Understanding cosmic education in Montessori is the key to unlocking your child’s true potential!
Cosmic education plays an important role in Montessori philosophy. It tells how different things are connected. It also shows education as purposeful, comprehensive, and holistic.
The philosophy of cosmic education is known to surround a person’s development within the context of the universe. It suggests humanity can improve the world through the cosmic task for future generations.
What is Cosmic Education?
Dr. Maria Montessori coined the philosophy of cosmic education, which shows the universe as a predetermined design. Children are supposed to be the center of this universe.
Cosmic education helps children to develop a sense of gratitude for the universe so they can learn from the work of people who came before them. This philosophy also helps children to use their questioning minds, imagination, and abstract reasoning to learn new concepts.
Interestingly, cosmic education covers all the subjects, including language, biography, botany, history, science, and geometry. During the stage of development, a child must step out of their familiar environment into different settings for better learning.
This science lesson also helps the parents of 6 to 9 years old children to understand how education helps in a person’s development. It also allows them to understand how everything is interconnected.
How does Cosmic Education Fit into Montessori?
Cosmic education perfectly fits into a Montessori classroom by creating a learning platform for children, so they understand their surroundings.
The first plane of development is for children from 0 to 6 years old. During this phase, children tend to be sensory explorers. They try to learn things to become functionally independent in their community and environment.
Through cosmic education and toys, these children are introduced to the natural world. They develop experiences with nature and sensorial learning materials. Through these experiences, children get an opportunity to enhance their senses and understand their world.
The second plane of development includes 6-12 years old children. During this phase, children learn about the repeating natural cycles in the world through cosmic education.
They also learn about how all living things are connected. Children are taught in a way so they can establish a connection between each substance, species, and particle.
Cosmic education Montessori is helpful because children get to learn how everything is connected in the bigger picture of the universe. Using this perspective, children can mentally organize new information without getting overwhelmed.
Along with cosmic education, children also get to develop many wonderful qualities through the 8 principles of development. In addition, Montessori education includes four planes of development.
What Activities are part of Cosmic Education During Childhood?
Children are powered by their development of the imagination, moral values, and reasoning. These characters can be supported at home during childhood by having a conversation with them.
Begin conversions with “what if” to support the child’s bright and imaginative mind. You can regularly explain and have discussions with children to help develop their reasoning minds. Try to talk about family morals, especially if they are confused about something.
Similarly, children can be given freedom from schedules, punishments, interference, and rewards in school.
Letting children work at their own pace is also an important part of cosmic education. With that, you can help the children to understand society’s struggles so they develop a desire to see themselves as a part of society.
The Montessori Great Lessons
Through The Montessori Great Lessons, a child’s imagination and curiosity can be awakened.
For proper development, a child must be excited about new ideas and inventiveness. Interestingly, each of the five lessons is explained to children through storytelling.
The educator uses multiple representations and demonstrations to make the lessons interesting.
The Five Great Lessons of Cosmic Education are:
- First Great Lesson- Coming of the Universe and Earth
- Second Great Lesson- Coming of Life
- Third Great Lesson- Coming of Human Beings
- Fourth Great Lesson- Communication in Signs
- Fifth Great Lesson- The Story of Number
A child can thoroughly understand the world’s origin through these five lessons. Every story is followed by the next lesson to make the lessons interesting.
Any new topic introduced in a year is referred to through these stories. It offers unity in different studies.
How Can I Support Cosmic Education at Home?
Here are some fun Montessori-aligned ways to support cosmic education at home:
Debate on a topic
Knowledge and wisdom are two different things. You can give your child a simple topic, “knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not adding it to a fruit salad,” to debate.
Your child can discuss with their friend where one can argue why a tomato should be a vegetable, and another can argue why it should be a fruit.
Learning and Imagination
You must allow your children to expand their imagination and learn through art. Let your child choose an animal and ask them to draw the selected animal but with a twist.
The twist is asking the children to draw the animals by interchanging their body parts with an object that does a similar function. For example, a bird’s wings can be interchanged with kites. Or the tortoise shell can be changed with armor.
Include Math Operations and Concepts in Biology
If you want your child to show interest in mathematics, you should try to include this subject in their everyday life in a fun way. Let your child compare the height of two dinosaurs. Or you can give them fun multiplication questions.
Make sure your child feels connected to the real object problems so they can learn faster and better.
Involve them in Geography
Does your child like globes, countries, and maps? If yes, you can increase their knowledge by involving them in flora and fauna of different places.
Conclusion
Cosmic education lessons are usually introduced at an early level in Montessori schools in the form of fun stories. These stories are referred through the year when a new topic is introduced. It’s a way to capture the child’s interest.
Besides school, children can also learn about cosmic education at home through fun activities and toys. You can start preparing your child for cosmic education during the first plane of development, from birth to age six. This preparation occurs by introducing the 8 principles of development.
During the second plane of development, cosmic education is introduced. Cosmic education helps our children to discover where they live and how they fit into the universe. It also develops a sense of purpose in our children that prepares them to become thoughtful, contributing members of society.
I hope this article has helped you understand the value of encouraging our children along the path of cosmic education.
