There was a little extra movement - and a lot more wool - in our prepared environment this week when Marshmallow, a seven-day-old lamb, came to visit!
Marshmallow is currently being hand-reared by our Head Teacher Sarah’s nieces and nephew, giving our tamariki the opportunity to experience something we value deeply in Montessori: learning about the real world through real experiences.
Dr Maria Montessori recognised that young children are naturally driven to explore, observe and make sense of the world around them. Meeting Marshmallow transformed our learning about mammals and farm animals from something abstract into something tangible. Through careful observation, our tamariki discovered that Marshmallow is a mammal, has cloven hooves, and has front teeth on her lower jaw but a dental pad rather than front teeth on the top. We felt her wool, watched the way she moved and learnt about the responsibility involved in caring for such a young animal.
At only seven days old, Marshmallow currently drinks approximately 300mL of milk every few hours! For many children, the most exciting part was helping with her bottle feeding. This was much more than a fun experience. It was Practical Life in its most authentic form - carefully holding the bottle, regulating our movements around a small animal, waiting for a turn and contributing to the care of another living being.
Marshmallow also brought our Culture curriculum to life. Experiences with plants and animals support children to classify, compare, question and develop an understanding of the interconnected living world. Most importantly, they nurture the child’s sense of wonder and their developing responsibility as a caretaker of their environment. Her visit also connected beautifully with Tātaiako - Whanaungatanga, as Marshmallow came to us through Sarah’s whānau.
Bringing the knowledge, experiences and special connections of our whānau into our Montessori environment strengthens the relationships at the heart of our community. One tiny lamb created opportunities for observation, language, science, movement, Practical Life, grace and courtesy, and care for the natural world. A very Montessori kind of learning - hands-on, purposeful and wonderfully real.