May Cultural and Practical Life Activities in the Montessori Classroom

May is a wonderful time of year. Particularly for those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, Spring comes into full swing, bringing the joy of a new growing season and all its bright colors.

In the Montessori classroom, there are many learning opportunities associated with nature, and it is a great time to organize “going out” activities for your Montessori students. No doubt teachers and students alike are definitely ready to take the classroom outside on sunny spring days, and what better time to explore first-hand learning opportunities in botany, zoology, and physical education as well as cultural geography activities such as mapping out your schoolyard? Don’t forget this is also an important time of year for environmental allergies, and plan to accommodate student needs accordingly.

May Cultural and Practical Life Activities in the Montessori Classroom

There is also a wide variety of cultural and practical life activities that can be incorporated into the Montessori curriculum for any age group, such as a Spring Tea for parents/grandparents as the school year begins to wind down. Perhaps your Montessori school is near a seniors’ residence – your students could prepare a short choir performance for an afternoon visit. Organizing a classroom Spring Clean is another practical life activity that engages students in the care, beauty and order of their environment.

Other May celebrations provide cultural and artistic learning opportunities for your Montessori students as well. Previous NAMC blogs offer activity ideas for May Day (May 1), Cinco De Mayo and Kodomono-hi (May 5), and Mother’s Day (May 9 this year). The NAMC Lower Elementary Advanced Practical Life manual provides Spring Tea activities.

As much as possible, NAMC’s web blog reflects the Montessori curriculum as provided in its teacher training programs. We realize and respect that Montessori schools are unique and may vary their schedules and offerings in accordance with the needs of their individual communities. We hope that our readers will find our articles useful and inspiring as a contribution to the global Montessori community.
© North American Montessori Center - originally posted in its entirety at Montessori Teacher Training on Tuesday, April 20, 2010.