Field trips provide a child with the opportunity to explore and interact with the world beyond the classroom. A key element of the Montessori Method is a child’s exposure and interaction with the natural world. Montessori field trips engage a child in an active hands-on experience and create a meaningful connection to the community.
U-Pick Farms
The Montessori Method has a strong emphasis on offering a child a hands-on activity that engages his senses. Because a child explores his world through his senses; tasting, feeling, seeing, touching and smelling, his discoveries are meaningful and authentic.
A fall field trip to a u-pick farm offers a child the opportunity to harvest a whole fruit or vegetable. He can smell the freshness of the vegetable, feel the dirt on his hands, taste the just picked flavor and see the true color of ripe produce. A true appreciation and interest in the natural world follows this sensory experience. Often a child who visits a u-pick farm is inspired to experiment with gardening and growing his own fruits and vegetables.
Walking Labyrinths
A walking labyrinth is a continuous circular path that has no dead ends. Different from a maze, a labyrinth has only one path, and while it does have twists and turns, the same path are the entrance and the exit to the labyrinth. A walking labyrinth is an activity that combines controlled movement with focused concentration. While a maze can cause the mind to be confused and over excited, a labyrinth is calming and balancing as the mind relaxes as the legs and feet follow the path. In a Montessori environment, movement is a planned and purposeful activity that develops both gross motor and fine coordination, as well as general concentration skills.
Free public walking labyrinths are located at public gardens, churches, hospitals, schools and centers. While every walking labyrinth is made of different materials and constructed from a different pattern, each located in a beautiful and peaceful environment that will combine the natural beauty of the outdoors with the purposeful activity of walking the labyrinth.
Not all children may begin by walking through the labyrinth, in fact many may run through it the first several times. However, the calming repetitive nature of a walking labyrinth and the natural consequences associated with running while others are trying to walk, provide for a natural set of rules. Sometimes, a child who visits a walking labyrinth is inspired to create a permanent outdoor labyrinth in his own school environment.
Seasonal Nature Hikes
A young child loves to repeat experiences, whether it is singing the same song everyday, working the same puzzle over and over or reading a favorite book every night. In a Montessori environment a child is encouraged to choose his own work and use it over and over again until he is satisfied. The experience of exploring independently, rather than being told how to do something or why it is so, is an intrinsic part of the Montessori philosophy.
This same approach can be utilized when planning for school field trips. A nature hike on the same outdoor trail in the fall, winter and spring will offer a child the opportunity to independently explore his natural world, discover the difference between the seasons, observe life cycles, examine plants and animals, view land and water forms, study living and non living objects, and much, much more. An older child may write observational comparisons in a nature notebook during each seasonal field trip, while a younger child may dictate thoughts or draw pictures. A custom photo book can be created after each field trip and placed in the classroom library for year long reference.
Fall offers mild weather that encourages wonderful outdoor field trips that offer children the opportunity to connect with the community, discover something new and celebrate the beauty of the natural seasons.
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