Spark Insight Journal – Page 8 – Rituals, Processes and Traditions

Rituals, processes, and traditions help define a family and community. They make our lives feel meaningful. You can probably remember something in your own life that feels so distinctive you might be able to smell, taste, or see it right now.

In the lives of the children at the Spark Studio, there are a few systems and traditions that the learners look forward to every day/week/season. They bond the learners together as they remember these special events year after year, laughing about funny stories, and wondering what next year may bring. Learners also perform daily and weekly rituals such as the ‘Good Morning Song’ that is sung in English, Spanish, French, and Hindi, and the ‘Gratitude Lunch Song’ that is sung every afternoon followed by “Bon Appetit, enjoy your lunch!” with so much excitement, or having community meetings to discuss studio guardrails and grace and courtesy.

 Maria Montessori knew the importance of the child understanding their place in the universe. She said that the child from 0-6 makes the sense and order of the world around him and placed emphasis on the Tendencies and Sensitive Periods to give us more insight.  She knew the impression that a daily routine or tradition can leave on a child’s heart is very special and said, “The things he sees are not just remembered; they are part of his soul.” The rituals and traditions we begin with young children are more than future memories; they are like seeds that grow into our deepest understanding of ourselves.

 We are sharing a list of some systems and traditions that we have in the Studio. This list will evolve as we will observe the learners and continue to ‘follow the child’.

• Processes 

• • The Inside and outside charts (for in-studio and spark play)
  • Clock book
  • Calendar
  • Helper’s Chart
  • File folders for works and paintings
  • Mindfulness activities (refer to the relevant post here).

• Rituals and Traditions

• • Birthdays- where we rotate around the sun and make wishes
  • Thursday Mindful Walks
  • Friday Movement Day
  • Art and Crafts activities- leaves and bats works during fall; snowflakes and Aurora Borealis works for winter; we decorated our own kites; we wrote our wishes for the new year prior to the new year and added them to the fire during winter solstice celebrations and so many more!
  • Group snack/lunch during Thanksgiving,
  • Discussing the spirit of giving- (this year we made and sent bookmarks to the children at the Dell Hospital, for the guides, our campus neighborhood, and our parents), 

Enjoy some relevant studio pics on this topic below.