As we are so lucky to have a variety of cultures represented in our school, we asked a mom and her father who is visiting from Japan to come and help with origami.
They were able to make a variety of animals, paper airplanes, a ball but one of the most loved was the tiny doll! (Thank you to Junko and GiGi!)
Several of the children also brought in traditional clothes from Japan and India. It was wonderful to see and they also allowed other children to try on the clothes.
Some of the older children wanted to make their own "Flags of Asia" books. They are able to draw the flags and color them in by themselves. This is a work in progress as there are SO many countries in Asia!
Dr. Montessori felt the ages between 3-6 is the time of the "conscious absorbent mind." In a prepared environment such as ours, the children are exposed to hands on learning that will stay with them for a lifetime. Montessori often said, "Impressions do not merely enter his mind: they form it" (Absorbent Mind, 1995). After the first level where the absorbent mind prepares the unconscious (from 0-3 years), the mind then slowly awakens to the conscious level, establishing memory, and the power to understand and reason. The knowledge that the child is internally seeking is then absorbed.
