Description

Every Montessori classroom; regardless of which plane of development they relate to;  all require essential core materials, which are a hallmark of prepared environments.  However, every Montessori classroom also requires one other indispensable item.  This is not a core product, but used by every Child once a year; and that is the Birthday Circle Activity – Italian, helping us to wish the Child, “tanti auguri!” (happy birthday).

The aim of this birthday ritual is to help students recognise how they have grown; and changed; since they were born.  The ritual helps them understand why they have turned a year older, and to foster a sense of community; and celebration; in the Montessori classroom environment. This birthday ritual is typically introduced during circle time and an item; such as a candle or yellow ball; is placed in the center of the circle to represent the sun in our universe.

The birthday child is invited to carefully hold the globe, while the Montessori teacher explains to the children that the earth orbits around the sun, and one rotation around the sun takes one year of time. Essentially, the child’s walk represents the earth revolving around the sun, and another year that has passed…(read more)

Features of the Birthday Circle Activity – Italian:

• the direct objective for the Child, is to:
  • understand why they have turned a year older
• indirectly, the Child learns to:
  • recognise how they have grown in the past year
  • identify each season and how it changes
  • name each month and know which season it belongs to
• this activity is important in fostering a sense of community
• interchangeable between Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Contents of the Birthday Circle Activity – Italian:

• 1 x circular mat
• 4 x images of trees, depicting each season
• 4 x images of people, depicting each season
• 12 x labels, 1 of each month
• 4 x small labels naming each season
• 4 x arrows, to direct the direction the Child must walk
• everything is stored in a transparent, plastic container with a lid

Suggested Activities for the Child:

• to start the ritual, the teacher can elect to light a candle in a holder
• at the beginning of the activity, the Child is told that the birthday child is waiting to be born
• all the children begin singing the birthday song
• the birthday Child begins walking around the sun, holding a globe of the world, stopping when they reach the month of their birth
• the teacher explains that they are now one, and everyone claps once
• she shares a photograph of them when they were one, and asks the birthday child to tell the class what they learnt that year
• and this is repeated for every year, with the candle being extinguished when their current age is achieved

Size:  

• circular mat – 103cm / (40½”)
• labels of the month – 15cm x 4cm / (6″ x 1½”)
• plastic container – 25.5cm x 14.5cm x 4.5cm / (10″ x 5¾” x 1¾”)

Attributions for the Birthday Circle Activity:

We thank NAMC, the North American Montessori Centre, and Bree, an NAMC tutor and graduate for use of her blog:  Introducing History and Passage of Time in a Montessori Preschool: The Birthday Walk and the Clock and Montessori Kids Universe.