Start with the photos. Open your phone, go back to the month your child was born, and pick one picture from each year since. For a four-year-old that's five pictures: the newborn year, then ages one, two, three and four. Those photos, and a few sentences about each year, are what many Montessori guides ask for before a child's birthday celebration in the classroom.
The celebration is called the walk around the sun. A candle, a lamp or a picture of the sun sits in the middle of a circle of children. Your child holds a small globe and walks around it once for each year of life, while the guide tells the group what happened that year. Each school runs it a little differently, so read the request your child's guide sends and follow it over anything here.
Gather one photo per year
Choose photos where your child is easy to see. A close picture of your child's face or whole body works better for a group of three-year-olds sitting a few feet away than a beach scene where your child is a small shape in the corner.
Good choices for each year:
- Birth: your child as a newborn, alone or held by a parent.
- Age one: crawling, standing, or holding a cup.
- Age two: walking outdoors, eating, or with a sibling or pet.
- Age three: doing something your child still talks about, such as digging in the garden or riding a tricycle.
- Age four and up: a photo from the past year that your child would pick.
Ask your child to help choose the most recent ones.
Check how the guide wants the photos. Some ask for prints, labeled on the back with the year. Some ask for digital files. If you send prints, keep copies at home.
Write two or three sentences for each year
The guide will read your words aloud, or tell them in their own words, to a group of young children. Short sentences, real events and things your child can picture work best.
For each year, answer one or two of these questions:
- Where did your child live?
- Who joined the family?
- What did your child learn to do?
- What did your child love?
Here is what a set of sentences might look like for a child turning four:
The year Sam was born. Sam was born in the spring. Sam lived with Mama and Papa in an apartment with a big window.
When Sam was one. Sam learned to walk. Sam's favorite food was banana.
When Sam was two. Sam's sister was born. Sam helped by bringing her socks.
When Sam was three. Sam started school and learned to pour water from a pitcher. Sam liked to dig for worms in the garden.
When Sam was four. Sam learned to ride a bike with training wheels and can now put on a coat alone.
Use your child's name rather than "he" or "she". Leave out anything you wouldn't want said in front of the whole class, such as illnesses, family conflicts or a hard move. If a year was difficult, write about one ordinary thing your child did that year.
Keep each year to two or three sentences. A five-year-old walks around the sun five times, and the guide tells one year of the story on each turn.
Send it on time, and ask what to expect
Most guides ask for photos and sentences a week or two ahead. Put the deadline on your calendar the day the request arrives.
When you send them, ask a few questions so you know what the day will look like:
- "What time is the celebration, and how long does it take?"
- "Can family members come? How many?"
- "Should we send anything else, like a snack or a book to read?"
- "What should my child wear?"
If you're invited, arrive a few minutes early and sit where the guide asks you to. The children are still in their work cycle until the celebration starts, so come in quietly. During the walk, let the guide lead. Your child may look to you for a smile. Give one, and stay in your seat.
Prepare your child at home
A few days before, tell your child what will happen. "On Thursday, you'll walk around the sun at school. You'll hold the globe and walk once for each year. Your guide will tell everyone about when you were a baby."
Some children love being the center of the circle. Others find it hard. You can practice at home: put a lamp or a candle on the floor, hand your child an orange or a ball, and walk around it together while you tell the story of each year.
After the celebration, ask the guide to send the photos home.