Imagination does not become great until a person, given the courage and strength, uses it to create. If this does not occur, the imagination addresses itself only to a spirit wandering in emptiness. — Maria Montessori

 

All of the academic work in the Cycle 2 & 3 classes are connected with, and expressed by means of, the arts. Instead of scheduled art and music lessons, the techniques of creation in all areas (art, music, drama, dance, etc.) are introduced by the Montessori teacher, who guides the students to find mentors following a need or interest.

 

There might be a play, the children acting out the process of photosynthesis, maps of the population of the world, a quilt made with squares of leaf shapes as a school fundraiser, or a series of beautiful watercolours demonstrating the principles of geometry.   Just as in all areas, the teacher is in charge of teaching the tools and the students of designing and executing the work.

 

When we look at the curricula of the past, the Greeks and the Tibetans for example, we see that music and dance, and the arts in general, were an important part of the classical education. The arts were considered "the basics," perhaps because they had discovered that purely academic learning was boring and unhealthy, that the arts allowed a student to enjoy learning, instead of just cramming in facts for a test, to process learning, and that learning was retained when balanced with the arts.

 

When information is processed in some active, musical or artistic way—graphs, posters, drawings, creating maps, songs, plays, and so forth, the knowledge becomes permanent and it strengthens the creative part of the brain.

 

When a student becomes interested in a particular topic, with the teacher or a few friends she designs the research, then settles down to read and gather information. Most projects are, in the end, presented to the group. Part of the group plan may be to decide who will do the visual art, the costumes, the music. Or an individual may work on something and present it as a song or poem, or a sculpted model.

 

The work, whether it be in the field of geography, biography, history, math, or language takes the form of a project where the head and hand work together toward a creative, artistic expression. In order to learn in this way the child needs the tools and uninterrupted time. The adult supplies art materials, the model such as exposure to good music or paintings, long blocks of uninterrupted time, and respect for the child's ideas and expression.

When a child learns by combining academics and the arts the whole understanding of life—and development of the brain—makes a giant leap. There are no limits to avenues of creativity.

 

Not only are famous artists and musicians studied, but ordinary people who bring the arts into their everyday lives. A child might interview parents, teachers, grandparents, to see what art forms they pursue as hobbies, what they did as children, and what are their dreams. One school we know selects a group art creation every year and auctions it off to raise class trip funds.

 

Studying the creations of other cultures, experiencing their dances and music, studying the reasons why different architectural forms developed, and clothing or language, gives a child an understanding of the universality of human needs and expression.

 

When primary-aged children reach adolescence they enter one of the most creative periods of life, and will create based on those talents they have begun to develop in these earlier years. The period of life between the age of six and twelve is the time to explore as many creative forms as possible.