Masks 🎭 More Than Disguise 😌🦁👺

👀 Look closely at my face. You can see my eyes, my nose, my mouth… everything that shows how I feel. Maybe I’m smiling. Maybe I’m serious. Maybe I’m full of curiosity, just like you.

But what if I covered my face with this?

Now… who am I?

That question—Who am I now?—has echoed across time and continents. For thousands of years, people around the world have made masks—to show feelings, to hide identities, to tell stories, to honor ancestors and gods, or to frighten away danger that cannot be seen. 😮‍💨👁️‍🗨️🌀

Long ago, people needed more than food, water, or shelter. They had invisible needs too—needs of the spirit. Spiritual needs.✨ And so, they made masks. People have worn masks for thousands of years. Not just for fun or celebration 🥳, but for serious things too: to dance 💃, to pray 🙏, to scare away danger 👻, or to speak with the spirit world 🌌.

Some of the oldest masks ever found are over 9,000 years old—made of stone, with hollow eyes and ghost-like expressions, discovered in caves in the Judean desert. ⛰️👁️ In ancient Egypt, masks were placed over the faces of the dead—like the famous golden mask of Pharaoh Tutankhamun—to help guide them safely to the afterlife. 👑🌟 In ancient Greece, actors wore special masks in open-air theatres to show the audience if a character was happy, sad, angry, or surprised—even from far away! 🎭🇬🇷

Masks have been made from wood 🌳, clay 🏺, leather, feathers 🪶, gold 🪙, even paper and leaves 🍃—each shaped by the land and the needs of the people who made them.🌍✨

✨ Here’s one: This mask sparkles! ✨ Look closely—can you see gold paint, feathers, maybe even tiny beads? These masks were worn during Carnival in Venice, Italy 🇮🇹—a time of music, dancing, and mystery. 🤫💃 Behind a mask, everyone could pretend to be someone else: rich or poor, old or young. Can you guess who’s behind this one?

In every place where people live, you’ll find masks. 📜 For example, here is one🪘 African Dan Mask – from Ivory Coast which is carved from wood. This mask is worn by dancers who leap and spin! Look at the curve of the mouth—does it look serious or smiling? This mask might scare away bad spirits or make the village safe for celebration.

And here! 🪶 This mask is big, bold, and shaped like a bird! 🪶 This is Haida Raven Mask – Pacific Northwest, North America 🇨🇦 Look at the long beak and the carved wings. 🐦 The Raven is a trickster, a clever creature in Haida stories. When the dancer opens the mask, surprise! There’s a human face inside. These masks were used in winter ceremonies, filled with stories and song. 🔥🎶

🌐 Around the world, every mask has a purpose. Some connect people with spiritual life 🙌, some with celebration and play 🎉, and others with mourning, healing, or war ⚔️. No matter the culture or time, the need for expression, connection, and protection shows up again and again—one of our great fundamental needs as human beings. 🌍✨

We have a folder of beautiful mask pictures from around the world on the history shelf. Let’s look at the masks together. Each of these masks tells a story 📖, and each card gives us a clue 🔍. We’ll read the text card, look at the images, and when we find a match—we’ll turn it over and learn more.

💭 I wonder… What materials would you choose to design your own mask? 🎨 Would it be made of leaves, feathers, fabric, or clay? What story would your mask tell? 🌈 Would it be for chasing away bad spirits 👻, for performing in a play 🎭, or for celebrating something special—like a birthday or a changing season? 🎉🌸

With Montessori joy,

Vanina 😊