In Montessori schools, five “great lessons” are taught throughout the elementary curriculum, starting in the first grade and repeating every year so that students learn to appreciate the wonder of life and human achievement.

The first great lesson, according to document provided by Bill Baker, Sedona Charter School upper elementary principal educator, is The Beginning. It tells the instructive story of the origins of the universe and planet Earth.

The second, The Time Line of Life, documents the beginnings of life on Earth from the simplest forms through to the appearance of human beings.

The third, The Coming of Humans, shows students how humans developed from their earliest roots to complex tool-using creatures, inventors and leaders of empires.

The fourth and fifth great lessons, The History of Writing and The History of Mathematics, are themed courses following the development of written language and mathematical expression.

On Tuesday, March 17, two artists in the city of Sedona’s Artist in the Classroom program, Joan Boarque and Jason Voss, began the process of adding to the students’ understanding of the great lessons.

Under the two artists’ watch, the mural that has wrapped around the playground for a decade is undergoing a massive revision to show the great lessons in sequence.

To read the full story, see the Friday, March 20, edition of the Sedona Red Rock News.