Childhood

Childhood from age 6 onwards becomes an age of reason, an age of mental activity. Primary children typically can be characterised by their questioning minds, their ability to abstract and imagine, their moral and social orientation and their unlimited energy for research and exploration. 

Many pre-primary materials are used again but now become known as geometry, geography, grammar and algebra. Primary children look for larger meanings, correspondences and classifications. They seek to attain an order and synthesis in the mental environment. They move from the concrete through their own efforts and discovery to the abstract - thus greatly expanding their field of knowledge. 

Through imagination children learn to co-ordinate this abstract movement of their mind. They take imaginative steps beyond what they have sensed and know. From a detail the whole is imagined, thus providing a context for understanding. 

The reasoning mind also extends to the moral field. The child begins to ask: "Who am I?" "What is my place in this wonderful universe?" "Why am I here?" "What is good and evil?" The child is fascinated with these questions, yet answers cannot be glimpsed from above, but must be divined from within.

Cosmic Education

How does one satisfy but not diminish the child's mind? How does one bring order to vast knowledge? How does one capitalise on the child's imaginative tendencies? How does one facilitate moral enquiry? &emdash; To meet these fundamental needs of the primary child Maria Montessori developed the concept of "Cosmic Education". 

"Since it has been ... necessary to give so much to the child, let us give him a vision of the whole universe. The universe is an imposing reality, and an answer to all questions.... All things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity. The idea helps the mind of the child to become focused, to stop wandering in an aimless quest for knowledge. He is satisfied having found the universal centre of himself with all things". (Maria Montessori, To Educate the Human Potential). 

Cosmic education presents the universe as operating to a predetermined plan where all life including humanity have a part to play. Cosmic Education allows children to develop a sense of awe and gratitude for the universe, their role in humanity and the work of people who came before them. Cosmic education begins with the story of the universe, through which the child see the interrelationship of all things. When the child is presented the story of the universe an overview a set of first principles is established which provides a context for the study of details. Studies are integrated and related to the whole. Different subjects are considered as interconnected, and are presented as such. For instance the history of Egypt is tied to the Nile, to geography, to art, to writing, to geometry - as in the 3-4-5 triangle used to survey following the floods - to flora and fauna and to papyrus, the writing paper used to record the history which was the point where we entered the chain.

Cosmic education provides an overview for all studies - subjects covered include mathematics, geometry, language, history, geography, biology, botany and science. Art, craft and music are also included in the program along with computers which the child uses for research and presentation. Excursions are organised to complement the program. "Going out" and "exploring" are integral to the Montessori Primary Program.

The Primary years are a great period of expansion, consolidation and intellectual growth. Having acquired a sound grasp of the basics in pre-school, children are now ready and willing to acquire culture and to discover the world and their place in it. Their thirst for knowledge is such that by age 12 they will have been introduced to many of the areas of study usually reserved for the secondary years.