The beauty of Grace and Courtesy

Part of the Montessori "curriculum" is Grace and Courtesy. These lessons are provided to the young child to give them the vocabulary, actions, and steps to build self awareness and respond to situation inside or out of the classroom.  In essence, it is to help the child with his social structure. Examples of these lessons include: How to introduce yourself, How to open a door for others, How to Introduce a friend, How to express feelings, etc.

At Trulove we practice these lessons often. The children eagerly participate, and it is always so much fun. Today, however, I had the joy of experiencing the true beauty of these little lessons..

A little boy went up to another child and pushed him. From my observation, he wasn't pushing to be mean, but really just trying to connect with the other child. The second child immediately turned around and was clearly surprised and upset. Inside of pushing back, as normal 3 year olds do, he simply said " ( Child's Name), I didn't like that. It hurt my body. This is a peaceful classroom, please use your words next time." The child walked away and continued on with his work.

It made my heart so happy!