Schedule
Welcome to the second day of our conference.
Saturday, November 4, 2023
All times are given in Mountain Standard Time (USA)
7:30 am – 8:00 am
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
*Live Streamed*
9:30 am – 10:00 am
Guest Presenters
Join us to hear about some of the most current Montessori Topics and Organizations
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Jana Morgan
(For Primary,Leadership/Teacher Ed)
4A | Montessori Schedule of the Day
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
In the Montessori schedule of the day, children engaged in various types of outdoor activities after lunch. With research supporting the mental, physical, spiritual and academic benefits of being outdoors, it might be the perfect time for us to reflect on our schedules and consider bringing them more in line with what Dr. Montessori suggested for over 30 years.
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Sarah Moudry
(For Casa)
4B | From Concept to Casserole
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
Food preparation is Practical Life, and teachers sometimes shy away from it because it can be messy, expensive, or overwhelming. Join a discussion about the many benefits of preparing and sharing food with children as well as preparation and planning techniques to ease your stress and increase your excitement about incorporating food and cooking into the daily life of your classroom.
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You’ll return to your classroom with simple recipes, new confidence about food preparation, and an understanding of how food preparation builds community and independence and connects us through shared experience and culture.
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Jody Malterre
(For Elementary)
4C | Extensions in Elementary Mathematics
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
Are you looking for new math and geometry ideas for your Elementary students? Do you need some fresh project ideas that engage students of all abilities? Let’s play together as we look to renew work ideas that engage novelty, precision, high-order thinking skills, and more. This workshop will renew you with fresh ideas of “dig in” type projects that are feasible and engaging.
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Dr. Lindsey Pollock
Mercedes Thrush
(For Leadership)
4D | S is your Superpower
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
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Participants will have an opportunity to complete self-assessment reflections/inventories, including the WHY.os, practice self-care techniques, and reflect on cultural awareness in embracing our uniquely diverse selves and communities. We will engage the group in equity conversations using the CLEE Institute (formerly SRI) protocols. Attendees will have the opportunity to move in the room and try strategies for self-care, focused listening, goal-setting, and team-building. Along with resources, we hope to build lasting connections – a network of colleagues to take with us after the conference!
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Andrew Kutt
(For Leadership)
4E | The Ten Lessons I Learned at Joe’s Market
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
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which I have incorporated to this day into the culture and operations at Oneness-Family Montessori School. I attribute much of the success of our school over the years to the people skills, leadership qualities, and management style I gained at Joe’s Market. During this workshop, I will share 10 of those lessons that I see as keys to the successful administration of a Montessori school and to the development of a vibrant Montessori community. There will be a few good stories for sure, as well as a rare performance of my song Joe’s Market, and participatnts will create their own priority action plan to bring back to their schools.
10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Christine Lowry
(Special Ed)
4F | Leading an Inclusive Montessori School and Classroom: The What, the Why, and the How
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
A workshop for school leaders, level directors, and classroom teachers.
As school leaders and classroom teachers, we are challenged by the wide range of diversity we observe in today’s students. We appreciate the concept of inclusion but aren’t always sure how to support inclusion in an equitable way. This workshop will share what inclusion is, what it can look like, the reasons and benefits of inclusion for our schools, our students, and their families, and how we can begin to implement universal practices in every component and provide needed support for every student. Participants will gain:
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- a thorough understanding of inclusion as a path to social justice that honors diversity and equitable practices in our Montessori schools –
- knowledge of the benefits of inclusion for ALL students and their families –
- strategies for implementing the components of inclusion and their interdependence as consistent with Montessori philosophy and pedagogy –
- the process of implementation that supports and brings together in community our teachers, staff, students, and families –
- a design and flowchart for the practical implementation of each component – a system for using the flowchart –
In a two hour follow up session, you will have the opportunity to engage, to reflect, and interact in small group activities that will guide you in beginning to plan how you could implement inclusion in your school. You will return to your school with a “lens of inclusion” to communicate your goals and action plans with your school community.
This session specifically and practically supports the nurturing and well-being of all students, all school staff, and an inclusive school culture that is responsive to issues of social justice as we accept all forms of diversity with respect in equitable practices.
12:00 pm – 12:45 pm
Lunch
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Keynote: Kathy Leitch
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Nancy McNabb
Mary Ellen Maunz
(Infant Toddler)
5A | How Practical Life Enhances the Toddler’s Sense of Order and Personality
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
Dr. Maria Montessori realized that order and predictability play a critical role in the first three years of life when a child is building trust in the world and forming his sense of self. The Montessori environment, be it home or school, recognizes the child’s internal need for order. It establishes a calm, orderly environment wherein the child can expect to find things in their proper place and order. It is here that they feel safe and secure with themselves and the world around them,
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allowing them to become peaceful, normalized children and adults. The normalization process is based on trust, which leads to exploration, experimentation, the formation of self-esteem, and the development of the will. We will explore how activities of Practical Life help the Toddler gain independence leading to the development of the will, which is essential to later success in life. What we do in the first three years and what we refrain from doing is key to the formation of the healthy personality.
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Rebecca Pelton
(For Casa)
5B | TBC
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
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2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Tammy Oesting
(For All / Social Justice)
5C | Awakening Awe and Wonder: Expanding Montessori Practice – Part 1
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
Join Montessori researcher, speaker, and teacher educator Tammy Oesting, M.Ed., in an inspirational and interactive workshop that promises to awaken your awe and wonder. Connecting new ideas and each other, Tammy’s research divulges how awe is a universal force for transformation in learning and aligns with the essence of Montessori pedagogy. Our time together promises to cultivate your connectivity with others and expand your practice whether you
Read more ...
are in a classroom or lead a Montessori community. This presentation is designed to ignite your sense of awe and t cultivate this universal prosocial emotion in your practice. Tammy reveals her research into the science of awe and how it is an essential feature of a well-prepared educator while weaving her decades of awe-inspired adventures that illustrate how you too can cultivate a disposition towards awe and its companion emotion of wonder to expand your Montessori practices.
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Lorna McGrath
Cheryl Allen
(For All)
5D | Leave Your Parent Bias at the Door
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
Participants will gain an understanding of parental needs as they enter a Montessori school community. The session is meant to increase empathy in school administrators, faculties, and staff for newcomer families as well as to provide experiences that can build trust within their school communities, assist parents in gaining knowledge of Montessori values and philosophy, and develop strong parent leaders in their schools.
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Martha Carver
(For Leadership)
5E | Asking for a Friend – Table Talks for Leaders
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
Leaders of Montessori schools are under more stress, and have more challenges than ever before. Leaders need connection and support. The common term online when you are asking about an issue that you wish to be more private is called “Asking for a Friend”. Replicating a Montessori work cycle, Table Talks are a targeted way to facilitate these discussion subjects giving the leader choice and relevance. Leaders talk about certain subjects with other leaders in small groups
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knowing that there is free access to join the discussion or leave the discussion with ease at any time. Participants are encouraged to submit their Asking for a Friend Table Talk subjects ahead of time to be sure your needs are met. We will also be able to entertain subjects not submitted ahead of time. In true Montessori fashion, we will start our time together with a mindful opening to inspire, a discussion of agreed-upon social norms for our time together, our work cycle, and a closing gratitude for each other and the work we did today.
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Cindy Acker
(For Social Justice)
5F | THI: Heritage Months’ Certification
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
THI (Teaching with Historical Integrity) is a methodology of historical teaching in Montessori classrooms that involves research-based truth regarding the history of the United States and the world. Teaching with Historical Integrity is not Critical Race Theory, nor is it education that seeks to shame others. THI does not involve blame, guilt, or shame, but is a positive teaching design that helps children to learn through the true stories of our history. Together, we discover that we grow from our mistakes and within our history, we have examples of people whose untold stories have shaped wonderful things about our nation and our world.
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It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and injustice.
~Senator Robert F. Kennedy
4:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Break
Network & Visit Exhibitors
4:30 PM- 6:00 PM
Ann Epstein
(For Casa)
6A | Emergent Literacy and Language Development: What is going well and what is missing in our primary classrooms?
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
The Montessori primary language curriculum is rich and addresses the most current “best practices” in early literacy. However, often children are reluctant to use sandpaper letters, and our language curriculum does not fully address the development of comprehension, a critical component of early literacy. We will explore extensions and variations as well as Montessori-friendly approaches to story retells, identification of story elements, and engaging ways to connect children with information from developmentally appropriate non-fiction books. We will also identify specific strategies to enhance receptive and expressive language for children with delays.
4:30 PM- 6:00 PM
Erica Santana
(For Elementary)
6B | The Preparedness Project: Teaching Fundamental Skills Through the Needs of Human
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
During this session, our audience will see another way to look at the Fundamental Needs of Humans! We will help educators enhance the lesson with hands-on practical life work and activities. We will take a unique look at each fundamental need and demonstrate games and work for each need. These activities will give children real-life skills and an opportunity to learn from real-life situations. Montessori said that learning is “acquired not by listening to words, but by experiences upon the environment.”
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The knowledge from this presentation will help educators teach children to become self-sufficient, prepared citizens. These Practical Life skills are an extension of the work they are already fulfilling. Through this work, the children will learn ways to be more observant and have a deeper connection to the world. The hands-on activities and follow-ups will connect children to their Fundamental Needs in a unique way and help foster their own self-awareness.
In this session, we will cover knot tying, shelter building, skills in mapping and navigation, plant identification, basic first aid, and more! Attendees will be exposed to lessons, work, and games that will supplement their students’ studies to the Fundamental Needs and connect to other areas of the curricula. We are reawakening the Fundamental Needs of Humans through connections of useful, practical life activities!
4:30 PM- 6:00 PM
Tammy Oesting
(For All)
6C | Awakening Awe and Wonder: Expanding Montessori Practice – Part 2
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
Join Montessori researcher, speaker, and teacher educator Tammy Oesting, M.Ed., in an inspirational and interactive workshop that promises to awaken your awe and wonder. Connecting new ideas and each other, Tammy’s research divulges how awe is a universal force for transformation in learning and aligns with the essence of Montessori pedagogy. Our time together promises to cultivate your connectivity with others and to expand your practice whether you
Read more ...
are in a classroom or lead a Montessori community. This presentation is designed to ignite your sense of awe and to cultivate this universal prosocial emotion in your practice. Tammy reveals her research into the science of awe and how it is an essential feature of a well-prepared educator while weaving her decades of awe-inspired adventures that illustrate how you too can cultivate a disposition towards awe and its companion emotion of wonder to expand your Montessori practices.
4:30 PM- 6:00 PM
Sara Suchman
(For Leadership)
6D | The Public Montessori Landscape: A snapshot of what is and a discussion of what could be
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
Over 200,000 children are in public Montessori schools, yet many Montessorians know very little about these schools and the teachers in these schools rarely know each other. Join this session to learn about the current state of public Montessori, why it matters, what the movement needs to overcome challenges and stay strong, and how you can get involved whether or not you are in a public school. Most importantly,
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there will plenty of time for questions and discussion, so come to meet others who are in public schools, public curious or public aligned and build the community!
4:30 PM- 6:00 PM
Mary Beth Ricks
(For Leadership)
6E | Montessori is Flourishing
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
How will we move to a sustainable education model in a post-COVID landscape? Sharing current research, global and national trends in culture, education, and economics, Mary Beth with share the road map of education as we move into the future. As educators, we are not only changing children’s lives but we are shaping the workforce and skill set of the future employees, leaders, and future makers. We will also discuss the power of our own voices and influence on the traditional systems that need disruption and innovation.
4:30 PM- 6:00 PM
Jonathan Wolff
(For All)
6F | Can “Spiritual Preparation” Become a Daily Lesson Plan for Oneself – Preparing the Environment Within
*In-person onsite & live-streamed*
Maria Montessori advised, “The first essential is that the teacher should go through an inner, spiritual preparation.” But what does this mean in terms of daily practice? What can a Montessori guide or school leader do to center, quiet, and energize themselves before, during, and after their work day? What can one do when they feel their emotions and energy have become imbalanced, depleted, or negative? In this workshop, we will present and practice a variety of (mind-body) tools and techniques for inner readiness, renewal, and rebalancing.
6:15 PM – 6:45 PM
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.