Environmental Education at Mastro Montessori
Beyond the excellence in academics that the Montessori method is known for, Mastro Montessori of Shrewsbury strives to instill a love of the natural world through environmental education in each of its students.
In 2017 the school established The Garden of Honor; in memory of Mastro Montessori father, Neil DeSena. The 17-raised bed organic garden has become an extension of the classroom, providing hands-on learning experiences in curriculum areas like math, science, engineering, and art. Starting with our youngest Toddler Community students’ children ages 15 months through three years old enjoy harvesting herbs, fruits, and vegetables from the garden or one of the many potted plants throughout the campus. Additionally, Mastro features three indoor/outdoor aeroponic tower gardens to allow for year-round harvesting. One of their favorites is making kale chips, harvesting fresh kale from the tower gardens, and baking them with seasonings. Primary age students 3 to 6 years old love getting their hands dirty planting seedlings and pulling weeds. They also love taking their writing journals out to the garden on warm days, writing and drawing pictures of what they find there.
The Garden has become the centerpiece for Mastro’s Curious Gardener Summer Camp. The weeklong camp for 1st through 6th-grade students encourages a love of nature and gardening while providing hands-on activities with projects that explore math, science, writing, and art. The curriculum offers activities that teach environmental sustainability, nutrition, community service, and an introduction to the practical business skills of running a green market. Teacher-experts bring the garden to life and incorporate a variety of subject areas into the program to enhance and elevate the experience for each child.
In addition to the Garden, Mastro is home to three thriving beehives! There are two outdoor hives and one indoor observation hive housed in our elementary building. The observation hive provides an inside look at the inner workings of a beehive all year long. During the warmer weather, elementary students ages suit up in bee suits and assist in checking the outdoor hives, and when the time comes, they can harvest honey. The students love seeing how centrifugal force extracts the honey from the honeycomb.
Montessori is a holistic approach to education; students of all ages are provided an individualized education based on their own social, academic, physical, and social development. So too is Mastro’s approach to environmental education. Environmental education is an integrative discipline that children should be exposed to at an early age. Mastro students become environmental stewards and innovators who will protect our planet for generations to come.
Sponsored by: Mastro Montessori