The child is endowed with unknown powers, which can guide us to a radiant future. If what we really want is a new world, then education must take as its aim the development of these hidden possibilities. ~ Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind. This year’s World Water Day, March 22, is a great springboard for Montessori activities in cultural geography. Students of all ages can participate in activities that develop an understanding of the geography of water, and the 2010 motto, “Clean water for a healthy world” can serve as a catalyst for further exploration of the importance of clean water for people around the world.

World Water Day is a globally-recognized initiative that grew out of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The decade between 2005 and 2015 has been named “Celebrating Water for Life: the International Decade for Action.” There are a number of activities and learning opportunities for you Montessori classroom centered around World Water Day.

World Water Day: Montessori Classroom Activities and Opportunities

In the Montessori Preschool/Kindergarten classroom, activities using the globe and Land and Water Forms material can be introduced or revisited to familiarize students with the geography and vocabulary of various water forms around the world. These activities can then be extended to prompt discussion about the importance of water in our daily lives, then further discussion about the importance of clean, healthy water. Montessori teachers can then extend the concept to raise awareness for water conservation, and for the challenge of access to clean water in areas around the world, how children in these areas are affected, and what can be done to help.

At the Montessori elementary level, students enter a sensitive period for community care and service. Activities such as the water cycle and those covering the earth’s hydrosphere and take on new meaning in the context of water conservancy. World Water Day can be a springboard for taking action by identifying ways in which students can conserve water at home, study how water is treated in their community, and advocate for water protection and conservancy in their community. A Montessori elementary classroom might even find a way to help children in another part of the world that is directly affected by the absence of clean water.

Links to organizations for further information on the importance of clean water:

• http://www.worldwaterday.org/
• http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/water/water/index.cfm
• http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/kids/index.php
• http://www.who.int/topics/water/en/
• http://www.ocwa.com/en/resources_overview
• http://www.globalwater.org/elementary.html
• http://www.hope-international.com/projects-and-programs/clean-water-and-sanitation.html
• http://thewaterproject.org/
• http://www.gatesfoundation.org/topics/Pages/water-sanitation-hygiene.aspx
• http://montessori-amman-imman-project.blogspot.com/2010/03/world-water-day-bring-hope-to-land.html

YouTube has some videos that you might like – here are just two: