Montessori birthday celebration

The New Year presents an opportunity for learning about months and years and the passage of time, and the Montessori birthday ceremony fits in beautifully with this theme.  The birthday ceremony is an essential part of the history and geography curriculum.  In it, the birthday child holds the globe and walks around a sun.  The child makes a revolution for each year of his or her life, so a child turning 3 would walk around three times.  Children who attend Montessori elementary schools continue this tradition.  I once had a middle school student tell me that what she missed most about her Montessori elementary school was the birthday ceremony.