in many nursery schools and kindergartens, birthdays are celebrated with the addition of a sweet treat, such as cupcakes or a cake, that the family of the birthday child provides. Although many Montessori schools also allow birthday treats, they often have an interesting birthday ceremony called the walk of life, which is the main focus on the child's birthday. This ceremony has many benefits, and parents are often invited to watch it. Here is what you need to know about your child's birthday at a Montessori school.
Providing Snack
Most Montessori schools split the snack duty between all of the parents. Each day, a different child is assigned to bring snack for the class and the idea is that you and your child will prepare the snack together to practice various kitchen skills such as cutting, spreading, arranging, and wrapping. If your school assigns snack this way, it is likely that they will assign snack to your child on his or her birthday.
When you provide a birthday snack, you should first provide a normal, healthy snack that meets all of the center's requirements. Additionally, you may be allowed to provide a small sweet treat. However, you should be sure that you follow all of the allergy guidelines provided by your child's teacher so that the snack can be shared with the entire class. By not focusing on sweet treats on your child's birthday, your child learns that there are other ways to celebrate besides eating, which can lead to a healthier relationship with food throughout their life.
The Walk of Life
The walk of life is a short ceremony to celebrate your child's birthday. First, all of the children sit in a circle around a candle. Your child and their teacher will stand in the middle of the circle and your child's teacher will use the opportunity to explain how humans measure time by the earth's rotation around the sun. Your child will then proceed to walk around the candle. Each time he or she goes around the candle, their teacher will show a picture of your child to the class and discuss how your child developed from a baby into a toddler and a child.
This lesson has several benefits. First, it is a basic science lesson that teaches the class about the sun, stars, and the earth. It also teaches children how to measure the passage of time and references their knowledge of months and days, which they start learning in preschool.
More importantly, this lesson teaches children how to reflect on their progress. Reflection is an important educational process that allows children to assimilate what they are currently learning into their overall schema. By reflecting on their progress from baby to a toddler that could walk and communicate, to a child who is learning new skills every day, your child not only learns about human development, but also gains confidence in their own ability to accomplish new things as they grow.
When your child has a birthday, you may be asked to supply pictures from each of the years they have been alive. Selecting the photos is a fun activity to do together, and it will give your child more time to reflect on his or her growth and development over the years. You should print the photos on a large piece of paper, so they can be easily seen by all of the children in your child's class.
In the Montessori method, every life experience provides an excellent opportunity for your child to learn and understand more about the world around them. Birthdays, in particular, are an opportunity for reflection and responsibility.
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