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Meant to inspire and ignite the child’s imagination, the Five Great Lessons are a catalyst for the Montessori elementary curriculum . Told too quickly, the lessons become meaningless, causing the children’s imaginations to jump from one concept to another. When we imagine, we are using abstract thought to think of things that cannot be seen. The follow-up lessons that come from each of the Five Great Lessons are used to materialize these abstractions. In other words, the children prove the existence of the wonders of the universe through concrete exploration. Exploring the Universe Concretely in the Elementary Classroom In the beginning… Isn’t that a great way to start a story? I get chills every time I start a story that way. And when you pause for dramatic effect, with the children gathered all around you, making eye contact with each child before you continue, you are making a personal connection and building the anticipation of what is to come. I like to present the First Great Les...

Help me to help myself. —Maria Montessori The Child in the Family, p. 72. In her book Children Who are Not Yet Peaceful , Donna Bryant Goertz says, “We wisely welcome into our classrooms that small number of children whose behavior strikes us as eccentric, complicated, challenging, or confusing. These children are the indicators of how well the classroom is meeting the needs of all the children. They react when others don’t — and react overtly in ways that cannot be ignored. We have found that to assimilate these children and support them in their personal transformation, the class must be providing the maximum benefit to all children.” (Goertz, 2001) If we truly believe that all children can and have the right to learn, then there is a place for all children in your Montessori environment, including those with learning disabilities or who are “at risk.” Guiding Children with Learning Disabilities in the Montessori Environment It is true that some children will require additional time...