire die out. We come together because our planet is in trouble. Suddenly, three shooting stars flashed across the night sky. It has greater connections to the Montessori Curriculum through Cosmic Education, the Five Great Lessons, Cultural and Physical Geography, Botany, and Zoology. I, polar bear, offer you the majesty, strength, and solitude of one who lives against the odds. Montessori’s vision of Cosmic Education is to understand the interdependency of all life on earth and, indeed, the universe. We gathered the huge seashells that are common on the North Carolina coast, built sand castles, and played in the waves.
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