Voorhees, New Jersey – A class of enthusiastic students from Naudain Academy, a Montessori school, continued on their journey to self-discovery this week via Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Program as they learned about the next Secret of the Heart – COURAGE. Stephanie Pelly, the program facilitator began by reading Young Masters: Heart Of A Lion. “What does courage mean?” she asked. Immediately one little girl proudly offered her bright reply. “Courage means you are feeling confident!” “Courage is being brave,” said another.
In the story Heart Of A Lion, which introduces EEtha as a new character in the series, Phylos is afraid to cross the river. He has his reasons, but friends EEtha and Butaan offer their support and encourage Phylos to believe in himself, after all there’s a first time for everything. The children loved that Phylos faced his fear and tried something new. They also learned, in the most simple way, that it’s our perceptions that sometimes create our fears. Phylos thought the water would be over his head, but in reality it was only ankle deep. He ultimately discovered his fears were unfounded.
“Sometimes our fears,” said Stephanie,”keep us safe. If the water had been very deep perhaps Phylos would have needed to learn how to swim first. So fears are not bad to have, they can warn us that there is something we need to know. And sometimes we can learn to have courage and face our fears. Have you ever been afraid of the dark?” asked Stephanie. “Maybe we take little steps to over come our fears like, turn off the bright light and sleep with a night light and then take another step to turn off the night light and sleep with a flashlight next to the bed. And before we know it we don’t need a light at all, because we realize there was really nothing to be afraid of.”
“Have you ever been afraid of anything?” asked Stephanie. One girl shared she was afraid of heights. Stephanie suggested climbing a little higher every day and to ask a teacher or parent to stand next to her when she climbs for extra support. She really liked that idea. “It’s good to ask for help and little by little we can face our fears,” said Stephanie.
For the lesson Stephanie rolled out a mat. She asked the children to pretend it was water, a river like the one Phylos was
crossing. She then placed “paper rocks” on the mat with words written on them that said “I believe in myself, “I can do it,” “I am brave,” “I can ask for and receive help.” One at a time the children in the class crossed the river and as they stepped on the rocks they read the empowering statements out loud with confidence. “Great job,” said Stephanie.
Today, once the lesson was finished they listened to the songs on the Young Masters: Heart Of A Lion accompanying CD. Hey Young Masters and The Heart Is Very Smart are two of their favorites. Each lesson the children love concluding by singing Thank You For Being Here.
Thank you for being here to read about how Naudain Academy is changing the world. If you’re interested in using the Young Masters Little Wisdom Discovery Program at your Montessori school. It’s free for a limited time by clicking here.
Stay tuned for more adventures in learning .
