They were encouraged to rearrange the furniture, prepare and serve the daily meals, wash the pots and dishes, help the younger children bathe and change their clothes, sweep, clean, and work in the class garden. While times have changed, the need to feel connected is still as strong as ever. In fact, for today's children it is probably even more important. Whether it's an inner-city child or a child from an affluent suburb, the sense of community has all but disappeared from our children's lives. Families regularly move from house to house and from town to town.
Grandparents usually live in other cities or other states.
Both parents work out of necessity, and when they are at home, they are very, very busy. Many children have the sense that they do not belong to anything or anybody, which is why gangs, which give a sense of belonging, have always had a certain appeal for some children. According to one study after another, astounding numbers of preteens and teenagers engage in sexual activity in their homes after school before their parents come home from work. What is most disturbing is that for most of these children sex doesn't represent either love or lust, but a simple need for human contact, to be hugged and touched, a need to not be so incredibly alone in the world. Along with whatever else Montessori gives our children, it definitely gives them the message that they belong - that their school is like a second family.