Summer Solstice – More Montessori Activity Ideas for the Classroom

June 21 is the Summer Solstice, and a great time to celebrate the season with creative Montessori activities encompassing history, geography, astronomy, and the arts. Last year, we gave you some information and ideas in Summer Solstice the Montessori Way.

Here are some further ideas to spark the imagination of your Montessori students!

Summer Solstice – More Montessori Activity Ideas for the Classroom

• As a class, write a play that explains the summer solstice. You could personify the sun and earth to create characters or create a metaphorical tale. Perform the play for parents and other Montessori classrooms.
• Start an annual tradition of a summer solstice festival (or attend one as a class that already exists in your area). You could include nearly any of the other listed activities as part of your festival.
• Working in pairs or small groups, challenge your Montessori students to create a model and demonstration (using only supplies in the Montessori classroom and/or available on campus) to explain the science behind the solstice. Discuss the similarities and differences behind each other’s presentations.
• Create a “quiz show” game with questions about the summer solstice. With older students, ask them to create the game.
• Help your students research what summer solstice has meant to different groups of humans in different parts of the world at different times in history. How did these humans celebrate the summer solstice? Are any of their activities something you would like to do as a Montessori class?

Books

• The Summer Solstice, by Ellen Jackson and Jan Davey Ellis
• Under Alaska's Midnight Sun, by Deb Vanasse and Jeremiah Trammell
• Celebrating the Great Mother: A Handbook of Earth-Honoring Activities for Parents and Children, by Cait Johnson and Maura D. Shaw
• In Nature's Honor: Myths and Rituals Celebrating the Earth, by Patricia Montley

Resources

• Scholastic - The Summer Solstice
• National Geographic – Xpeditions
• BBC – Science & Nature: Space
• Astronomical explanation of the summer solstice
• Astronomical Applications Department
• Family Education - Summer
• Summer Solstice for Kids

More Montessori curriculum resources: NAMC's 6-9 manuals - Matter and Astronomy: Supernovas, stars, asteroids, meteors, satellites and galaxies! Students discover the wonder and power of a tiny atom, and all its potential. This comprehensive curriculum provides plenty of activities to explore the mysteries of the universe, to discover many answers to why and how things exist and behave, and to seek further answers to questions that inevitably arise - see sample pages from manual.

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 Thursday, June 17, 2010.