City Garden Montessori Students Set Sail on a Journey of Polar Literacy

By Jean Turney, Upper Elementary Teacher, City Garden Montessori School in St. Louis, Missouri

At City Garden Montessori School in St. Louis, learning isn’t confined to textbooks—it comes alive through creativity, collaboration, and community. This spring, the Upper Elementary students took their studies to the next level through an inspiring project called Float Your Boat, designed to deepen their understanding of polar literacy and share their discoveries with the wider school community.

The Float Your Boat project, an initiative that sends small wooden boats into Arctic waters to study ocean currents and climate change, became a perfect vehicle—both literally and figuratively—for exploring the dynamic ecosystems and scientific challenges of the polar regions. Each student designed and decorated a miniature wooden boat, embedding their knowledge of the Arctic and Antarctic into both the visual storytelling and scientific purpose of the project.

But the experience didn't end with boat-building. True to the spirit of Montessori education, students became both learners and teachers. They shared their boats—and the wealth of polar knowledge they had gathered—with the school’s younger students. The celebration also extended to families during Grandparents’ Day, where students proudly explained their work to visiting grandparents and guardians. The room was filled with intergenerational wonder, as boats, maps, and photos helped tell the story of Earth's frozen frontiers and the science behind their preservation.

This culminating experience demonstrated not only the students’ deep engagement with science and geography, but also their growing sense of global responsibility. By connecting their classroom learning to real-world science and sharing it with others, the students of City Garden Montessori proved that even small boats can carry big ideas—and big hearts.