Gloucester Montessori and the Holidays

The holidays are upon us! If Walmart doesn’t remind us, our children certainly do. The celebratory momentum seems to start when the candy corn hits the store shelves in September and barrels along until just about this time of year, when expectations explode in a celebration of tradition, sugar, and family togetherness.

The Montessori classroom is one place where the holiday frenzy takes on a purposeful and meaningful quality—at least most of the time! As the world outside of the classroom is focused on holiday cheer through material items and that weird elf that keeps popping up, the world inside the Montessori classroom is focused on the intrinsic spirit of the holidays.

For Thanksgiving, the children planned and cooked their own Thanksgiving Feast, featuring turkey, stuffing, ----. Each family was responsible for providing one or two ingredients and from there, it was entirely up to the children (and the incredible teachers, of course)! All preparations and cooking (maybe not turkey) took place in the kitchen at Gloucester Montessori School, and parents were gently reminded that this was an occasion for the children. The young friends gathered a week before Thanksgiving “officially” marked the calendar and enjoyed their feast with their friends. Everyone enjoyed themselves so much the teachers forgot to take pictures.

The children also decorated a gingerbread house for the Ware River Circle of the King’s Daughters and Sons Christmas Open House at Exchange. Every child had a hand in making the magnificent confection replica of Monticello. The Children’s House made the trees and snails, and the elementary students added the details of the building. Even Miss Robin talked about it on WXGM’s morning show. This shared effort gave the students an opportunity to have fun with a holiday tradition, while helping out a community organization.

As Christmas creeps up, signs of celebration are everywhere. Hannukah is in full swing now and for those who wait for him, Santa will arrive in just a couple of weeks. The children have already marched in the Gloucester Christmas parade, sporting Christmas sweaters and have learned how to sing Cascabels (Jingle Bells in Spanish.) Now they have two weeks to continue the holiday spirit with helping hands and kind hearts