Welcoming Peace

Each school year brings with it a wonderful variety of holidays, celebrations and traditions from a world of cultures.  At The Montessori Academy we take pride in having more than 25 different countries represented in our community and this rich diversity gives us the ideal opportunity to create awareness and embrace the value holidays holds for each one of us. Families are encouraged to share their culture and traditions in the classrooms and at the end of the school year our celebrations culminate into the International Festival – a special time set aside for sampling foods, wearing native costumes and engaging in activities which highlight traditions from around the world.

 

While we know that holidays help us to honor our heritages and establish a shared bond among groups of people, we also know that the excitement that surrounds them can often distract and create a sense internal chaos especially in the young child.  In a Montessori classroom, though the excitement of the holidays is acknowledged, there is intentional restraint from generating any additional excitement for the children and perpetuating fantasy.  Halloween costumes are not worn, Santa doesn’t visit and the Easter Bunny doesn’t deliver baskets with chocolate eggs. In our classrooms it is important for us to keep our day-to-day routines stable, thereby offering the children a place of calm and peace – a respite to feel centered away from the hustle and bustle that assaults them from every direction.

At this time when excitement for the holidays increases with each passing day, please join with us as one school community to work together to keep The Montessori Academy a place of welcome peace for our students.

Submitted by: Deborah Drendall, Head of School