This science lesson is designed for parents to know their 6 to 9-year-old child with the help of cosmic education techniques. Parents will learn how education plays a critical role in the development of the whole person within the context of the universe and how everything is interconnected.
What is Cosmic Education?
Cosmic education refers to the philosophy coined by Dr. Maria Montessori, which says that all things are interconnected in this universe and that each living thing has a specific role or Cosmic task to carry out. The children are at the center of this universe. Using their imagination, abstract reasoning, and questioning mind, they start to learn newer concepts.
Dr. Montessori beautifully explained the concept of cosmic education in the below paragraph:
“The child will develop a kind of philosophy which teaches this unity of the universe; this is the very thing to motivate his interest and to give him a better insight into his own place and task in the world and at the same time presenting a chance for the development of his creative energy.”
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.
Cosmic Education and the Five Great Lessons
An important element of the Montessori curriculum is Cosmic Education or The Great Lessons. A child’s imagination is awakened and their curiosity is piqued by these lessons. A child should be inspired by the wonder of creation, thrilled with new ideas, and awed by the inventiveness and innovation inherent in humanity.
Each great lesson is explained by storytelling. These stories are traditionally told at the beginning of the school year. Educators customize the stories and narrate them in their own words using various demonstrations and visual representations.
Five Great Lessons of Cosmic Education:
- First Great Lesson – Coming of the Universe and the Earth
- Second Great Lesson – Coming of Life
- Third Great Lesson – Coming of Human Beings
- Fourth Great Lesson – Communication in Signs
- Fifth Great Lesson – The Story of Number
These five stories encircle a massive amount of information about the origins of the world. Each story is always followed by the next lesson and is introduced in a series. These stories are referred to throughout the year when new topics are introduced, as a way of providing unity and cohesion to such a wide variety of studies.
Why is Cosmic Education Important?
According to Dr. Maria Montessori, the world has a purpose. However, war, poverty, and injustice deviate from that purpose. She believed that teaching a child about cosmic education would restore harmony and order, enabling humanity to realize its true potential.
With this study, children will learn how the universe is prepared for them and what place they have in it. It teaches the child how to navigate the universe with a sense of generosity towards humanity.
It teaches them that global awareness, peaceful communication, and ethical cooperation are essential to resolving global disputes. Montessori provides children with a cosmic education, empowering them with the knowledge to transform the world.
“The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind,” says Dr. Maria Montessori.
Watch the video to know more about cosmic education, learn with examples, and link biology with different subjects.
List of Cosmic Education Activities
Here are the ‘cosmic education’ activities that link biology to other subjects! (part of 120 activities for 6-9-year-olds)
- Debate on a topic. Let’s say, “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is not adding it to a fruit salad.” Let the child debate on this with their friend. One can find out why it should be a fruit, and the other child can argue about why it should be a vegetable. A third child can join as a mediator.
- Learning, imagination, art, and fun!– Let the child choose an animal. The chosen animal must now be drawn by interchanging the body parts with other objects based on the function of the body part. For instance, you can portray a tortoise shell as armor, a bird’s wings as kites, and so on. Do not forget to post these crazy animal pictures.
- Find a way to bring in math operations and concepts in biology. Let the child compare the heights of dinosaurs, wingspans of birds, and multiply cats times the number of kittens they give birth to. Find out how many rows of 5 sunflowers a farmer can grow, if he has 25 seeds. When children feel connected to the concept of real objects they learn faster and better.
- Look up how to make a working model of a lung using just a balloon, bottle, and straw! Or show your child the working of the vertebrae using a toilet paper roll cut into sections, held together with string! Once they’ve made the model, they could make a video or a booklet to let their friends know the steps involved.
- Is your child a fan of countries, maps, and globes? Help them find information on the types of flora and fauna found in a particular country or continent. Let the child book a slot with the whole family to present a chart, booklet, or model.
Invite the child to perform the activities shown in the video by applying the concept of Cosmic Education at home. Help the child explore the universe by following the path of exploration.
To watch more language resources, click here.
Video created by Aishwarya | I teach I learn
Elementary | Science | Cosmic Education (English)
This video has been added and used with the author’s permission. It is also available on the author’s YouTube, here.
FAQs
- What is Cosmic Education?
Cosmic education is the term coined by Dr. Maria Montessori which says that all things are interconnected in this universe and that each living thing has a specific role or Cosmic task to carry out keeping children at the center of this universe.
- What is the cosmic curriculum of Montessori?
The cosmic curriculum of Montessori is prepared for the second plane of development, i.e. for children of age 6-12 years. Children are exposed to a wide range of educational disciplines, including math and language, as well as arts, sciences, and social sciences.
- Why did Dr. Montessori talk about cosmic Education?
According to Dr. Maria Montessori, Cosmic Education is integral to early education, because it provides children with a framework for understanding their world and their place in it. A child can learn to value contributions from others, ethics, and respect studies of the past.
- When is Cosmic education introduced in a Montessori school?
Lessons of Cosmic education are introduced to the elementary level at the beginning of the school year in the form of stories. These stories are referred to throughout the year when new topics are introduced, as a way of providing unity and cohesion to such a wide variety of studies.
- What are the five great lessons of Cosmic education?
The five great lessons of Cosmic education are:
-
- First Great Lesson – Coming of the Universe and the Earth
- Second Great Lesson – Coming of Life
- Third Great Lesson – Coming of Human Beings
- Fourth Great Lesson – Communication in Signs
- Fifth Great Lesson – The Story of Number
Tags
- Elementary
- English
- parents education
- science
