When I arrive at the «Colegio Montessori de Lujan», the only Montessori school in Argentina with an elementary class, all the 3-6 year-olds are gathered in the courtyard watching a performance of traditional dance from Argentina.
COLEGIO MONTESSORI DE LUJAN - Buenos Aires
The principal who manages a large school, kindly takes time to show me around. We climb to the first floor to see the two 6-12 environments, very beautiful, fully equipped, where the children are all very joyfully invested in their activities, when the secretary comes to tell the principal that the heavy rain that was pouring since earlier had begun to flood the 3-6 classes that are all located on the ground floor.
Short visit!
In the quiet, children are all guided upstairs, and all the adults left start emptying the water that had begun to spread in the classrooms, keeping smiling.
And at the very moment I was stepping outside, leaving the teachers reorganize themselves, I’m drawn to some beautiful music. This is how I discovered the music room. The principal, who managed to take a few minutes, tells me that there is a music teacher constantly in this room. There are three of them taking turns during the week, each specialized in a different instrument (violin, piano, guitar) and children choose, if they wish, the instrument they want to learn to play.
The children choose an instrument at the beginning of the year and have classes every week. They can also come to practice when the room is free. They organize concerts, are invited to play at events in Lujan, and even record in the famous Cathedral of Lujan. The principal tells me how much, in addition to learning an instrument, practicing music develops concentration and listening skills.
For sure, it brings a lot of life to this school!
