Montessori school and family life support the child’s natural tendencies for empathy with our fellow beings, compassionate contemplation of the mysteries of life and death, and scientific exploration. Here a mother describes her two sons’ discovery of a rat killed by the family cat and their response:

 “No photo to capture the exciting moment.  They buried the poor rodent in the backyard.  They enjoyed looking at organs and the degradation.  We talked about how predators keep nature in balance.  They had compassion toward the rat as they imagined his last moment.  It was a sweet, scientific moment.”