“Education is a natural process carried out by the child, and is not acquired by listening to words, but by experiences in the environment.”
– Dr Maria Montessori
The Montessori approach supports the development of creativity in numerous ways. One way is through interaction with the prepared environment which is beautiful and ordered. Another way is in providing children with the freedom, time and space they need to explore their own thoughts and interests.
Dr Montessori recognised that the child needs freedom if he is to develop creativity within the context of total development – intellectual, artistic, emotional and physical.
At MIC, this freedom extends beyond students being able to choose which classroom materials to use at any given time – children are also encouraged to take charge of their own learning on a broader scale as well.
One way students in our Primary College’s two Senior Primary environments – Nerida and Gawung – experience this freedom is through the allocation of time every Friday afternoon for ‘Creative Space’.
Creative Space is a time for students to develop clubs or groups of their own choosing so that every student can participate in an activity that supports their passions and interests. The clubs are then run completely by the students themselves, providing opportunities to learn a range of new skills – from finding the balance between independence and teamwork, to planning and organisation skills, to developing the communication skills required to ensure cooperation, democracy and unity within the group. All children have a say in how the club will run while staying true to the needs of the wider community.
Today’s blog post on Creative Space has been submitted by Senior Primary students, Charlotte Johnston (11) and Isabella Cattermole (11):
“Every Friday afternoon, Gawung and Nerida hold something called Creative Space. There are multiple Creative Space groups, all of which have different activities and are all run by students.
The groups are divided into two sections; creative ones, and more active ones. Some examples of groups are the Shelter Care, Cooking Club, Art, and on the more sporty side, we have Obstacle games, Aussie Acro and Cricket Club.
In Shelter Care we make treats and toys for the animals at the SCAR (Sunshine Coast Animal Refuge). Every Wednesday, one of three groups that the shelter care has been split up into visits the refuge, to give homemade treats to the animals, use the toys we make to play with the cats, and say hello to the dogs.”
~ Charlotte and Isabella
Thank you Charlotte and Isabella! We look forward to hearing more about your Creative Space projects over the course of this year.
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