September 21, the United Nations International Day of Peace, arrives each year as both a celebration and a nudge. This year’s global theme—Act Now for a Peaceful World—invites tangible commitments, not just a one-day observance. In Montessori terms, that’s our sweet spot. Peace is something we practice, prepare for, and make visible in the everyday life of our classrooms and communities.
At the American Montessori Society, we see peace education as a lived experience that begins with the child and radiates outward to families, schools, neighborhoods, and beyond. Our community’s work in peace and social justice, which is centered on human dignity, safety, equitable treatment, and belonging, grounds that vision.
Peace, the Montessori Way
Maria Montessori reminded us that educating for peace is not only about preventing harm; it is about cultivating the inner discipline, imagination, and social responsibility that make peace possible. Scholarship on Montessori’s contributions frames this as positive peace—the presence of justice, harmony, and freedom—alongside the skills of conflict resolution and global citizenship.
How does that look in practice? It looks like:
- A prepared environment where children choose meaningful work and concentrate deeply
- A culture of Grace and Courtesy that explicitly teaches how to interrupt politely, navigate the room respectfully, and resolve conflicts; and
- An “invisible curriculum” of silence, walking on the line, and spoken language that helps children internalize self-regulation and empathy.
These are not extras; they are the ecosystem of peace.
Contemporary Montessori writers and researchers have extended this legacy for today’s classrooms, emphasizing that 21st-century peace education is both content (what we study) and conduct (how we live together). It is interdisciplinary, culturally responsive, and anchored in the child’s developing autonomy and community responsibility.
From One Day to the Whole Year: A Montessori Peace Roadmap
Peacebuilding is a journey, and to move from inspiration to implementation, it’s best to draw a roadmap that’s intentionally simple, flexible, measurable, and relational so it can thrive in a Children’s House, an Elementary environment, or an Adolescent community. What might a year-long peacebuilding curriculum look like? See the sample below. Use it as a template, adapt it liberally, and invite students to co-author the journey.
September: Launch & Listen. Co-create a classroom Peace Charter using children’s language. You might ask, “What does peace look, sound, and feel like here?” Establish a student Peace Council to help with peer mediation and community meetings. Connect your kickoff to the UN theme and name one concrete action your class will take this month.
October: Grace & Courtesy in Action. Plan and rehearse daily micro-lessons, such as “how to walk around a work rug,” “how to ask for help,” and “how to join a work respectfully.” Track the effects you observe in the hum of the room.
November: Gratitude & Service. Facilitate student-chosen service learning linked to real community needs (food security, warm clothing drive, school garden). Students document who is served and why the work matters, thus connecting means and ends.
December: Peaceful Problem-Solving. Introduce or strengthen class meetings and reflective dialogue. Model nonviolent communication; invite students to generate scripts for tricky moments, for example: sharing materials, taking turns, repairing harm.
January: Inner Stillness & Focus. Revisit the “invisible curriculum”: silence, mindful movement, and concentration-building routines. Consider a short staff learning circle on mindfulness to sustain adult modeling.
February: Belonging & Anti-Bias. Audit the environment for representation and access. Incorporate stories and studies that build empathy and broaden perspectives. Use family interviews, heritage maps, or peace biographies to center student voices, highlighting and exemplifying what it means to be a world citizen.
March: Planetary Stewardship. Link cosmic education to stewardship projects—waste audits, pollinator plantings, or habitat studies—that make interdependence visible. Students propose a class “Earth Peace” action and measure its impact. (For more sustainability ideas, watch this AMS Learning video.)
April: Peace in the Neighborhood. Host a community dialogue or “peace walk.” Invite local partners (libraries, elders, artists, activists) and share student work. If feasible, apply for a small grant to amplify the project’s reach.
May: Student-Led Peace Museum. Transform hallways into a museum of artifacts, journals, photographs, and data that tell the story of your class’s peace journey—complete with docents, guided tours, and a guest book for community feedback.
June: Reflection & Renewal. Hold student conferences focused on growth in self-discipline, empathy, and collaboration. Invite proposals for next year’s Peace Council and draft version 2.0 of your Peace Charter.
July–August: Adult Preparation. Peace in the classroom is anchored by the adult’s inner work. Use summer planning time to revisit observation notes, refine routines, refresh materials, and reconnect with your own purpose as a guide.
Measuring What Matters
“Is it working?” is a fair question, and one Montessorians are well-equipped to answer through observation. Consider a simple dashboard you update monthly:
- Environment: frequency of interruptions, care of materials, transitions.
- Relationships: peer mediation outcomes, expressions of gratitude, and inclusion behaviors.
- Self-regulation: time-on-task, recovery from frustration, responsible movement.
- Community action: service learning hours, community partner feedback, student reflections.
AMS resources suggest capturing evidence through student work samples, community meeting notes, and child-authored definitions of peace, then using those artifacts to guide next steps. und the world.
Partnering with Families & Community
Peace education flourishes when families are invited in as co-constructors. Share the class Peace Charter at back-to-school night. Offer simple “home extensions” (gratitude rituals, neighborhood cleanups, family peace circles). Curate a short reading list for caregivers that explains Grace and Courtesy and the purpose of silence and concentration. When larger events challenge children—locally or globally—provide families with developmentally attuned resources for talking with children about tragedy.
To broaden your impact, consider a peace project that reaches beyond the classroom, incorporating intergenerational storytelling, a community mural, or a restorative-justice partnership, and look for support through AMS Peace Seed Grants. Even modest funding can catalyze student leadership and deepen community relationships.
Aligning with the UN Call to “Act Now”
In a time of heightened polarization, hate speech, injustice, and physical danger, Montessori educators have a special responsibility to cultivate communities where children practice dignity, dialogue, and constructive action every day. Peace is not a single lesson; it is a prepared environment and a year-long habit of mind.
- Begin with belonging: grace and courtesy, community agreements co-crafted with students, and a peace corner that invites reflection and self-regulation.
- Nurture perspective-taking through stories, timelines, and cultural studies that honor many voices.
- Build routines for civil discourse with class meetings, role-play, and restorative conversations so students learn to listen, disagree respectfully, and repair harm.
- Strengthen media and information literacy through age-appropriate source evaluation and reflective journaling, using current events to catalyze timely discussions.
- Connect learning to service: care of the classroom and campus, partnerships with local organizations, and projects that address kindness, environmental stewardship, and community needs.
- Invite families into the work through shared language, home activities, and celebrations of progress.
Across the year, revisit these practices with increasing independence, linking Practical Life, Language, and Cultural areas to peace and social justice goals. In doing so, we help children experience freedom with responsibility and see themselves as capable contributors to a more just and compassionate society.
The UN’s International Day of Peace is a call to action. This year’s theme underscores that everyone has a role to play, from classrooms to communities to international bodies. When we equip children to practice empathy, resolve conflicts, steward the Earth, and collaborate across difference, we answer that call—beautifully and concretely—every day.
Works Cited
- American Montessori Society. “Peace & Social Justice.” The American Montessori Society
- American Montessori Society. “Incorporating Peace Education into the School Curriculum.” The American Montessori Society
- American Montessori Society. “2024–2025 Ursula Thrush Peace Seed Grant.” The American Montessori Society
- American Montessori Society. “Resources on War and Conflict for Montessori Educators.” The American Montessori Society
- American Montessori Society. “Holistic Peace Education” (White Paper). The American Montessori Society
- Duckworth, Cheryl. “Maria Montessori’s Contribution to Peace Education.” Encyclopedia of Peace Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2008. Teachers College
- Manzo, Jillian. “Maria Montessori’s Legacy: Twenty-First-Century Peace Education.” TCNJ Journal of Student Scholarship, 2018. TCNJ Journal of Student Scholarship
- Montessori Services. “Cultivating Peace in the Classroom.” Ideas & Insights. Montessori Services
- United Nations. “International Day of Peace.” United Nations