In our P1 community this month we have been talking a lot about peace and mindfulness. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that education could bring about peace through the hands of children. But how do we guide our children towards the path of peace?

One of the ways is to introduce the child to a larger view of the world and its people. In our classroom, we have been working a lot with maps this month. As we discover different parts of the world through those maps, we attempt to personalize these for the children by making a connection to something or someone familiar to them. For instance, we found a friend whose grandparents live in China. We also found a friend who had lived in Germany and traveled through Europe. Ukraine, Moldova, India, South Korea, Brazil and Turkey are also becoming familiar names. Through these discoveries of people and places we are realizing that people may look and sound different but are still the same in many ways.

Another way we have been searching for peace is by talking about what peace and mindfulness mean to us. We have been discussing some of the ways in which we can be peaceful and mindful within our community. Some of the ways that we found include making a space for someone else to sit in a gathering, using a soft tone of voice when addressing another person, helping someone gather their belongings, waiting for a turn to speak without interrupting and listening to what each other has to say. We have realized as a group that many of these are difficult to accomplish all the time, but through our Grace and Courtesy lessons, we continue to practice some of these mindful and peaceful behaviors. 

The weather has suddenly turned cold and we would like to take this opportunity to remind you to make sure the children have warm outdoor wear so that we can safely go outside when the weather permits.

Stay Warm and Healthy.

Archana