Declaration of Unity

Mountain Laurel Montessori Jr. High students are studying US Government this term.  In this Spring's Humanities Project they are forming a new nation.  They are in the process of developing their system of government.  Today they delivered their opening speeches and formally declared their intention to form a union.  Here are some photos of the official signing.

The Declaration



a little pomp and circumstance for the signing

A delegate signs

Getting Dirty in the Pursuit of HIstory

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School Students excavated clay from the farm pond for a recent humanities project on Mayan pottery.  Can't wait to see the finished project!

The Nation's Capital Was the Setting for Original Theater Based on the Cultures of Ancient China and Mesopotamia

The US Botanical Gardens became
the setting for this portrayal of the
leader of an  ancient Chinese dynasty

At the end of each Humanities Project, the students write original historical fiction based on their research.We call these pieces Dramatis Personae.  We spend the day in Washington D.C. performing all around the city

At dusk, part of an original epic poem
styled after Gilgamesh

The students on the capital lawn

Each student chooses the location for their dramatis personae based on the physical scene they want to portray.  For example, the US Botanical Garden has a desert room that has been used for cultures in arid climates, the US Capital was the backdrop for a portrayal of a Roman Senator because of the historical connections between the governments of Rome and the United States, and the grassy area of the National Mall was recently used to represent a wide open plain.   

More of the epic poem 

The location may be chosen for visual effect or historical significance.  In this way, the students are challenged to make connections between various cultures, times, and places and to think about how the past is connected to our own lives today.   

Genghis Khan

Students create artifacts inspired by study of Ancient Greece

Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students have been studying Ancient Greece. Each student has developed expertise of a particular Greece city-state.  The students will demonstrate their knowledge through research papers, persuasive essays, and a "meeting of the minds" in which they will try to convince a council why their city-state is fit to rule all of the Greek world.

   

Creating a mosaic inspired by mosaics from Ancient Greece

In addition, each student is creating an original artifact inspired by their research.  Here are photos of the students hard at work on their artifacts and research.

Students collaborate on research and creation of artifacts

Creating a map of the Delphic League - mixed media

Farm School students take on New York City

"Above all it is the education of adolescents that is important, because adolescence is the time when the child enters on the state of manhood and becomes a member of society...the adolescent needs an understanding of the society which he is about to enter to play his part." - Maria Montessori

As part of their study of the Industrial Revolution, Farm School students spent a week in New York City. Their Odyssey included visits to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a tour guided by staff of the Tenement Museum, and a visit to the site of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.

Students Portray Ancient Mayans in Washington, DC

As the culmination of our Humanities study of the Ancient Mayan Civilization, Farm School students wrote Dramatis Peronae (short monologues) of individuals from the Ancient Mayan Culture. On Monday, we went into Washington, DC, and each student found a place to perform that best suited their character. Here are some examples:

Left: Maya King building temple (steps of the sculpture garden)

Right: Maya girl prepares to be sacrificed to the gods to give her people a good harvest (benches along Constitution Avenue)

Left: Jaguar hunter (natural history museum under a jaguar in the mammal room)

Right: Maya Weaver (in front of Southwestern Native American weaving in Native American Museum)

Left: Maya Scribe (using the stone in front of the Natural History Museum)

Right: Heir to Maya Throne describes plan for peace (sculpture garden)

Left: Spanish Conquistador (riding a horse on the carousel)

Students become characters from history

Montessori education aims to inspire in young people the idea that every human being is worthy of great repect and is capable of doing great things.

At the Farm School, Humanities Projects are driven by the attempt to get inside the perspective of individuals from different cultures in history. What was it like to be a Roman architect? What did it feel like to be the heir of a Mayan king? What if you didn't want to be the next king? What did Elizabeth Cady Stanton struggle with as she helped women win the right to vote?

Students write traditional research papers on an aspect of the culture we are studying; then they write a Dramatis Persona, a fictitious (although grounded in facts from their research) first person account of a moment in that person's life.

By writing and speaking as these people from our past, young adolescents have the opportunity to explore what it feels like to be one of these people, and in turn, to think about what great things they will do in the world.

"Let us in education ever call the attention of children to the hosts of men and women who are hidden from the light of fame, so kindling a love of humanity...a reverent consciousness of its dignity and worth" - Dr. Maria Montessori