1 DVD - 50 minutes,
Small format 16 page booklet
Montessori for Everybody
Introduction to the Montessori triad:
Child or learner
Prepared environment
Role of mentor or guide
Montessori principles:
Absorbent mind
Sensitive periods for learning
Isolation of new concepts
Control of error
Movement aids learning

Big picture overview color chart
The Montessori Triad:
Montessori educator preparation
Understanding children 3 – 6
The Montessori environment
Planning the year and beyond
Starting a class
Mastering the curriculum
3 hours video instruction
Concise 50 page manual

Montessori Training Program Introduction & Mentor Preparation Home Study Course

The Montessori approach to education can seem like a challenge. The children will need a well-prepared Montessori environment and skilled guidance to gain all that is possible from their time in the classroom. Setting up a complete environment and giving appropriate direction does not come naturally to most people. In order to learn the skills of a respectful mentor, it is necessary to undertake a prolonged program of personal preparation. To act outside the behaviors modeled by adults during our own childhoods, we must make conscious efforts to notice the actions that are reflexive. We must also counter those habits with new practices that are genuinely respectful of children and their own unique inner guidance. This is the key to the success of the Montessori approach and to unleashing the natural creativity in all children.

Keeping all the areas of the environment in good order and refreshed with exercises that the children are ready to explore can seem daunting. It is essential to take an approach that includes keeping an overview while setting appropriate priorities based on the needs of the children as well as any limitations of time or budget.

This module will help you set priorities, understand the big picture, and effectively mentor and lead children. It will provide practical suggestions to gain a deep understanding of individual learners. It will give you specific practices to prepare yourself to guide children respectfully. Most of all, you will learn to bring together all the aspects you need to manage to keep a Montessori classroom running smoothly as the children become more creative and more responsible for their own learning.


Montessori Training Program Introduction & Mentor Preparation Manual Highlights

Keys to Mastery Cards
Montessori for Everybody Summary
The Mentor
The Learner
Mastering Mentor Preparation and Knowing the Learner
Video Presentations Summary and Updates
Parents, The Other Mentors
Observation
Parent Policies
Ground Rules, the Real Purpose
Starting a Class
Lesson Presentations
Mastering the Curriculum, Why Not Albums?
Sensitive Periods of the Absorbent Mind
Evaluating Progress: Observations, Benchmarks, and Testing
Reading Montessori and Ongoing Study
Mentor Preparation
Beyond the 3 to 6 Classroom
Resource Section

Montessori Training Program Introduction & Mentor Preparation Video Highlights

Maria Montessori and Her Influence
Education of the Young Child: The Montessori Triad
The Mentor - The Guide
The Montessori Prepared Environment
The Learner - The Child
The Absorbent Mind
Sensitive Periods
Montessori is for Every Child

The Curriculum and the Process
Isolate Difficulty
Present Each Step
The Magic of Materials
Concrete to Abstract
Math Manipulatives
Passage to abstraction
Binomial Cube
A New View of Learners
Observation
Needs of the Young Child
Responsibilities of the Mentor or Guide
Approach to Instruction
Three Period Lesson Introduction
Before Period 1
Choosing what to present and when
Present and represent rather than correct
When to intervene and when not to intervene
Rescue is Robbery
Understanding the Montessori Approach
Lesson Formats and Reading Montessori
After the Program for Ages 3 to 6
Child-initiated Research work
The Great Lessons  - Sparking interest through imagination

Making, Choosing, and Using Learning Materials
Phonetic materials
Montessori Math Innovators – Mortensen and Cotter
Cultural Subjects
What Does a Directress Direct?
Teacher Preparation

“. . . The job of the teacher is rather more important than [demonstrating the use of materials in a meaningful way.] To her falls the task of guiding the development of the child’s spirit. . .

The respect for the child’s activity, which we call nonintervention, is justifiable only when . . .he has acquired the ability to direct all his attention on something and dedicate himself to it . . .

The respect is not justified when the child’s good energies are dispersed in disorder.” Maria Montessori in The Child in the Family