09 Aug Why Did I name my School “Peace Garden Montessori”?
E.M Standing, a renowned Montessorian wrote under the heading ‘Care of the Environment’, “We would include outdoor tasks such as digging, planting, weeding, watering, sweeping up leaves, and so forth. It is important to notice, in passing, that these real, not make believe activities and that they are carried out in a real and not make believe environment.” Montessori, Her Life and Work
And it is so, that the importance of the outdoor garden teaches the children so many Daily Life skills for Dr. Montessori says, “That when children are in contact with nature they reveal their strength.”
The garden is also a connection to implement what they are learning in the class whether that be in math, science, or writing to reality, where the children are able to observe, touch and make connections with the nature around them.
A peace garden will teach the child the interconnectedness of nature and that there is a rhythm and flow with everything in life. Just by planting a seed a child learns to work together for the love of nature with their friends. As a plant grows, they observe the different elements that assist in the growth of the plant. They can learn about which plants thrive in shade and which in sunlight so as to care for the needs of nature. Some plants attract butterflies and this will pique an interest in them to learn about life cycles of insects and animals. As a plant or flower flourishes a child realizes the importance of bees and this will strike another epiphany. The possibilities of learning are endless here. My love for gardening is a gift I offer to my future pupils. The most important gift that a Peace Garden extends to a child is the feeling and sensitivity towards the harmony of the ecological world, the symbiosis in nature, and how the child fits as a part of this whole.
Peace Garden symbolizes the beauty of a child in the process of their own growth. Unlike adults, a child is a do-er and does things for the sheer enjoyment of doing it. They are anything but interested in the end result. A gardener in comparison also relishes in toiling and growing and the keen awareness towards nurturing and loving what is in front of them. The result of the full grown plant is the sigh of satisfaction that the hard work and connection brought forth results! Thus the relationship between the child and the garden lies deep within the roots.
“The most pleasant work for children is not sowing but reaping, a work, we all know, that is no less exacting than the former. It may even be said that it is the harvest which intensifies an interest in sowing. The more one has reaped, the more he experiences the secret fascination of sowing.” – Maria Montessori