Technology and culture has allowed us to become specialists, living beyond our independent means, we

rely on others for the fulfilment of our physical, emotional and spiritual needs, from pilgrimage to
industrialised farming our culture is all around us and sustains us.

Any baby is attached through the ‘link of love’ to learn the totality of her own culture that is language,
norms, preferences, movements, ethical codes and spiritual inclinations, which her generation will refine
further. The meanings of culture can only really be understood by those who made them, and whose
needs are fulfilled by it and only through contact with other cultures do we recognise that our own
culture is neither inevitable or universal.

Culture is transmitted an sustained by children, it is the stuff of daily life, cooking, self-care, social
relations, varying by region, nationality, religion, household and sub-group. To live in harmony the
individual submits herself to her groups rules and priorities, while contributing her individual
achievements helps to drive forward her culture. Montessori Education aims to serve mankind, lovingly
and scientifically to develop according to natural and cultural laws.

To develop and adapt herself she needs to be exposed to and explore every aspect of human culture;
that is everything in human life, all excellence and all experience, in an integrated fashion. She uses
culture as raw material to develop her psyche by assimilating her culture as her needs arise at the right
time, for the right purpose and at the right pace and will do so with joy and ease. In informing the child
Montessori uses the senses and movement, her terms were ‘Psychogeometry’ and Psychcomathematics’,
to help the child find her niece in her place, time and culture. The Children’s House gives the child
sufficient Provision, Stimulation and Protection to allow the child to be in touch with reality. She comes
to know about the subjects of Language, Mathematics, ‘The World of Plants’ ( Botany), ‘The World of
Animals’ (Zoology), ‘The world of Man’ (Anthropology and History), The Visual Arts, Music and ‘The
World Itself’ (Human and Physical Geography), ‘The Exercises of Practical Life and the Sensorial Activities
are an introduction to Science, in that they show material properties such as the volume of water and
the colour spectrum. These ‘subjects’ are not taught in isolation, but holistically, linked together, from
the largest level to the smallest detail,

‘When you find a great treasure place it at the feet of a child for her to preserve’ (Montessori). The child
needs to be given knowledge and competency to use human capital in conjunction with freedom to
choose materials, explore them and re-explore them according to her Sensitive Periods, with her refined
senses in a context which is ordered sufficiently for her to act independently. Being given this her traits
and will strengths, her knowledge develops and he ‘link of love;’ becomes ever more secure. These
cultural experiences are taken in as seeds to germinate and re-appear with strong roots at the
Elementary Level, where her critical thinking, questioning and decision making skills will be primed to
respond to these subjects.

Three Pillars

In the Children’s House the child responds to the Cultural Materials in these areas
Exercises of Practical Life – exposure to handling with careful movement, adapting to culture, working
with independence and concentration

Sensorial – capacity to receive sensorial stimulus and classify it intelligently by making abstractions,
handling vast concepts and reigniting her initial love for the beauty of the world

Language

Purpose of Culture

Cultural items as ‘Keys’ to further exploration of the real world

To build a positive attitude towards cultural items, to appreciate and understand them

To stimulate curiosity to make connections between items shown and the ‘real world’

To further develop observation and exploration with a Scientific mind

The chi

Purpose of Culture

Cultural items as ‘Keys’ to further exploration of the real world

To build a positive attitude towards cultural items, to appreciate and understand them

To stimulate curiosity to make connections between items shown and the ‘real world’

To further develop observation and exploration with a Scientific mind

The child is encouraged to initiate her own work and develop herself in response to the ‘Keys’ given

Culture should be revealed to the child with the following considerations

Objects must stimulate activity

Te simplest form of the whole is presented first, to stimulate interest

The while is analysed into it’s parts, with one part presented at a time and the links to the parts made
clear

The child’s knowledge is stored in a chaotic way, showing the whole gives the opportunity for
examination and reclassification of old impressions and a refined way to sort new ones

The child’s intelligence is sensorial and kinaesthetic, an activity which allows for repression allows the
child to incarnate aspects of culture into her identity

The ideas taken in during the First Plane become points of interest to be developed during the Second
Plane
Provisions

The Prepared Environment stimulates interest in all the world

Suitable materials for each area which the child can manipulate, starting simply and gradually getting
more detailed

The activities relative to The Exercises of Practical Life, e.g. ‘How to clean a map’, ‘How to look after a
musical instrument’

Sensorial “Keys’ for activities are used so that a child knows enough to pursue her own interests
independently, whatever area she chooses is valid and it is the Directress’s response to respond to her
questions fully

Language is needed to let the child communicate, it is given through books, cards, leaflets, writing
samples

The child also produces craft, artwork and creative writing

The materials should go from concrete to abstract. The activities are given according to the child’s
capacity, beginning with the Exercises of Practical Life, then the Sensorial basis, followed by creative
expression of experiences in art, creative writing and craft.

To understand the ‘real world’ materials are given from;

‘The World Itself’ (Human and Physical Geography)

‘The World of Plants’ ( Botany)

‘The World of Animals’ (Zoology)

‘The World of Man’ (Anthropology and History)

‘The World of Science’ (Physics)

The Visual Arts

Music

Each area has it’s own Nomenclature Cards.

The child has the opportunity to be creative, within each area. The Exercises of Practical Life give her the
necessary skills and techniques to carry out the exercise with physical independence, the use of tools
and mentally to concentrate, the Sensorial stage gave her “Keys” with which to analyse her now refined
sensorial experiences and both have strengthened her Horme.
She processes her experience through meaningful language activities, expressing herself creatively
through speech and writing and art and craft and reads the thoughts of others and experiences their
arts.

The materials must be kept orderly in good condition, in complete sets and will need to be continually
developed.

The World Itself

The activities here help sew the seeds of interest in natural landforms, giving an awareness of the way
we and others live is especially important in our globalised society. Firstly the child discovers that the
globe is covered in land and water,, is spherical in shape and is sensorially shown and encouraged to
recognise different features of land and water; at the global, continental and lastly national level. The
napes of the continents and countries are given in the three period lesson.

The World of Plants

The child’s attention is brought to plants initially through looking after plants in the Children’s House
through the Exercises of Practical Life – Care of the Environment, her attention is brought to the beauty
of plants, indoors and outdoors and to the Grace and Courtesy of caring for and maintaining shared re

The World of Plants

The child’s attention is brought to plants initially through looking after plants in the Children’s House
through the Exercises of Practical Life – Care of the Environment, her attention is brought to the beauty
of plants, indoors and outdoors and to the Grace and Courtesy of caring for and maintaining shared
resources. The child is informed about agriculture and industrialisation which links the World of Plants
with that of Man e.g. hybrid seeds and using manure

The World of Animals

The child gains experience of handling and caring for other animals, learning their classification, using
Nomenclature Cards for species and anatomy. The child is made aware of human responsibility towards
domestic animals and to care for the environment of wild animals, and that the needs of animals matter.

The World of Man

Here the child’s interest is focused by comparing the Human Environment which she knows with that of
the past, using the Events Chart and Chronology she finds her niece in history and can see that the
present is a culmination of the past using the Timeline which marks significant dates. The child realises
that she has a history and develops a feel for the concept that some events are recent and some are in
the distant past.

The World of Science

Natural Laws of Physics are explored and analysed by the child who conducts experiments and reads
pertinent books. After sensorially discovering the facts of temperature, pitch, dimension, the colour
spectrum, weight, the Decimal system, Algebra etc. the details of these impressions will be explicitly
studied at the Elementary Level

The World of Science

Natural Laws of Physics are explored and analysed by the child who conducts experiments and reads
pertinent books. After sensorially discovering the facts of temperature, pitch, dimension, the colour
spectrum, weight, the Decimal system, Algebra etc. the details of these impressions will be explicitly
studied at the Elementary Level

Music and the Visual Arts

As a human being one needs to understand and appreciate basic forms of local art and music, this helps
the child to adapt to their society and also to experience different forms of music and art through time
and across the globe. Music, Dance, Painting and Drawing are both forms of communication and
aesthetic disciplines

The World of Geometry

Geometry is a Scientific Branch of Mathematics, which studies abstract entities and the relationship
between them.

“Culture” as it is used here covers all aspects of the man-made world and our anthropological
experiences of it. To fully engage with the ‘real world’ the child needs to be offered ‘psychical nutrition’
at the right time ad in a manner she can absorb. Therefore purposeful, sensorial activities are offered to
her to help her total human development while acknowledging her past achievements and current
needs.