Some years ago, when returning from work in Morocco, it was wonderful to be able to share some of what I had learned with children in a Montessori school here at home. I hope you enjoy it and perhaps share it with your own children and students.
Above is a picture of my daughter Ursula during the Morocco presentation shared with her two children and other students at Childpeace Montessori School in Portland, Oregon. I had been working at a Montessori school in Casablanca, and then traveling through Morocco with my hostess and her family. My grandson’s Montessori teacher in Oregon teacher asked if I would share some of this experience with the children as I would be stopping in Portland, Oregon on the way back to California. So I prepared a “Moroccan” experience based on the study of the physical needs of humans.
The Morocco Experience
The children entered the dark room (there were no windows in this room so it was perfect), light provided by candles, listening to the soft music of the oud and other instruments typical of the Middle East. They walked around the Moroccan Berber carpet and other items, such as a silver-colored tray and pot for making mint tea. Then they quietly gathered to see the Powerpoint pictures. They asked good questions that contributed to an understanding of the pictures, and even learned some Arabic words, such as the correct pronunciation of the country, “Morroc” (Morocco ). As they left the room each child was handed a mint leaf to taste, a typical herb for the most popular tea in Morocco, and said, “shokran” (the Arabic word for “Thank you”).
From the primary, age 3-6, Montessori curriculum
In the Montessori class children learn from an early age that humans have much in common. This is made clear through the study of the basic physical needs for food, shelter, clothing, and transportation, and given examples of how these needs are met differently in different parts of the earth because of the environment. This is not just an academic study, but instead children explore by meeting their own physical needs: creating and serving food, caring for the environment, caring for their own shoes and clothing, and sometimes even cleaning vehicles such as a tricycle or family car, and helping others in this work. There are folders with collections of pictures from around the world that show clothing, transportation, homes, and food in various climate zones such as cold areas near the North Pole, deserts, tropical areas, and so forth.
Here is a quote from the book The Red Corolla, Montessori Cosmic Education for Age 3-6+ which presents many of the cultural lessons for children at this age. From the chapter, “The World of Geography and History.”
There are several direct aims of the geography and history part of the child’s Montessori experience: to foster an interest in the physical environment of the world, to foster an interest in other people and other cultures, to foster an interest in events going on around us, and to begin to understand the fact that time passes and things change. We always keep in mind the fact that one rarely destroys what one loves, and the introduction of the world in this way prepares for a future where our planet and all kinds of people are understood and respected and loved.
Cultural geography at this age introduces the idea that humans eat, dress, build their homes, and travel, as a result of the climate where they live. The child first experiences these things in his own home and in homes he visits, and with the clothing, the food, the transportation of his own family and friends. He is interested in facts and learning names or parts of the home, objects in the home, vehicles, clothing, and food. This naturally expands to include what other people in the world eat today, what they wear, how they travel and what their homes are like.
CLICK: The Red Corolla, Montessori Cosmic Education for Age 3-6+ (A workshop in a book)
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The Experience, children and staff
Because children from 3-6 years of age are in the motor/sensorial period of development (learning through movement and senses) I kept this in mind when preparing a presentation while I was still in Morocco. Throughout our time together the Portland school children were free to move and touch. Here are examples of experiencing through their senses.
Sight – pictures of the PowerPoint, candles, the puzzle map of Africa with the Morocco piece laid out next to the puzzle map of Morocco, my own Moroccan clothing and jewelry on display, everything laid out on the large Berber rug that was a gift to me
Touch – touching the clothing fabric, the carpet, all of the objects—and the mint leaves shared as the children silently and slowly left the dark room with the music still playing
Taste – the mint leaves as they quietly left the room at the end
Sound – the recorded music of Moroccan instruments playing on the computer
Smell – the candles and the mint
Here are a few pictures from the presentation
PREPARING TO EAT – the traditional way of washing hands before a meal, one person pouring water as the other washes his hands
THE MEAL – taken on the floor, delicious food scooped up by pieces of large, flat loaves. Everything is shared by the family or group. Here we were guests at a madrasa (school) way out in the countryside.
CLOTHING – The lovely colored djellabas women wear are seen all over the country. They provide beautiful protection for the hot sun.
TRANSPORTATION – A man transporting goods to market on a donkey, the picture taken from the car as we crossed the Atlas Mountains. The ensuing discussion revealed the fact that traditional means of transportation might be a quiet gift of silence that the children were enjoying today. Montessori tells us that children love silence (when it arises spontaneously, not when it is forced from outside). This was a good example.
HOMES – A typical Berber cave home like this offers necessary protection from the hot sun in this area of the world.
There were many more pictures, and a magical feeling in the air as the candle glowed, its aroma pleasant, and the music providing the authentic cultural background—bringing a sensorial experience of a country far from the USA into a classroom in the United States. This experience, shared by adults and children, beautifully made the point that all humans have the same needs. They are just met differently.
I really loved teaching children and miss it. This was an experience I will not forget.
Blessings,
Susan
Home page,CLICK: Susan
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Thanks so much for sharing this cultural presentation. I’m sure it gave the young children a lasting impression.