HISTORY CURRICULUM

Maria Montessori wished for children to recognize the contributions of great and unknown persons to modern civilizations. We thank the inventor of the wheel and the medieval scribes for their contributions to history. According to Dr. Montessori, each child has a significant role to play as contributor to the family and society.

The child’s personal sense of time is the starting point for the history curriculum. By noting the passage of days, months, and birthdays, the children develop this awareness of time. Children create personal and family time lines a precursor to their work with time lines of human history. We also develop a historical sense of time through the “Time Line of Early People”, and then the B.C.E/C.E. Time Line. These visual aids, presented with stories, specimens and artifacts, help the children understand the evolution of life and development of civilizations.

The children study this panoply of history in detail and there is particular emphasis placed on world history. During their research, the children make links between classical and modern civilizations. They also engage in field studies to enhance their understanding and appreciation of history. They often read the literature of a particular civilization or study their language and sometimes they write and perform plays based on historical events or literary figures.