Montessori Foundation Activities - The Silence Game

When I was a young girl, my sister and I, being typical siblings, would sing, play and ‘fight’ in the car. I can remember when my mother was feeling frustrated, she would ask “Who wants to play ‘Giraffe?’”. The object of the game was to see who could act like a giraffe the longest. Since giraffes are fairly silent creatures, the time we spent trying to see who could remain quietest the longest was a welcome reprieve to the adults in the car.

In the Montessori Classroom, the Silence Game is played to help children develop not only a higher level of self-discipline, but to acclimatize children to the world around them. Many adults and children take for granted the sounds around them. And in our fast paced world, few of us stop to “smell the roses” let alone take the time to quietly listen and reflect.