Montessori Celebration of Life (Birthday Celebration)

Everyone wants to be remembered and cherished on the special day that they were born. The Montessori Celebration of Life is a lovely way to celebrate a child's birthday in a school setting.

Children love to hear about the journey from their birth to the present day. They want to hear stories, look at photos, and remember wonderful memories. They want to know how cherished they are, and how our life and world is better because they were born into our family or now belong to our class. The Montessori Celebration of Life is the perfect way to do this.

Many Montessori schools use some form of a sun, the months, a candle, and a globe to help show the passage of time and the growth of the child from birth to this birthday celebration.

Credit: Mountain West Montessori School

In preparation for the Montessori Celebration of Life, the parents of the birthday child are asked to bring in a picture for each year of the child's life, and write a short life story to accompany the pictures. We have a sample of a life story that you can download.


Birthday Walk around the Sun

All of the children make a large circle around the sun that has been placed on the floor.  The birthday child stands beside the label that has their birth month on it. The parent or teacher lights the candle to signify the moment the child was born. They then begin reading the life story up until the age of one. At which point, the birthday child begins the journey walking (slowly) around the sun 1 time, with the globe in their hands - stopping when they reach their birth month again. While the birthday child walks, the children in the outer circle sing (to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell):

The earth goes around the sun,
The earth goes around the sun,
The earth goes around the sun,
and then __________ (insert child's name) was 1!

The reading of the life story continues until the age of two. The birthday child begins to walk around the sun again, and the children in the circle repeat singing the verse, changing the ending to '2'.

This continues on until the child's life story is complete.

Then to complete the celebration the following can be sung to the birthday child (to the tune of Happy Birthday):

We celebrate your birth,
And your place on the Earth,
May the sun, moon, and stars,
Bring you peace where you are!

There are lots of variations to the above celebration that can be used in a school setting. On a more personal note, many families use a Waldorf inspired Birthday Ring ... which makes a beautiful celebration for a child and their family.

Credit: Waldorf Mama

Credit: My Child's Diary Blog

Credit: Chasing Cheerios

Credit: Pure Mothers