1+941-729-9565 / 1+800-655-5843 [email protected]

 


Schedule

We have an exceptional schedule of keynotes, workshops, roundtables, and networking opportunities. Start planning which sessions you want to attend.

conference shot of speaker from behind main hall reduced

 

Friday, November 5, 2021

 

All times are given in Eastern Standard Time (USA)

7:30 am – 8:00 am

*In-person Onsite*

Back to Center 

Join us for 30 minutes of mind-quieting, energy-boosting activities  and exercises. Share your favorite mind-body practices: creative movement, songs, affirmations, poems, breath work, visualizations – any activity that brings you peace and positivity.

8:00 am – 8:50 am

Breakfast

9:00 am – 9:30 am

General Session Opening Ceremony

9:45 am – 11:15 am

Elaine Glier 

(For Toddler)

1A | Building Back Better: Re-envisioning our Toddler Environments

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

Pandemic restrictions required us to make serious compromises to the layout and function of our classrooms. Dearly loved and essential materials were packed away to adhere to strict sanitation protocols. In this workshop we will reflect on how these compromises have affected our programs. The Toddler Community is the child’s home away from home, a place of comfort and inspiration. The Montessori materials and activities are the tools we use to support and guide each child’s development. We will spend our time together reimagining our spaces and honing our tools to enhance and refresh our Montessori environments.

9:45 am – 11:15 am

Dorothy Harmann

(For EC & LE)

1B | Intentional Connections: A Practical Guide to Parent Engagement in Early Childhood and Lower Elementary Classrooms 

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

Parent/Teacher partnerships aren’t automatic in the busy lives of working families. Parent involvement requires deliberate action on the part of the teacher to develop a relationship between child, teacher, and home. There is a need to prepare the environment of that relationship with the same attention as preparing the classroom environment. The presenter will present research-based information reported by the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education regarding the importance of the conscience development of parent teacher relationships.

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Practical strategies for engagement will include methods for sharing observations and work records, tools for parent teacher conferences, effective newsletter writing including rationales and personal philosophies of education and letters of introduction of directress and staff, parent education opportunities, at-home volunteerism, and easy to implement parent/child activities for the home.
Options for parent child activities will be shared including re-creation of classroom activities such as the publication of recipes prepared in school, themes for “show and tell” experiences and journal writing between home and school with a “home visit ambassador”.

9:45 am – 11:15 am

Michael Dorer

Jonathan Wolff

(For All)

1C | Classroom Leadership vs. Classroom Management. What’s the Difference? Why do we need both? PART 1

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

Peter Drucker, the organizational guru, once said, “Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.” Could this wisdom apply to directing a Montessori classroom? Is there a difference between managing a Montessori classroom and leading children toward independence, self-regulation, and higher-order thinking? Daniel Duke, classroom management expert wrote, “Classroom Management constitutes the procedures necessary to establish and maintain an environment in which instruction and learning can occur.” We think both management and leadership are essential. In this workshop, we will address the following inquiries: What is the meaning of classroom management? What is meant by classroom leadership?

Read more ...

What is essential in a well-managed and well-led classroom community? Is there a difference between technical proficiency with the materials and applied learning and relational skills? How can we guide students to honor and respect classroom community agreements, not because they are the “rules,” but because they make sense and enhance wellbeing, learning, and community? What are the observable indicators of a truly independent and interdependent Montessori learning community? Join Michael and Jon for a deep dive into the realms of classroom leadership and management.

9:45 am – 11:15 am

Patty Sobelman

Lon Swartzentruber 

 

(For Leadership)

1D | It’s What You Learn After You Know It All That Counts Part 1

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

If nothing else, this past year has taught us that there is so much more to learn! Our Montessori pedagogy is built to be nimble and flexible. We are trained observers. So what did we learn this past year? What did this past year teach us about ourselves, our colleagues, and the children and families that we serve? How did we apply our Montessori training to “life”? Our time together will be spent celebrating and building on what worked and discovering just how much more there is to learn. Our direct aim is equal parts deep thinking with even deeper laughter!

9:45 am – 11:15 am

Claudia Mann

(For Elementary)

1E | Do LESS! Elementary Curriculum Management for Engagement, Deep Learning and Skill Development

*Live Streamed*

Elementary teachers face constant challenges to deliver the Montessori Cosmic Curriculum while developing the skills on which students are tested. This is not only undermining Dr. Montessori’s Cosmic vision, but is also threatening a missed opportunity to address the developmental needs of the child in the second plane. Learners will finish with a process for planning and organizing their cultural curriculum, a system for assessing and tracking student competence in math, reading, and writing skills, and a method for connecting the two for wholistic and meaningful engagement of their students.

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I will share a new way of thinking about the entire elementary curriculum using a process of backward design that relies heavily on inspiration, observation, and teacher response to the students’ interests to drive skill acquisition.

9:45 am – 11:15 am

Paul Epstein  

(For EC)

1F | The “4th period” Lesson: Thinking Routines

*Live Streamed*

We live now in an ever-changing future. Dr. Montessori understood that children must develop their abilities to think and adapt. When children, drawn to the amazing Montessori materials, work with repetition, they develop several routines of thinking. But we need to go further. In this presentation, we will build upon our legacy by defining and experiencing additional thinking routines that can be included in our “4th period” lessons. 

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We will

  • Define thinking
  • Identify the 5 thinking routines already imbedded in the Montessori materials
  • Define 6 new thinking routines
  • Understand how thinking routines can occur as “4th period” lessons
  • Demonstrate and practice during the workshop how to incorporate these thinking routines in your lessons with children

 

11:15 am – 11:45 am

Break

Network & Visit Exhibitors

11:45 am – 12:30 pm

Lunch

12:30 pm – 1:30 pm

Raj Chawla

Keynote:
Leading and Learning in the 21st Century

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

A post-pandemic world calls for a new set of leadership skills and requires holding a learning perspective while working collaboratively with others. What is needed to co-create a shared future in your classroom, your school, and your community? Leaders will have to create a culture that supports working in aligned action, promotes learning, fosters resilient relationships and creates shared accountability – all in service of that co-created future. Keynote speaker Raj Chawla will share tools, methods and practices that teachers and leaders can apply to help their school communities thrive in a post pandemic world.

1:30 pm – 2:00 pm

Break

Network & Visit Exhibitors

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Kitty Bravo

Marilyn Pearlman 

(For Secondary)

2A | Anxious and Afraid: Acknowledging Adolescent Anxiety

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

With one in three adolescents experiencing a high degree of debilitating anxiety, we can be sure these troubled teens are in our schools whether we recognize them or not. Fear of failure, fear of fitting in, fear of embarrassment, fear of messing up, fear of not getting into college… the list goes on and on. This anxiety wreaks havoc on attention, learning, and social relationships. This session will look at the common types of adolescent anxiety, how to recognize when our teens need help, how to adapt our programs to meet their needs, and how to help these struggling young people help themselves move towards adulthood with less stress and more success.

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM

Elizabeth Slade

(For Leadership)

2B | Building Resilient Schools

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

The Building Resilient Montessori Schools Workshop offers an overview of the three components that comprise the whole school Montessori method. Participants will leave the workshop with a new approach for how to strengthen their school, ideas of systems to implement, and tools to support their on-going work.

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM

Michael Dorer

Jonathan Wolff

(For All)

2C | Classroom Leadership vs. Classroom Management. What’s the Difference? Why do we need both? PART 2

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

Peter Drucker, the organizational guru, once said, “Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.” Could this wisdom apply to directing a Montessori classroom? Is there a difference between managing a Montessori classroom and leading children toward independence, self-regulation, and higher-order thinking? Daniel Duke, classroom management expert wrote, “Classroom Management constitutes the procedures necessary to establish and maintain an environment in which instruction and learning can occur.” We think both management and leadership are essential. In this workshop, we will address the following inquiries: What is the meaning of classroom management? What is meant by classroom leadership? What is essential in a well-managed and well-led classroom community? Is there a difference between technical proficiency with the materials and applied learning and relational skills? How can we guide students to honor and respect classroom community agreements, not because they are the “rules,” but because they make sense and enhance wellbeing, learning, and community? What are the observable indicators of a truly independent and interdependent Montessori learning community? Join Michael and Jon for a deep dive into the realms of classroom leadership and management.

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Patty Sobelman

Lon Swartzentruber 

 

(For All)

2D | It’s What You Learn After You Know It All That Counts Part 2

*Live Streamed*

If nothing else, this past year has taught us that there is so much more to learn! Our Montessori pedagogy is built to be nimble and flexible. We are trained observers. So what did we learn this past year? What did this past year teach us about ourselves, our colleagues, and the children and families that we serve? How did we apply our Montessori training to “life”? Our time together will be spent celebrating and building on what worked and discovering just how much more there is to learn. Our direct aim is equal parts deep thinking with even deeper laughter!

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Tracey Hall 

(For Infant/Toddler)

2E | Spiritual Preparation: Caring for Ourselves in Order to Care for Infants and Toddlers

*Live Streamed*

Feeling burnt out or overwhelmed? Are you reveling in your bathroom breaks? Join us to discuss the emotional labor involved in caring for babies and toddlers. We will consider mindful self-regulation, self-care practices and reflective practices that help us build strong relationships with ourselves, our co-workers, the babies and toddlers in our care, and their families. 

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm

Dane Peters

(For Leadership)

2F | Governance/Board/Head of School Harmony Embracing Emotional Intelligence

*Live Streamed*

So often, we see our schools operating with a strong head of school OR a strong board. The strongest schools operate with the head of school and board working in harmony using emotional intelligence to lead the way. This use of emotional intelligence then permeates the school community so administration, faculty, and parents can model a thoughtful team spirit so children can be confident in their work and play.

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This session will look at emotional intelligence, governance, and related resources in a way that will inspire and promote discussion, enabling participants to walk away excited to support their schools to be as strong as they can be.

3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Break

Network & Visit Exhibitors

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM

Aleanea Williams 

Terri Sherrill

(For Toddler)

R1A | To Play or Not To Play?

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

That is an ongoing question in our infant and toddler classroom environments. Do pretend/dramatic play areas have a valid place in our prepared environment? We will explore the history of this concept as well as current research on healthy social emotional development for our youngest children.

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Helen Devere 

(For EC)

R1B | “Connect to our World through Science”

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

Explore facts and activities that involve children and families in learning about our world. See ways to encourage curiosity and understanding of the interconnectedness of all living things, in order to help them become responsible stewards of their planet. Learn ideas for teaching botany and zoology from a powerpoint presentation and handout, as well as actual physical materials.

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Cindy Acker 

(For All)

R1C| Teaching with Historical Integrity – THI

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

Montessorians can change the incorrect rhetoric about Critical Race Theory and the misinformation regarding the history of the world by focusing on place, truth, and story. Through THI, we learn, honor, and support children to do the same in their change-making work.

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Danielle Manzo 

(For All)

R1D | The Role of Secondary Guide: Advisories

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

One hallmark of the adolescent Montessori experience is the transition from materials on shelves to the guide being the primary resource in the space. The partnership between a teen learner and their guide can be really powerful when honored with time and attention. The guide becomes a teen’s advisor that mentors them through curriculum, transitions in life, practical life skills, and their final transition into adulthood. This presentation will dive into the ins and outs of advising, why it is an important part of the adolescent environment, and how it can benefit your relationship with teens.

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Letty Rising

(For Elementary)

R1E | So You Presented the First Great Lesson…Now What? How to Use Experimentation in your Classroom to Teach Science from a Cosmic Perspective

*Live Streamed*

At the beginning of each school year, you present the First Great Lesson. You tell the children in your class about the story of the Universe and planet Earth, and give them a big picture perspective of the world around them. You introduce them to the idea of science, and ignite their reasoning minds with the desire to ask questions and start investigating to find the answers. Then what? How do you keep the momentum going throughout the rest of the school year?

Read more ...

In this presentation, we will:

  • Discuss how the process of experimentation relates to practical life and supports executive functioning skills as you move from the first plane of development to the second.
  • Give you actionable ideas on how to bring science to life in your classroom from a cosmic perspective.
  • Have some fun with science experiments and demonstrations to give you a tangible experience to take back to your classroom.

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm

Charlie Biggs

(For Leadership)

R1F | Introduction to Appreciative Leadership: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Enhance Your Leadership, Engage Your Staff and Families, and Strengthen Your School

*Live Streamed*

This hands-on, interactive workshop will introduce participants to principles and techniques of Appreciative Inquiry, a participatory, strength-based approach to individual and organizational development, and will explore some of the ways that school leaders can use Appreciative Inquiry to:

Read more ...
  • Identify and nurture their own strengths as leaders.
  • Help individual staff members, staff teams, volunteer committees, etc. improve their work by identifying and building on their strengths.
  • Engage staff, parents, and other stakeholders more productively in organizational planning and development.
  • Nurture resilience in themselves and others and lead during difficult times.

5:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Break

Network & Visit Exhibitors

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Celebration Banquet

25th Anniversary, Acknowledgements, & Social Justice Update

*In-person onsite & live-streamed*

The Montessori Foundation

19600 State Road 64 E
941-729-9565
Bradenton, FL 34212

[email protected]

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Montessori Council


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Questions About The Conference?

Email:

[email protected]