Give the Child the World

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What does it mean to "give the child the world?"   How can we convey a sense of what the globe really signifies?  How to explain the vastness of the countries that look so small on a puzzle map?   What are impactful, child-friendly lessons about another culture?  These are all questions that Erin and I consider as we introduce geography to the children - we think about possibilities, we experiment, we observe what works.   This year, we chose Asia as our focus continent, after North America, and we are still immersed in learning about it, one day and one experience at a time.

The big picture comes first:  for the 3-year-old child, we always begin with the globe, and it remains central through time, as they begin to recognize and name continents, then countries, and even states.  The globe is of course part of our birthday ritual; its journey around the sun is witnessed again and again, as one child after another counts the years of his life.  

When we're looking at the globe, I often point to my poster on the wall, next to the living room closet - that famous image of the Earth seen from space.  This poster has been with me for years.  I tell them that it was taken by astronauts as they journeyed to the moon in a spaceship, and looked back at Earth.

Then we introduce the flat puzzle map of the earth, with its two hemispheres, and with the continents in their iconic Montessori colors - North America orange, South America pink, and so on.  We sing the song of the continents often, we match animals to their home continents, we play games like "take this boat from North America to Africa."  Little by little it comes together in the child's mind.

And now we're in Asia. We began with some classic Asian animals,  like the panda and the tiger.   I purchased a full set of the Asian biome materials in December, after the kids worked through the North American cards so energetically before Christmas.  So we have the Asian biome map, very different from Asia's map of countries, and out on the shelf are sets of cards about Asian animals and peoples from different biomes - desert and mountains, tropical forest and grasslands.  The kids used these cards as inspiration for January's wonderful Asian animal art project.  

We also have the Asia biome readers, which they often use to guide their writing and drawing in their "story pages."  The biome booklets each have 6 cards to illustrate them.  The first booklet (about the nice, phonetic yak) can be read independently by our early readers, and then each one adds more phonetic elements and words to each page.

But what about the people, the cultures, the incredible diversity of our human family?  Again, we can only give glimpses.  I sat down with the whole group last week, and asked them, "What do people really need to live?"  We talked about "needs" versus "wants" and it began to click.  We brainstormed this list, which I wrote down with them watching, and it wasn't just the older children either - Morgan just lit up when she said, "People need water!"  So, this is their list: people need ______to live:  

* air - and another child said oxygen
* houses or shelter (I introduced the term 'shelter')
* water        * food
* someone who cares about them    
* clothes    
* transportation

Here is some more of their art:  Terra's Mongolian felt yurt, in the high grasslands; Trevor's desert home, made of mud and straw; and below, Konrad's mountain biome home where "...the pepol liv in stone hous"; and Cooper's grand Russian "casul" with golden domes.

After thinking about houses, we shifted to transportation, which led to our listing animals that people use.  The kids came up with all these: horse, camel, elephant, yak, dog, oxen, pony, donkey.

At the same time, we started a list of things people want but don't need.  We'll keep adding to this one, it's pretty much a lifelong lesson, isn't it?   I could just see the wheels turning as the kids thought of things they take for granted but maybe don't really need - socks, plants, fish, cars, art, treats, toys....

Another aspect they're exploring are the flags of Asia.  Over time, the kids begin to understand that each country has its own flag.  I chose 13 for Asia (out of 40+ - not an easy choice!)  We have flags from north, south, east, and west Asia, the main countries, and then a few with fabulous flags, like a dragon flag for Bhutan, sword for Saudi Arabia, and of course the Nepalese flag, the only one in the world made with triangles.  In the top photo above, you can see Kai matching the countries to their flags and labels.  All of the older children have been working with these flags and this puzzle map.  

We also celebrate with occasional, special projects that engage everyone, like last week, when Noriko brought in her mochi maker.  We put out little bowls with three kinds of rice for them to see, including the tiny sweet mochi rice, and talked about how important rice is in Asia. This special rice soaked overnight, steamed in the morning, and then Noriko began the grand making of mochi.  So much fun, and most kids loved the mochi!

On the same day, we watched a Youtube of a "mochi festival" - it showed the men pounding the mochi with huge mallets instead of the modern electric version, accompanied by taiko drums.  Very impressive!

Origami projects are ongoing, again thanks to Noriko.  She's told us that it's a core experience for children in Japan, they work on their origami skills for years, and it's excellent work for them developmentally.  You've probably seen your children's origmai projects coming home.  There's a lot of careful folding in each one.  Right now, the kids are learning to do a little folded fish, with the added delight of a magnetic fishing pole.

While writing this, I stepped into the art room, and found Megan sitting with Noriko, in full folding concentration, so I grabbed the chance for one more photo to go with the finished fish below. Fifteen minutes later, Megan came into the office with fishing pole in hand: "Look what I made!"


Yet another thread in this Asian fabric we weave are all the stories and books about Asia.  A few weeks ago I read my full set of Jataka Tales, ancient Buddhist tales which have been adapted for the children of today, beautifully illustrated, tales about animals that celebrate the power of action motivated by compassion, love, wisdom, and kindness.  So positive and uplifting. They listened to these tales with such attention, and I heard them talking about them afterwards.

Finally, have you seen these characters lying on the first shelf inside the door?  One is the Japanese character for "tree," the other is the character for "forest."  Wonderful! Forest and trees - it seems symbolic of this work, sometimes looking at the single trees, sometimes seeing the forest....  Ava is practicing on the "Buddha Board" which also sits there - it's a water-painting board whose images evaporate, and the technique is much like using the brush and ink that calligraphers use.

And so Asia unfolds here in our children's house, each day, little by little.  We cannot know what experiences will make a difference in a child's awareness, or which will have a lasting impact.   What we do know is this, in Montessori's words:

"We shall walk together on this path of life, for all things are part of the universe, and are connected with each other to form one whole unity."

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