The Year of the Rabbit is just around the corner, and the MSS campus is full of laughter and new year activities. The children experienced the atmosphere of New Year and the joy of the traditional Chinese New Year in the Montessori environment.

Montessori gives children a New Year’s ritual

The Montessori curriculum includes Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math, and Culture. The Culture subjects bring rich experiences and respect to the Montessori classroom.

Children need to understand their culture and other cultures. The Culture subjects are rich and all-encompassing, covering humanities, history, geography, folklore, science, zoology, and botany.

Children aged 0-6 years go through a culturally sensitive period in addition to several other sensitive periods, such as sensory, social, numeracy, order, and language.

Have you noticed that your child is naturally fond of festivals? Do they get excited when a festival is approaching? Children’s interest and understanding of culture should be allowed to develop naturally.

Therefore, the MSS New Year’s lessons are based on the Montessori concept that children develop their cultural awareness through meaningful interactions with their environment.

Helping Social Emotional Development

From 0-6 years, children’s social-emotional skills are growing at a rapid pace.

What is social-emotional development? It is a child’s gradual understanding of people’s behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and personalities. Social-emotional development is the process of understanding and managing one’s emotions, learning to care for others, making responsible decisions, and building and maintaining relationships with others.

Wrapping dumplings, making paper cuts, painting New Year’s Eve pictures, writing calligraphy, and wearing festive traditional costumes. At MSS, children learn various social etiquette for the New Year through group activities and Montessori materials. They learn about New Year’s traditions, greetings, and blessings. Children learn the meaning behind their favorite family traditions!

These activities and lessons are good opportunities for children to understand how people connect with each other through traditional customs.

We also take this opportunity to teach children to express their love for their family, friends, and teachers, which helps them to develop their oral language. By saying ‘Happy New Year’, the children can also receive feedback and expressions of love from each other through positive interactions. Communication is a two-way street and can flow happily at New Year’s.

Explore the atmosphere of New Year’s Eve

Parents, do you still remember? When we were young, the New Year was so exciting. We used to put up spring scrolls, set off firecrackers, send red envelopes, enjoy the Spring Festival dinner, and visit our friend’s homes. However, over time and with changes in the social environment, the atmosphere of “New Year” has become fainter and fainter. The relationship between people becomes relatively distant.

If parents can recall the memories of New Year’s past, wouldn’t it be nostalgic？

At MSS, we hope children can make wonderful memories of the New Year through special activities that help them pass on and preserve their traditional culture. We want children to understand the fun and importance of traditional customs in the Montessori environment.

When children grow up, these experiences will become valuable memories that will stay in their hearts forever.

Happy New Year’s! Welcome to the year of the Rabbit!