A Story Just Begun: The Story of Humans

Have you ever wondered what made early humans so special, that set them apart from animals so many millennia ago? In LEU our curiosity about this topic was so intense that we decided to take a trip through time and discover the answers through Montessori’s Third Great Lesson: The Coming of Humans.

This lesson started off with our looking at the long black strip and then focusing on the skills and gifts that set humans apart from other animals in the world. These skills and gifts made it possible for humans to progress from living in caves and creating fire, to fashioning innovative tools and machines. Students and teachers alike were enthralled as we began to truly understand and visualize our role and place within the larger story of the universe.

The Coming of Humans story highlighted the fundamental abilities and characteristics that defined humans so long ago, and helped us build a more concrete understanding of the relatively tiny amount of time that humans have been contributing to the cosmic story.

We discovered that humans have truly built a vibrant, ever-progressing history, through the use of tools, farming and food preparation, storage and shelter, transportation, medicine, art, and so much more. Most importantly, we learned to understand our existence, our place in the world, and our personal responsibility in bettering society and the universe.