Walking with Confucius: A Journey of Balance and Virtues

Today, I’m going to tell you a biographical story. A biography is a story about someone's life. The word comes from two Greek words: "bio," meaning life, and "graphy," meaning to write. So, a biography isn’t just about dates and event in one person's life—it’s about telling the interesting and important parts of someone's life so you can really imagine what their life was like.

My story today is about a boy who lived 2,500 years ago in ancient China. His real name was Kǒng Fūzǐ, but most people know him as Confucius. 🧓✨ He was born in a small village and his family didn’t have much money, which made their life hard. When he was small—his father passed away. Confucius was raised by his mother, who taught him how important it was to be curious ,to seek answers of your questions and to always be respectful to others. 📚💖

As Confucius grew older, he noticed that the world around him wasn’t always peaceful. People were often fighting, and leaders didn’t always treat their people fairly. Have you ever seen people arguing or being unkind to each other? It doesn’t feel good, does it? He wondered if there was a way to help people get along better. 🌿

Even as a young boy, Confucius loved learning. He would spend hours reading and thinking about different questions he had. He asked people around him—just like many of you do ask questions—he believed that by learning more, he could one day share this knowledge and help others. 🌱

As he grew into a teenager, hecontinued to studying. The more he learned, the more he began to understand why people were unhappy. He realised that people who treated each other with kindness, respect, and fairness live in peace. He wanted to share this wisdom with others, so they could live happier lives. 🌍

When Confucius became a young adult, he knew he wanted to share his knowledge and teach others. But how would he do it? He decided to walk from village to village, teaching people through stories and conversations about important virtues and doing the right thing. 💬🌟 Wherever he went, people gathered to listen and share their thoughts. 👂✨ Confucius had five important lessons that he believed could make the world a better place. Let’s learn these five together so we can remember them.

He talked about the importance of kindness and being good to others. 🌟 Imagine if every time you met someone, you treated them kindly. Confucius believed that if everyone practiced kindness, the world would be a better place. 🌍💖Can you think of a time when someone was kind to you? How did it make you feel?

He told stories about showing respect and using good manners. 🎩💬 Think about how saying “please” and “thank you” or holding the door for someone can make them feel respected. Are there other ways to show respect ? 🎩💬😊

Another life lesson was about love and respect for your family. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦💖He compared a family to a tree 🌳—when you take care of the roots (your family), the whole tree grows strong. Imagine you as a branch of the tree, if the roots of the tree are strong, the branches grow happily big and strong every year. Think about different ways through which you can express your love and respect to your family?

He challenged people to think about doing what’s right, even when it’s hard. ⚖️💪 Sometimes it’s difficult to make the right choice.It might mean admitting a mistake or speaking up when you see something unfair. But making the right choices, even when they’re hard, helps us grow into stronger, better people. What helps you with your choices and how do you know if they are right ? ⚖️

Confucius loved learning and believed deeply in wisdom. 🧠💡 He believed that by being curious and always asking questions, we grow wiser every day. Learning helps us understand the world and the people around us more deeply. 🌍🔍 Can you think of a discovery or something you learned that made you see the world differently?

After Confucius died, his students missed him, his stories, and the way he invite them to think about life and different virtues. 📚 So, they decided to write down everything they learned from him in a book , and named it the Analects 👏An-a-lects👏 which means "Selected Sayings." This book is full of the conversations between Confucius and his students, and that’s how his teachings, have been passed down for thousands of years. 🌟📖

How do you think virtue such as "curiosity" can help us become kinder, wiser, and more respectful people? Curiosity comes from latin word meaning "eager to know", are you eager to know more about something? What? Will this help you become kinder and more respecful to other people around you ?

Questions following the selected virtues:

compassion, truthfulness, generosity, forgiveness , integrity

• Why this have been important for the first human beings?

• What does it mean - etymology?

• How do we practice it?

• Can thre be too much of it?

I ended this story by connecting it to the Grace and Courtesy material about virtues. I used selected cards from the Virtue Card material, which includes thoughtful questions designed to spark meaningful conversations. I keep these cards in a DIY envelope, similar to the ones we use for emotions. Each card features the name of a virtue along with its etymology, helping children understand the deeper meanings of virtues. Through open discussions, the children explore how we can apply virtues like kindness, respect, loyalty, and curiosity in our everyday lives, highlighting the importance of speaking the "language of virtues."

There are many ways to close this story. One of the ways can be to invite the children to explore The Analects and learn more about the life of Confucius.

Another way is to encourage them to write a biographical story about someone they like, like idol or someone they admire. For example : "Now that you have discovered the Confucius’ life and teachings, think about someone you admire. Imagine what experiences they had through their life. What challenges did they overcome? Who was their hero? What virtues helped them to make their dreams come true? You could even write your own biography or about someone who inspires you! ✍️🌟"

With Montessori joy,

Vanina 😊