The Montessori approach has been referred to as “peace education”; and even Gandhi, for example, had praised Montessori’s approach to world peace. The children in our class have been talking about how we can be happy and peaceful in the classroom, on the playground, and at home. We talked about what we can do or say to show how we care about each other and our environment.

What can we do if we see our friends in need of help or feeling sad?  We read a book, Our Peaceful Classroom, by Aline Wolf, which talks about the Montessori classroom.  The illustrations were drawn by Montessori children from all over the world.

The children are learning the song, “Teaching Peace,” by Red Grammer.  They are singing and using sign language.

(chorus) “Teaching peace all the world around, you and me every city every town,
One by one in our work and in our play, we are teaching peace by what we do and what we say.”

(verse) “It’s up to us to show we care, reaching out to everybody everywhere,
Heart to heart and friend to friend, Circling all around the world and back again.”

(verse) “So take my hand and come along, it’s time to sing the world a brand new song,
So sing it loud and sing it clear, all together now so everyone can hear.”

The older children are learning the names of the regions of Japan, such as Kanto where they live, and making a map.

As part of the Montessori Language area of study, children try matching the initial letter sound of a word to the picture.

Or making a pattern with acorns and walnuts from our Practical Life shelf.

Another activity is on Numbers and Counters.