Cosmic Education in the Elementary Classroom by SJMS Lower Elementary 1 teacher Jessika Casey

“Peace is what every human being is craving for, and it can be brought about by humanity through the child” Dr. Maria Montessori.

In the Elementary environment, all of our studies are based on Cosmic Education. The aim of the Cosmic Education lessons are to appeal to the students' reasoning mind and robust imagination. This is done by sharing stories, doing experiments, using charts, timelines, and demonstrations. The lessons are typically given in small groups to support the students' social needs. Having these needs met at the elementary level supports lifelong learners and leads them to understand that they have a cosmic task. This supports Dr. Montessori’s belief that peace comes from the child.

Elementary students flourish when given opportunities to contribute and have feelings that they are valuable members of their community. Elementary Montessori History studies provide a way to foster this in the Elementary environment. Early in the school year, it is brought to the students' awareness that the contributions of past humans, who we don’t know, have significantly contributed to our daily lives. We discuss how as humans we share two special gifts with these people, the gifts of intelligence and love. When humans have their material needs met they can focus on their spiritual needs. Our spiritual needs are those which keep our minds wondering, we are curious and always want to learn and are driven to do more. Because the students share these gifts, they learn that they can be just as influential and have the power to contribute and maybe even be a hero to people who come after them.

Elementary students love to explore biographies and see how people have changed the world. They also are very empathetic and are curious about people who have made negative contributions. We discuss how we can see by some of these people's behavior they were unaware of their interconnectedness. It is at this point we can remind the students that we have that special gift of love. We have a responsibility to make good choices because all people are fundamentally interconnected, even with people we have never met. People of the past have influenced our daily lives and we share the ability to positively contribute as well. The driving force of our studies is to empower students to realize their connection and how deep it goes.