The Garden as an Extension of the Montessori Classroom
MST Elementary families recently took a closer look at how our garden supports the Montessori Method across the Planes of Development, at a recent Montessori Moments morning. We explored the unique sensitivities of the First and Second Planes and how the Forest Garden provides opportunities for children to learn in ways that align with their psychological development.
The garden work supports the developmental needs of primary and elementary children through hands-on, purposeful experiences, while fostering independence, responsibility, exploration, and connection with the natural world.
Hands-on and purposeful activities are particularly important during the primary years because they connect directly with the way the three- to six-year-old child learns and develops. In the garden, children are not only developing practical skills such as digging, planting, watering, and harvesting; they are also strengthening concentration, coordination, independence, and the ability to follow a sequence of purposeful actions.
These experiences can naturally connect with many other areas of the Montessori classroom. For example, caring for plants can support sensorial exploration, language development, mathematics, and cultural studies. Children can count seeds, measure water, compare the size of plants, observe changes over time, learn new vocabulary, and explore concepts related to botany and the natural world.
The garden therefore provides an opportunity for children to take concepts they encounter through Montessori materials and experience them in a real and meaningful context. This connection between the classroom and the garden allows learning to become more integrated, concrete, and relevant, while giving children repeated opportunities to apply what they have learned through purposeful work.
In the elementary years, children are driven by a growing imagination, a desire to understand their place within the wider world, and a strong interest in culture and morality. The garden provides a natural setting for these developmental needs to flourish. With an elementary-trained guide supporting the garden, projects can be thoughtfully designed to connect with the existing botany and geography curriculum while giving children opportunities to observe, question, experiment, collaborate, and care for the living world around them.
Beyond the curriculum, the garden is also becoming a place for meaningful community projects. Our current reforestation project, guided by MST Sustainability Coordinator Naoko Kikkawa, gives students the opportunity to put their growing knowledge and sense of responsibility into action, transforming the edges of the garden into a Japanese native forest.
Through the Forest Garden, Montessori principles move beyond the classroom walls and into the soil, where children can experience firsthand the interconnectedness of plants, people, place, and culture.
Rosie Said and Silvia Brunone
