Jannat Qamar

Roll No: D 14015

Assignment Module 11

TOPIC: Introduction to Cosmic & Peace Education

Submitted To: MS. Roshni Naz

MS. Humaira

Submitted By: Jannat Qamar

Roll No: D-14015

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QUESTION NO: 01
Write a note on Montessori Cosmic Education and how it can be introduced during the early
childhood years.
ANSWER.

An Introduction to Cosmic Education

Cosmic Education is a cornerstone of the Montessori Philosophy. At its core, Cosmic Education tells the
story of the interconnectedness of all things. It describes the role of education as comprehensive, holistic and
purposeful; to encompass the development of the whole person within the context of the universe. It also
introduces the possibility that humanity might have a “cosmic task”, to better the world for future
generations.

Doctor Maria Montessori believed that Cosmic Education was vital to early education because it provides
children with a framework to understand their world and their place within it. Children learn to respect
studies of the past, develop an understanding of ethics, and value the contributions of others. In this way,
Cosmic Education teaches children to become aware of the interdependence of all things, and develop a
sense of gratitude that comes from that awareness.

Within the Montessori classroom, Cosmic Education forms a platform for teaching children to understand
and adapt to their environment. In the first plane of development (0-6), Cosmic Education introduces the
child to the natural world through experiences with nature and the sensorial learning materials. These
experiences teach children to refine their senses, and thus the way they process and understand their world.
These skills aid the child’s development, and confidence with themselves, their society, and their world as a
whole.

In the second plane of development (6-12), Cosmic Education introduces the child to the repeating natural
cycles in our world, the fundamental needs that all humans share, and the connectedness of all living things.
In the elementary years, children begin to draw connections between how each particle, substance, species,
and event has a purpose in the development of all others. These “Great Lessons of Cosmic Education” are
taught as a whole curriculum to show children how all content areas, such as the study of history, culture,
science and the environment, are all interconnected.

Doctor Maria Montessori believed that children who received a Cosmic Education in childhood were better
prepared to enter adolescence as independent, socially responsible, and emotionally intelligent individuals.
This is because Cosmic Education launches children into the world with a practiced understanding of who
they are as individuals, as members of the human race, and as citizens of the universe. It also provides
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children with a deep understanding of their moral responsibility to address global issues that affect
humankind and the environment. In Montessori, every moment is an opportunity to understand the integrity
of the universe.

Why is Cosmic Education important today?

Doctor Maria Montessori believed that the world was a purposeful place; and that war, poverty and injustice,
were deviations from that purpose. She believed that Cosmic Education was a way to restore harmony and
order, and thus allow humankind to realize their true potential. In the twenty-first century, global awareness,
peaceful communication, and ethical cooperation are integral to resolving global disputes. By providing
children with a Cosmic Education, Montessori empowers students with the knowledge to transform the
world. As Doctor Maria Montessori states:

“The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.”

COSMIC EDUCATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD (3-6 YEARS OLD)

Most children 3–6 years old are very much absorbed in experiencing their immediate environment. These
children feel close to and connected with the natural world. To lay the groundwork for cosmic education, it
is enough for teachers to ensure that children experience nature as much as possible and retain their
connection with the natural world. It is important for teachers to realize that in experiencing the natural
world, the children are the teachers. Any three-year old lying in the grass will see much more than a teacher
will! The teacher’s role is to not interfere with this experience, but allow it to happen.

To help the children retain their connection to nature and to appeal to their developing senses, the
Montessori equipment, materials, and activities involve as much as possible natural materials such as plants,
wood, water, and sand. When teachers and children are working with these and other materials, teachers can
link the materials to their origins. For example, the Montessori Thermic Tablets, which are made of stone,
wood, steel, and fabric, can be described as coming from different kinds of matter produced by the earth.
Teachers can also discuss with the children what materials can be recycled, where the materials came from,
and how the materials were made, linking the materials in the classroom with their origins in the world. At
the same time, teachers can indicate the role of human beings in the collection and production of the
materials. Even simple objects can provide rich material for cosmic education. Examining and discussing a
simple block of cedar wood, for example, could guide the children to making many different connections.

In this way, each activity and material can be linked to the world beyond the classroom:
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By touching, lifting, and smelling the wood, children can assess in a general way how heavy it is and
whether it is hard or soft wood.

By imagining what tree the wood came from, the children can think about where the tree grew, and in what
part of the world.

By talking about how the wood came to be a block, children can think about what tool might have made the
shape, where the block might have been made and by whom, where it might have been purchased and for
what purposes.

Teachers can connect many activities in the classroom to the natural cycles of the world. For example, while
helping the children cook eggs for a snack, a teacher could discuss with the children where chicken eggs
come from. After eating together, the teacher could invite the children to dry the eggshells, and then grind
them up to make fertilizer for the garden. The teacher could explain that the chickens needed nutrients from
the earth to make the eggs and that the children are now returning the nutrients to the earth. An activity like
this incorporates practical life skills, the simple human pleasures of eating whole foods together,
consciousness of the food chain, and the recycling of what is not consumed.

Introducing topics in a gentle, unobtrusive manner, teachers can initiate conversations with children in many
situations, such as walking in the schoolyard, planting a garden, or just lying on the grass. Teaching within a
cosmic perspective means seeing each moment of the present as an extension of the past and a prelude to the
future, and the entire universe, both natural and manufactured, as existing in the present as a coherent,
functioning, unified system.

Children 3–6 are almost always open to being outdoors. This makes it easier for teachers to support the
children’s sense of connection to nature in a direct, physical way. For example, a teacher might invite a few
children to take a short walk outside on a bright spring day, and then share a simple snack of fresh bread.
The teacher could initiate a story like the one below about the bread and all its connections with the world,
inserting many pauses and encouraging the children to contribute details. The point is for the teacher not to
make the situation into a fact-based cultural geography lesson, but to help the children link where they are
and what they are doing and experiencing to other people and places in the world.

Here is an example of dialogue from the teacher’s point of view:

Look at this bread! Isn’t it beautiful? Won’t it taste good for our snack?

Where does this bread come from?

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Further back than the bread basket in the school, further back than the store where the teachers bought it,
where does this bread come from?

So that we can have this bread today, last spring a farmer planted some tiny wheat kernels in a big brown
field. In the field, under the soft brown earth, the tiny kernels would receive spring rains and warm spring
sun, and the tiny kernels would start to grow into tiny plants.

Feel how warm the sun is on our faces today. The sun feels warmer every day now that it is spring. The tiny
kernels planted by the farmer would need lots of warm weather like this to grow.

Just like people, plants need water to grow. Put your fingers into the soil in the garden. Does it feel damp
enough for little wheat plants? We know that the little wheat plants would need lots more rain over the
spring and summer to grow into big plants. At the end of the summer, the wheat plants will have grown big.
They will be tall and golden yellow, and they will wave in the wind. How much would the wheat plants
wave in a wind like we have today?

After the summer, before the weather turns cold and rainy again, the farmer will take the wheat from the
field. While you are watching leaves turn color in the fall, the farmer will take the wheat to a big, noisy mill.
There the wheat will be ground between huge stones into soft, soft flour.

The millers will sell the flour to bakeries, and the bakers will use their hot ovens to make the flour into bread
and wrap it into loaves. Stores will put the loaves on shelves. Teachers will buy the bread, and children will
eat it outside on a bright spring day!

Smell the bread in your hand. Doesn’t it smell good? It reminds me of that bright spring day last year when
that farmer planted those tiny wheat kernels... Other focused activities can also be conducted outdoors. Each
activity presents opportunities to experience the connectedness of life.

For example, if the school has an outdoor area that can support even a small garden, activities might
include:

Planning a garden, then working together to build it.

Ordering or purchasing seeds or plants.

Growing bedding plants.

Planting flowers and vegetables.

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Arranging a schedule and assigning responsibility for tending and watering the garden.

Building systems for collecting rainwater to water the garden.

Picnicking on the vegetables from the garden, then recycling the leftovers by composting.

Picking a flower and placing it in a vase for a special school occasion.

Having a garden serves as an excellent real-life analogy teachers can use to explain how all living things
work together. Teachers and children can talk about how worms aerate the soil for the plants while the
decaying plants provide food for the worms. This sort of example helps the children realize how they too can
work together to accomplish mutual goals. Some schools hold outdoor events that celebrate a season of the
year.

Teachers and children can work together to include simple activities that involve the senses:

Creating a dance that mimics the unfolding of the season, choosing music that conveys the sounds and
changes of the season.

Designing a walkway that passes by several “smell” features of the season, such as in the spring a flowering
cherry tree, a fragrant hyacinth, and composted earth.

Designing a walkway that shows several examples of seasonal wildlife, such as in the fall an abandoned bird
nest, a tiny hole burrowed at the base of a tree, and a garden plant nibbled by a squirrel.

Preparing and eating a simple, local seasonal food (e.g., carrots in the fall, dried apples in the winter, and
eggs in the spring) and talking about how it came to be.

Sitting in silence and just experiencing the sounds, smells, and sights of the season.

Socially, most young children prefer to work on their own or just alongside others. Teachers can enhance
relationships between children by helping them interact socially through cooperative, rather than competitive
activities. Always giving the children the opportunity to choose what they are ready for, teachers can also
gently encourage children to work together occasionally on projects that require more than one person to
complete, such as making a poster or acting out a play. Teachers can also invite older children to read to
younger children or teach certain practical life skills.
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QUESTION NO: 02
Discuss Montessori Peace Program and its importance.

ANSWER.

An Introduction to Montessori peace program

"Averting war is the work of politicians; establishing peace is the work of education." Maria
Montessori.

To commit to the creation of a peaceful world is an exercise in requiring a broad perspective

and bottomless determination. The central message of cosmic education- that the universe is a unified whole
of interrelationships and interdependence– suggests that the creation of peace requires effort in all spheres of
life. Relationships between individuals, communities, cultures, and the environment must all be put on a
peaceful path in order to transcend the arguments, civil strife, war, and environmental degradation that
currently characterize so much of modern life. To help students realize the power and responsibilities of
each person, the Montessori curriculum stresses the integrity of all of life. Through their studies, students
see that individuals, communities, and nations have changed the world before and will again, but it is only
when the spirit of peace pervades their efforts that the results are for the better. One of the major goals of
cosmic education is that seeking peace is the task chosen by Montessori students as they take their places in
society.

Students need to learn, practice, and develop skills in order to put that approach into action. A
Montessori education seeks to teach students, through daily activities in the classroom, the skills to become
peacemakers, people committed to working toward peace, understanding, and non-violent ways of reducing
or resolving conflict. Giving students opportunities to see their own abilities develop is the surest way to
make students confident that they can make a difference in the world. As teachers, everyone places an
important role in inspiring students and modeling peace behaviors that the students need to learn.

The essentials for peace education are inherent in every level of the Montessori curriculum.

Ages 3-6: Continent and Peoples of the World studies provide a global view of life and humanity’s part in it.

Ages 6-12: This is the age of reasoning, abstract thinking, and an imaginative state of mind. Students
continue their study of Peoples of the World, learning about the Fundamental Needs of Humans. They learn
that the fulfillment of these needs varies by not only historical time periods but also by geographic location.
With emphasis placed on the family of humankind and the interrelationship of all life, Montessori students
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begin to realize that they are not separate from the rest of the world, but are an integral part of creating a
harmonious world.

Montessori believed education was the most powerful and universal way through which to
reconstruct society; a way to transition from war to peace. Therefore, it is necessary to think of education as
peace, not education for peace. While the curriculum teaches about peace, it cannot by itself result in peace.
As Montessori teachers, we realize that it is not enough to simply talk about peace. We must create an
environment that will promote the development of peaceful individuals. We cannot create this peaceful
environment if we ourselves are interacting negatively or competitively with others.

Children easily pick up on hypocrisy around them. The old adage “do as I say, not as I do” no
longer is acceptable. It is necessary for Montessori teachers to look inward and take note of their own beliefs
and values. If we teach peace in our classroom, we must strive for peace in our lives, in our home, and in our
workplace. We are the models of peace. We are teaching and nourishing the peace keepers of the future.

As the Montessori teacher sets the framework for the understanding that all living creatures are
important and interconnected, the next step is to encourage in each child the skill and ability to become the
peacemaker.

The Montessori Peace Place: An Important Part of the Classroom

This yearlong series looks at the experiences of teachers, parents, students, and Montessori education
itself, as we follow a student through his first year at a Montessori Preschool. The Montessori Insights
and Reflections of a Preschool Student’s First Year is a collection of useful stories, tips, and information
that has arisen from one real student's Montessori journey, viewed through the eyes of his Montessori
Teacher, Bree Von Nes.

The Peace Place

Dr. Montessori recognized children as the redeeming factor in the evolution of humankind. The Peace
Place is a designated space in the environment where children can go to take a moment, calm themselves and
work out a problem in a peaceful way.

Our Montessori classroom is small so it has been a challenge to find the perfect spot for the Peace
Place, however, I am happy to say that I did! The table I chose is away from the busy work area and right by
a big window. The table is just the right size; there are two chairs and on the Peace Table I have placed a
beautiful vase with a single rose.

The Montessori Peace Place: An Important Part of the Classroom

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The first year I decided to create a Peace Place in the Montessori preschool classroom was about 10 years
ago, and I was full of doubt as to how it would be received by my students. The Peace Table itself was
beautiful; in fact we had an entire Peace Corner with a Japanese garden, a table water fountain, a basket of
beautiful river rocks, a chime, and of course, our Peace Rose! The Montessori preschool classroom then was
twice the size of the classroom that I am currently teaching in, so it was easy to allocate an entire corner to
our Peace Place.

For the first couple of months, I wondered if the Peace Table was a success, as it was taking a great deal of
adult mediation to ensure the appropriate language was being used and to ensure the conflict was being
peacefully resolved.

Then one day in early spring of that year, one of my five-year-old students, Cassia approached her friend,
Emma and said, “Would you please join me at the Peace Table?” The two girls sat down together and I
simply stood back and observed the magic unfold. The girls passed the Peace Rose back and forth and
Cassia expressed that she was feeling sad because Emma was working with another classmate instead of her.

After much discussion, they decided to find an activity that all of them could do together. The girls felt so
proud to have resolved the issue and all three students sat at the snack table together, tidied up and then each
created a flag to take home. It was amazing to observe these young Montessori students solve their issue
honestly and fairly and it is amazing how the Montessori Peace Table can help to maintain a harmonious and
cooperative atmosphere in the Montessori community.

QUESTION NO: 03

Write a comprehensive note on Montessori peace flower model and its constituent four petals.

The Peace Flower- The Four States of Peace Awareness:

There are, in fact, many forms and layers of peace. To think about what peace is and how it can
be practiced means analyzing possibilities for its application. The Peace Flower diagram provides a simple,
concrete framework upon which Montessori teachers and parents can focus on.

There are, in fact, many forms and layers of peace. To think about what peace is and how it can be
practiced means analyzing possibilities for its application. The Peace Flower diagram provides a simple,
concrete framework upon which Montessori teachers and parents can focus on.
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Self-Awareness:

Someone that is aware of how he/she is thinking, feeling, and behaving. It means being
mindful about thoughts, words, and actions.

Community Awareness

Someone is aware of other people in the community and the nature of relationships she/he has with
people, especially people with whom the person interacts every day. Community radiates out from each
individual to include family, other students, teachers, school staff, shopkeepers, bus drivers, etc.

Environmental Awareness

Someone is aware of what the earth needs to stay healthy and how individuals, communities, and
cultures treat the earth.

Cultural Awareness

An awareness and appreciation of the differences in people’s attitudes, beliefs, practices, customs, and
social behavior.

In the primary classroom, we will spend a significant amount of time on the first petal of Self
Awareness. We want to help identify and name all of the various feelings the child will have, and help them
know that all feelings are okay. Continuing to move outward, we want to show them what appropriate
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actions they can do with these feelings. We then want the child to begin to contemplate and meditate upon
their actions before they are performed.

While concentrating on the first petal of self-awareness, our overall goal is to help the child move
from a less egocentric state to one of community, environmental, and ultimately cultural awareness.

QUESTION NO: 04
Prepare the any two of the following peace crafts and send to your tutor along with the
assignment.

 Origami Peace Crane

 Peace Door Hanger
 Peace Band

ORIGAMI PEACE CRANE

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DOOR HANGER

QUESTION NO: 05
Explain the following activities briefly in your own words:

 Introducing the Peace Flower

 Creating a Peace Place
 Something Good I have Done
 Practicing Conflict Resolution
 Saving Water

Introducing the peace flower:

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The Peace Flower- The Four States of Peace Awareness:

There are, in fact, many forms and layers of peace. To think about what peace is and how it can be
practiced means analyzing possibilities for its application. The Peace Flower diagram provides a simple,
concrete framework upon which Montessori teachers and parents can focus on.

There are, in fact, many forms and layers of peace. To think about what peace is and how it can be
practiced means analyzing possibilities for its application. The Peace Flower diagram provides a simple,
concrete framework upon which Montessori teachers and parents can focus on.

Self Awareness- Someone that is aware of how he/she is thinking, feeling, and behaving. It means being
mindful about thoughts, words, and actions.

Community Awareness- Someone is aware of other people in the community and the nature of relationships
she/he has with people, especially people with whom the person interacts every day. Community radiates
out from each individual to include family, other students, teachers, school staff, shopkeepers, bus drivers,
etc.

Environmental Awareness- someone is aware of what the earth needs to stay healthy and how individuals,
communities, and cultures treat the earth.

Cultural Awareness- An awareness and appreciation of the differences in people’s attitudes, beliefs,
practices, customs, and social behavior.

In the primary classroom, we will spend a significant amount of time on the first petal of Self
Awareness. We want to help identify and name all of the various feelings the child will have, and help them
know that all feelings are okay. Continuing to move outward, we want to show them what appropriate
actions they can do with these feelings. We then want the child to begin to contemplate and meditate upon
their actions before they are performed.

While concentrating on the first petal of self-awareness, our overall goal is to help the child move from a less
egocentric state to one of community, environmental, and ultimately cultural awareness.

Creating a peace place:

“Find a time and place of solitude.

Look into the distance and into the future.

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Visualize the tomorrow you are going to build;

And begin to build that tomorrow, today.”

Jonathan Lockwood Huie

As part of our Peace Curriculum that is incorporated into our monthly studies at MCS, this month
each of the classes is engaged in a study of creating space for Peace as we prepare to celebrate International
Peace Day on September 21st and in honor of Maria Montessori’s extensive work in the field of Peace
Education. Studies show that a preventative curriculum that promotes communication, community and self-
advocacy is more effective than a punishing approach to bullying in schools. Ours is a program that we
expect will follow our students far beyond their structured educational experience. We hope for and assist
children in the development of skills of peaceful conflict resolution, gaining respect for peers and
incorporating communal advocacy, taking in to account the needs of a community and how one’s behavior
affects another, and establishing a lifetime of self-advocacy, self-love and self-respect.

Averting war is the work of politicians; establishing peace is the work of educators. ~Maria Montessori

Peace is a work rooted deeply in the approach in Montessori schools across the world and Maria Montessori
was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on three different occasions as her passion for Peace Education led
her to spread its good word in various countries. Her legacy lives on as she is now widely recognized as an
advocate for peace and her educational philosophy is practiced throughout the world.

“Peace is a goal that can only be attained through common accord, and the means to achieve this unity for
peace are twofold: first, an immediate effort to resolve conflicts without recourse to violence—in other
words, to prevent war—and second, a long-term effort to establish a lasting peace among men” (Education
and Peace, Montessori, 1949, p. 27).

Montessori education addresses Peace in a variety of ways, encouraging children to first develop inner
peace. At its most basic level the Montessori method does this by honoring the individual interests, passions
and ability of each child, giving children space to develop confidence with making mistakes as they explore
and the courage to fix mistakes, and inspiring them to be part of a community. Because each student is
recognized as an individual, you will find children working on a variety of activities at any given time. This
gives children space and encouragement to accept that differences between humans exist at varying degrees.
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Inner peace gives children the foundation for supporting peace within their classroom, school, social
and family communities. Communities are an important aspect of the Montessori philosophy in that there is
an emphasis on the whole person and learning to function within a community is essential to the success of
human endeavor. A successful community is made up of a variety of different talents, strengths, skills and
goals. As our students engage in peaceful conflict resolution, modeled by the adults in the community, they
learn to function as many parts making up a whole. As they assist in the management of the environment,
including caring for the physical space, taking on important leadership roles within the classroom, and
engaging in group discussion about how to make change for the better, students practice lifelong skills of
considering others and building functioning communities.

Some common Montessori terms/methods that directly and indirectly support Peace Education include:

Cosmic Education is the child’s gradual discovery, throughout the whole of childhood, of the
interrelatedness of all things on earth, in the past, in the present, and in the future.

Intrinsic motivation (versus rewards or punishment) is a desire to do for the sake of doing with no
expectation or even hope for an outside motivator.

Multi age classrooms allow children to play varying roles throughout their cycle in a classroom, allowing
investment in the environment and practice of various skills, jobs and identities.

Follow the child means that each child is considered individually and opportunities to further develop
special skills and talents is honored along with opportunity for extra, repetitive practice of more difficult
tasks.

Class meetings and agenda books allow children to bring up issues or concerns and decide, with adult
guidance, how to overcome challenges as a group. It also allows a sacred place for celebrating one another’s
accomplishments.

Peace areas in each classroom provide a place for children to go when they need to find inner peace.
Meditation, breathing and various other exercises are encouraged to help students look within.

Outdoor education and care for living things (plants and animals throughout the school and in each
classroom) give children the opportunity to practice care for and consideration of the needs of all living
things and help them develop a love and advocacy for our earth and all it has to offer.
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By honoring each individual and supporting children in becoming their most authentic, passionate,
courageous and determined selves, we provide the world with a powerful force for change for the better.

May you all find inner peace and enjoy a most lovely day of celebrating the beauty and hope of
mankind on this day set aside for celebrating Peace on earth.

Practicing conflict resolution:

Elementary children who have been nurtured in the Primary classroom have an obvious and similar
background with the other children in the elementary classroom of being treated with respect and honor, and
have developed into confident and competent learners from the aid and support of the Primary Program.

Observers will notice in the Primary classroom, a child seems to work mostly parallel to his peers,
each on their own individual activity in order to concentrate best. Elementary children, however, are
entering a new period in their life and have a strong drive to be social and collaborate.

Elementary Children Work Collaboratively and Cooperatively:

For this reason, most lessons and research projects in the elementary classroom are done in pairs or
groups of children.

Each day, the community setting of the elementary classroom allows the children to practice social skills
necessary to carry out their task by: delegating work, sharing resources and materials, making group
decisions, taking responsibility for actions, and celebrating the success of peers. On the other hand, conflict
is not uncommon, but the motivation to resolve it comes from the children.

Learning to collaboratively and cooperatively work within a classroom community adds countless
value to the child’s education. Montessori is providing the child significant life lessons with practical
application for the home and in the “real world” of high school, college, future career and marriage. The
Montessori environment is an aid to life.

Saving Water:

The child is endowed with unknown powers, which can guide us to a radiant future. If what we really
want is a new world, then education must take as its aim the development of these hidden possibilities. ~
Maria Montessori, the Absorbent Mind.
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The World Water Dayis a great springboard for Montessori activities in cultural geography. Students of all
ages can participate in activities that develop an understanding of the geography of water, and the 2010
motto, “Clean water for a healthy world” can serve as a catalyst for further exploration of the importance of
clean water for people around the world.

World Water Day is a globally-recognized initiative that grew out of the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The decade between 2005 and 2015 has
been named “Celebrating Water for Life: the International Decade for Action.” There are a number of
activities and learning opportunities for you Montessori classroom centered on World Water Day.

World Water Day: Montessori Classroom Activities and Opportunities:

In the Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten classroom, activities using the globe and Land and Water
Forms material can be introduced or revisited to familiarize students with the geography and vocabulary of
various water forms around the world. These activities can then be extended to prompt discussion about the
importance of water in our daily lives, then further discussion about the importance of clean, healthy water.
Montessori teachers can then extend the concept to raise awareness for water conservation, and for the
challenge of access to clean water in areas around the world, how children in these areas are affected, and
what can be done to help.

At the Montessori elementary level, students enter a sensitive period for community care and service.
Activities such as the water cycle and those covering the earth’s hydrosphere and take on new meaning in
the context of water conservancy. World Water Day can be a springboard for taking action by identifying
ways in which students can conserve water at home, study how water is treated in their community, and
advocate for water protection and conservancy in their community. A Montessori elementary classroom
might even find a way to help children in another part of the world that is directly affected by the absence of
clean water.