The Cosmic Explorer

Cosmic Education is the name given to the Montessori elementary program.  The child must be afforded the grandeur of a whole view of the universe and the details must be seen in relation to the whole.  Mario Montessori, described it this way, “we arrive at the history of mankind which, to be understood, must be inserted into the life of the earth and the universe.” 

We begin this by presenting the whole through the five great stories.  The first story deals with the creation of the universe (geology, geography, astronomy, physics, and chemistry).  The second story is about the coming of life (paleontology, zoology, botany).  The third story is about the coming of human beings (early man, civilizations, economic and political geography).  And the fourth and fifth great stories are about the special creations of human beings, that of writing and numerals.  After the stories the details are studied.  As the child studies all the elements of the universe he begins to realize that there is a law and an order and an interconnectedness of all things.  As the elementary child researches this interconnectedness he comes to a harmonious understanding of his planet.