Jr/Sr Kindergarten: "Yes, you can play with us!"
An important component of Montessori education is our peace curriculum. Maria Montessori believed that by teaching young children how to be peaceful within themselves, with others and toward nature we could create a better world. At our most recent peace circle, the children gathered to hear a story about friendship and inclusivity entitled Little Beaver and the Echo.
This simple story teaches the concept of making friends and the importance of letting others join a group. Our main character finds himself to be rather lonely and as he is crying, he hears his echo which he thinks to be someone else who is feeling quite sad. So he sets off to find this mysterious voice. As he is traveling he encounters other characters who are looking for a friend. With each request, Little Beaver agrees to be friends and all the characters join together on the journey to find the source of the voice.
The children learn from this read aloud the importance of including others and being friendly with everyone. Here at Pine Grove the rule is, if someone asks if they can join you, you say yes!
