Voices in Montessori Podcast Greenspring Center for Lifelong Learning

Heather Barger joins the podcast to talk about bringing Montessori outside. She shares Dr. Montessori's vision for outdoor learning, which was for children to learn primarily through first-hand experiences in the natural world.
Heather is the founder of The Montessori Field School in Floyds Knobs, Indiana. She describes how its nature and Montessori-based curriculum supports a hands-on, experiential approach that nurtures the development of the whole child.
Heather shares what a typical day looks like at The Montessori Field School, including the practical logistics. She also shares her discoveries about how learning outside impacts children's academic development, as well as their social/emotional growth.

Tammy Oesting joins the podcast to talk about raising ecological awareness in young children, which includes cultivating awe in Montessori classrooms, integrating nature seamlessly, and empowering educators to nurture eco-consciousness. Tammy discusses why is it important to support children with ecological consciousness, and which specific Montessori principles and practices align with nature education. Tammy talks about how Montessori guides can nurture their own sense of ecological wisdom, and then offers some practical strategies for integrating nature education across the planes of development. Finally, Tammy talks about how Montessori communities can collaborate with environmental education initiatives. She also shares some resources that educators can use to learn more about how to bring ecological consciousness into their classrooms.

Seth Webb joins the podcast to discuss tools that can be used to support Montessori practice, while keeping human development as the focus. Seth starts by highlighting current research about developmental objectives and "dimensions of wellness." He advocates that we redifine educational outcomes to what matters most: executive functions, social fluency and emotional flexibility, linguistic and cultural fluency.
Seth then shares how the Montessori philosophy has human development at its core by focusing on planes of development, human tendencies, spontaneous activity, and a prepared environment. He then shares how we can extend this framework to the school community as a whole.
Seth describes the resources offered by the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (NCMPS) that support both classroom and school-wide Montessori practices.

Mandy Cheskis and Margaret Jarrell join the podcast to discuss Montessori for Aging and Dementia and how this movement is changing care for elders. After painting a picture of the current state of longterm care, our guests then share some exciting research findings about the impact of the Montessori approach on older adults and people living with dementia. They discuss features of a prepared environment for adults that combine best practices for people living with dementia with the Montessori approach of meaningful engagement. Mandy and Margaret talk about the importance of deeply knowing the person and designing individualized activities and roles that invite elders to contribute to their care of self, care of others, and care of the community. They also share how specific Montessori materials can be used to help elders maintain skills. This approach often requires a longterm care community to undergo culture change, but the results speak for themselves. Listen in to learn more about this innovative approach to elder and dementia care!

Uniit Carruyo visits the podcast to discuss the additional responsibility that Infant & Toddler Guides have to serve as "tone setters" for new families. Many times, this is their child's first experience away from home. 0-3 Guides must shepherd the entire family through the transition to school, thus setting the tone for the way they view Montessori throughout their entire journey.
Tone setting starts with building the relationship with the family and truly getting to know their family culture. Uniit strongly advocates for doing home visits before the school year begins. Tone setting continues through the phase in process, and includes sharing Montessori philosophy, inviting parents to observe in the classroom, and offering multimodal communication. It requires staying non-judgemental, meeting families where they are, and inspiring them by showing them what is possible. 
The community Infant/Toddler Guides help new families to build may last their entire lives!

 

As Montessorians we thoughtfully prepare our classroom spaces to support children's self-construction. Sarah Moudry, both a Montessorian and an interior designer, joins the podcast to share her knowledge of design research and best practices. She identifies five design elements essential to a well prepared environment that you may not have considered before!

The Invitation
Perspective
Purposeful
Enchantment
Surrender
Join us for this fascinating conversation. You may be inspired to look at your classroom with fresh eyes!