Cosmic Education in the
Montessori Elementary
Classroom
Based on the book:
Children of the Universe
by Michael and D’Neil Duffy
What is Cosmic Education?
• Cosmic Education is
the foundation of the
entire elementary
Montessori curriculum.
• It is the pathway to
establishing peace in our
world.
Goal of Cosmic Education
• Through Cosmic
Education, the child is
guided to examine the
question: Who am I?
• The child will seek his or
her identity and role as a
member of our human
species and as an
individual.
Who Am I?
To answer the question Who Am I? , there are
two questions that have to be examined
individually:
– Where do I come from? (which is answered through
the study of humanity’s past)
– Where am I going? (which is answered through the
child’s discovery of his or her cosmic or future task)
Classroom Exploration
Can elementary children explore such
philosophical questions?
• … six- to twelve-yearold children are now
entering into society.
• … they are using their
imagination and
expanding their
awareness to the
world.
• … at the pre-primary/
kindergarten level, your
child was sensitive to, and
absorbed information
from, the environment.
Now, at this stage of
development, children
become sensitive to the
acquisition of culture.
Your Child…
• Has a need for wider boundaries, which is
expressed by a need to ‘go out’ and explore the
world outside.
• Has a need to interact more socially with one
another and do group work.
• Needs field trips, excursions, and experiences
that widen his or her horizons.
Your Child is Ready Because…
• He or she is transitioning from a sensorial
/ material stage of learning to abstract
understanding. The ‘what’ questions
become ‘why’ questions.
• She or he is using the power of
imagination in an virtually unlimited search
for knowledge (the Universe is their only
limit).
• He or she is exploring the intellectual and
moral aspects of life.
• She or he is developing a ‘conscience,’
the ability to distinguish right from wrong,
a sense of fairness, and the ability to
recognize the needs of others.
Why Now?
• The child may not be able to completely
answer “Who Am I?” – Can we as adults
even answer this question? 
• But…we begin this exploration because
the child is at a sensitive period where we
can lay down these impressions that will be
built on throughout their lives.
If We Don’t…
• If we postpone exploring who we are as
individuals or as a species, we risk making the
child’s learning difficult, rather than enjoyable.
• We risk not providing a framework - an inner
guidance system or moral compass - that the
child can use as she/he reaches tough decisions
in life. This exploration is a way to help children
prepare for the future.
The Cosmic Curriculum
• This is an integrated curriculum of history, geography, biology,
and physical science.
• Language and mathematics are the tools through which we
explore cultures.
• We focus on:
– understanding over memorization
– process over product
– problem solving over always obtaining correct answers
• We use concrete materials which lead the child to abstract
understanding.
The Great Lessons
• The core of the cultural curriculum is the five
Great Lessons:
•
•
•
•
•
The Universe Story
The Story of Life
The Story of Humans
The Story of Language
The Story of Numbers.
• These are impressionistic lessons, meant to
inspire the children to explore and study further.
Story, then Study
• We begin first with the telling of a story.
• This provides a context for the child’s studies, a
framework in which to place other pieces of information.
We start with the biggest picture: the Universe.
• The stories stimulate the students’ emotional
connection to material, making their learning more
effective and meaningful.
• The context and study of history also helps us
understand who we are, how we got here, and what our
cosmic purpose is.
The Montessori Teacher
• The job of the teacher is not to teach information, but
to guide and direct the studies of the students by
stimulating interest.
• We just provide the introduction to study - the story,
the big picture, the main outlines, and how to use the
materials.
• If the teacher becomes the dispenser of information:
– Students could become passive learners who memorize and
regurgitate
– Their studies could become limited by the teacher’s knowledge
Understanding Our Cosmic Task
• We can only understand our cosmic task if we first explore how we
got here. So we extensively study our past, beginning with the
Universe.
• In a traditional classroom, social studies goes from self  family 
community  state  nation  world
• This promotes a self-aware perspective as well as a narrow global
view and small context in which to place knowledge.
• With cosmic education, nation barriers are broken for a broader
view and study of humanity.
• Just as with other elements of the Montessori philosophy, the
whole is used to better understand the parts.
The Story of the Universe
• All elements of the curriculum fit into
the all-encompassing circle of the
Universe.
• From this story the children are
introduced to studies in chemistry,
physics, astronomy, biology, and
geology.
• The basic principle of this story is that
everything on Earth and in the
Universe obeys laws of nature.
• We combine the accuracy of modern
science with the feel of an ancient
creation story, to meet the child’s
desire to use their imagination.
The Story of the Solar System
• While not one of the five Great
Lessons, exploring the Solar
System helps bridge the story
of the Universe to the Story of
Life.
• Children hear the story of our
descendence from the life cycle
of stars.
• Students develop a better
understanding and appreciation
of our own planet and how
amazingly unique we are.
The Story of the Earth
• Again, not one of the five
Great Lessons, but this story
impresses that we are not just
children of the universe, but of
our Earth too.
• This story provides a sequence
of the Earth’s formation and
how it changed over billions of
years to provide us with an
environment in which life could
be supported.
The Story of Life
• This story is the main chapter in the
Epic of Evolution – the major
process of the cosmic story: change
over time.
• The story introduces children to the
appearance and spread of the
diversity of life – and impresses
humans as late-comers to the story,
giving perspective.
• Here, children will study plants and
animals and learn the characteristics
of living things.
• Children also discover that each
organism has or had a cosmic purpose
– that everything works to fulfill the
Purpose of Life (including them).
The Story of Humans
• With the study of humanity’s
beginnings, children get a sense of
appreciation of all that we’ve
inherited from our ancestors.
• Similarities and differences
between humans and other animals
are highlighted.
• The importance of the hand and
our species’ mental abilities are
explored, without boasting or
arrogance.
The Story of Civilizations
•
The focus in not on rulers and wars, but on
the development of ideas and the pioneering
discoveries that allowed humans to progress.
We focus on the daily lives of common
people, and on discovery and adaptability in
the face of challenges.
•
In showing the commonalities and patterns of
humanity through time and place, we bring a
deeper understanding of the contributions
of the past and their impacts on our present.
•
At the lower elementary, we study the
fundamental needs of humans: nourishment,
clothing, shelter, defense, transportation,
art, religion, self-adornment - leading to an
understanding of the basic unity of all
humanity.
•
The traditional, nationalistic view of the
world is avoided because the child’s nation is
the world – and each nation is an expression
of all humanity.
Cosmic Education and the Future
• The purpose of the Great
Lessons and Cosmic Education:
– To establish the relatedness of all
life through common ancestry
– That life, in all its amazing and
varied forms, is just a variation on a
theme
– To teach children to respect
rather than exploit life – of others
and their selves
Cosmic Education…
• …raises the consciousness of children to an
awareness of the fundamental unity of all
humans, all life, and all parts of the Universe.
• …is child-centered education with the intention
to transform and better our world: Peace begins
with the internal development of our children.
• …unites all peoples to one spirit: We have the
responsibility to shape our future.