Imagination and the Cosmic Journey

by Lower Elementary Teachers

“Cosmic Education is intended to help each of us search for our cosmic task as a species and as individuals. To do this, we must understand ourselves in context. It is only against the background of our place in the universe, our relationships with other living organisms, and our understanding of human unity within cultural diversity, that we can attempt to answer the question, ‘Who am I?’ ” 1

Imagine you are in a vast, blacker than the black, expanse of nothingness. You, your family, your extended family, the earth, the planets, the solar system, do not exist. All that exists is a tiny singularity in the vast, cold darkness. That tiny singularity held everything that was to “become.” Then, BANG! The singularity flared and flashed sending subatomic particles, the building blocks of the universe, flying out into the blackness. The particles floated around bumping into one another, joining one another, creating the possibility of all things we know today. Thus, begins the Cosmic journey for Lower Elementary students.

What is Cosmic education? What is this Cosmic journey? In Montessori it means learning about all time and all space, looking at the universe around us, diving deep to see how it all began and everything that took place before they were born. Through careful observation and knowledge of human development, Maria Montessori created the Five Great Lessons for students in first through third grade. These Great Lessons speak to the students' imaginative self as it leads them on a cosmic journey through story-telling, hands-on experiments, and projects when they are beginning the conscious search for who they are as individuals and how they fit into the world around them.

A global vision of cosmic events fascinates children, and their interest will soon remain fixed on one particular part as a starting point for more intensive studies. As all parts are related, they will all be scrutinized sooner or later. Thus, the way leads from the whole, via the parts, back to the whole. The children will develop a kind of philosophy which teaches them the unity of the Universe. This is the very thing to organize their intelligence and to give them a better insight into their own place and task in the world, at the same time presenting a chance for the development of their creative energy. 2

The students’ journey begins first with the reading of creation stories from around the world. These stories touch on the lives and questions of early people with the purpose of creating an atmosphere of respect for others’ beliefs and customs. Activities might include writing a personal creation story, creating art around a favorite story, reading additional creation stories on their own, or researching about countries or civilizations. After finishing the creation activities, the teachers introduce the concept of a scientific theory—through science, much can be determined, but the actual beginning of the universe is a theory based on how the puzzle pieces seem to fit together.

The Coming of the Universe flows into the Second Great Lesson, The Coming of Life. Earth has the elements it needs in the atmosphere (hydrogen and oxygen) to combine, fall, and cool the surface of the planet. The initial lesson involves heating up tomato soup to a boil demonstrating lava or the molten surface of the earth, then putting it in a container representing the planet surface, and then covering the container with plastic to create a mini-environment. As the lava bubbles, precipitation gathers in the atmosphere and falls to earth, cooling the lava. Within days, mold (life) starts to grow. Excitement reigns as students see, in action, the beginnings of life. With this lesson, the students are introduced to the biology of life on earth— microorganisms, plants and animals, the diversity of life, and the vital job each living thing brings to our world.

The Third Great Lesson, The Coming of Humans, introduces students to the study of history and the progress of human civilization. The lesson begins with the march of the Hominids. The students enjoy learning about Lucy, an Australopithecus Afarensis female, discovered in 1974 and who was only three feet five inches tall. Another set of remains, Ardi, an Ardipithecus Ramidus, found in 1994 is a female, only 3 feet 11 inches tall —the height of some of the students. There is an immediate connection as they compare their height to Lucy and Ardi. Books, materials, and research help the students visualize and connect to early humans who made our present civilization possible. The Third Great Lesson also centers on the needs of humans, and research leads the students to discover that although all humans have the same basic needs, those needs look very different depending on where in the world one lives.

The Coming of Language, the Fourth Great Lesson, tells the history of language development. A favorite story that has evolved over time and that the students love to hear again and again is the story of Wa. A long time ago, on the continent of Africa, there was a nomadic community. As the people traveled from place to place to find food and water, they carried simple shelters on their back to erect when they stopped. Rain had not fallen for days and a drought set in. They could not find water. The people did not have a language, and they communicated with one another through hand symbols.

As they traveled, some members started to fall behind due to thirst and fatigue. One of the youngest, smallest daughters of the community fell further and further back. At the crest of a hill where she paused to catch her breath, she heard the quiet sound of a small stream. The rest of her group were at the bottom of the hill when they heard a strange sound. It was something they had never heard before. The young girl was waving her hands, stomping her feet, and yelling, “Wa!” “Wa!” Astonished, they rushed up the hill because they thought something was very wrong with the girl. She pointed in the direction of the sound and said, “Wa” again. The group walked through some scrub and found the stream. Soon people in the community would point at the water and use the sound “wa.” This story demonstrates to the students the importance of language in everyday life. While working on this Great Lesson, the students explore the evolution of language along with the development of symbols and alphabets.

The Fifth Great Lesson, The Coming of Math begins with a story of how in a small village, in a remote part of the world a long time ago, a young boy had the important daily job of keeping track of his families’ flock of sheep. Since he couldn’t keep track of all the sheep, he only took a few sheep at a time to the river. One day when he was walking to the river with three of the sheep, he kicked a stone. It gave him the idea of gathering a stone for each sheep, and this would help him keep track of all the sheep in his care, especially when he took them to the river. Archaeologists have unearthed piles of rocks known as calculi, an early form of arithmetic. As part of this study, students learn about computation, number facts, geometry, story problems, fractions, and more. Students also learn about the evolution of number sense throughout history.

The Cosmic Journey is one of storytelling, projects, and immersion into another time and place. The goal is to strike each child’s imagination by feeding the hungry intelligence and opening vast fields of knowledge to exploration. Students use the many interesting materials in the rich Lower Elementary Montessori learning environment to explore these big questions. The Five Great Lessons help each student find a passion for learning as they make connections from the past to the present. It is this sense of self‐discovery that is an important part of the learning strategy in a Lower-Elementary Montessori classroom.

1 Michael & D’Neil Duffy, Children of the Universe: Cosmic Education in the Montessori Elementary Classroom. (Hollidaysburg, PA: Parent Child Press, 2016).

2Polk Lillard, Paula. Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood. (New York: Schocken Books-Doubleday, 1996), 75.