Montessori Birthday Celebration – A Lovely Celebration of Life Ceremony

Birthdays are meant to be special, yet often the true meaning gets lost in all the presents and festivities. You’ll find a meaningful and educational tradition for children ages 3-6 in many Montessori schools – the Montessori birthday celebration, a celebration of life ceremony. This is a lovely addition to a child’s birthday at home or in the classroom.

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Montessori Birthday Celebration – A Celebration of Life Ceremony 

I love that the Montessori birthday celebration gives a concrete way for young children to understand the months of the year and the earth’s revolution around the sun each year. It also is a way for children to feel special and to connect with their place in the world.

Not every Montessori school celebrates birthdays with a celebration of life ceremony, sometimes called a Montessori birthday walk. The first two Montessori schools I taught at had mainly American Montessori Society (AMS) teachers, and neither school used the celebration of life ceremony.

My 3½-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, felt special with her 3rd birthday celebration at school. Her Montessori school has a parent bring photos and tell the story of the child’s life during the child’s celebration of life ceremony. And I can always tell when there’s a birthday at Zoey’s school. She’ll be singing to the tune of “The Farmer in the Dell”:

There are different variations of this song and of the Montessori birthday ceremony. See a number of variations in my “Free Celebration of Life Songs and Printables for a Montessori Birthday.” Choose whichever variation would have the most meaning or work best for your own child or school.

Montessori Celebration of Life in the Classroom

Celebration of Life – A Montessori Birthday (photo 1) (a lovely description of the birthday celebration for her twin daughters at their Montessori school) by Angie Lile at Vivid Life (no longer available)

Montessori Birthdays (photo 2) from Vibrant Wanderings (blog is no longer available)

Birthday Time (photo 3) from To the Lesson!

Birthday Celebration (photo 4) from Montessori Album

Celebrating Birthdays, the Montessori Way (includes number rod and sandpaper numeral) by Heike Larson at LePort Schools

The Earth Goes Around the Sun (includes number rod and sandpaper numeral) from Hapa LAB

Celebration of Life from Foothills Montessori School

A Montessori Birthday Is Love and Genius from DIY Corporate Mom

Montessori Celebration of Life from NAMC Montessori Teacher Training Blog

You’ll find many examples of Montessori birthday celebrations on YouTube.

Montessori Celebration of Life at Home

Montessori Birthday Celebration (photo 1) from Mama’s Happy Hive

Pup’s Celebration of Life (photo 2) from Discovery Moments (no longer available)

The Earth Goes Around the Sun  (photo 3) by Jessie Beerman of The Education of Ours at Mommy Moments

A Homemade Montessori Birthday Celebration from Our Montessori Story

Extra Resources

New Years from Montessori Mom gives the idea of using the Montessori birthday celebration for a New Year’s activity as well

The book How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin has information on a Montessori birthday celebration.

Here’s a wonderful book to add to a child’s birthday celebration: On the Day You Were Born by Debra Frasier

Free Child’s Timeline Outline from Montessori Print Shop

See my “Free Celebration of Life Songs and Printables for a Montessori Birthday” for more resources.

I have a post with more ideas for a simple DIY Montessori birthday at home.

You can even have a simple Montessori birthday celebration for a 1 year old!

Hands-on months and seasons activities are a perfect follow-up to a Montessori celebration of life!

Has your child experienced a Montessori birthday celebration?

Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!

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