Adaptation: Innovating and Thinking for the Future

Each year, members of our faculty, staff and administration attend the Association Montessori International Refresher Course, thanks to the generous support of our families, Board members, staff, alumni and other friends of CMS during the Pink Tower Campaign.

The intent of the event is to:

• Rejuvenate educators
• Expand our thinking
• Deepen our commitment to the children and our understanding of Montessori philosophy
• Provide practical tools for enhancing the children’s classroom experience

Dr. Maria Montessori emphasized the importance of adaptation in The 1946 London Lectures, saying: “We must accept adaptation as the basis upon which we can build a concept of education.” Thereby, calling all Montessori educators to employ creative, innovative, and diverse approaches which aid the universal human need to adapt to our time and place.

CMS Guides and HOS explored topics highlighting the relationship between the concept of adaptation during each plane of development, Montessori scientific pedagogy, and how to adapt our knowledge to meet the evolving needs of Montessori educators and children. Below some of their takeaways from an enlightening weekend!

Here are a few takeaways from our weekend:

Kristina Tenev, YCC Guide: “Each refresher course takes me back to the roots of the Montessori approach and the true meaning of it. It is very easy to get lost in the modern understanding about child's education and technology related to it. This course reminded me how simple is to take your child outside, how important that is for his/her development, level of stress and how the nature meets his/ her needs.

Also, how the neurodiversity is related to the lack of connection with nature, how observation is the key for self-control and balance. I left the course with big ideas to think about and some strategies to use when working with neurodiversity children to be able to meet their needs better."

Sara Kruger, Upper Elementary Guide: ”Attending the AMI Refresher Course in Oklahoma City this year, once again, provided an invaluable opportunity to deepen my understanding of the Montessori pedagogy. This conference allows me to revisit Maria Montessori’s core principles and re-evaluate key aspects of my own teaching to ensure alignment with her objectives.

It was also a great chance to reconnect with former colleagues and build new professional relationships with like-minded individuals who share the same passion for Montessori education. This networking provides a supportive environment that helps reinforce our shared goals.

Overall, the refresher course was an exciting way to refresh my teaching strategies, gain new insights, and discover engaging activities that I can bring back to the classroom. These activities are sure to reignite my students’ enthusiasm, inspire meaningful work, and help them further expand their skills and understanding."

Rosabeth Koehn, Lower Elementary Guide: “I always appreciate the opportunity to attend the annual AMI Refresher conference as a way to "zoom out" on the day-to-day work we do in our classrooms and remember the bigger picture: that as Montessorians, we are living the change we wish to see in the world, to paraphrase Ghandi, a friend and contemporary of Dr. Montessori.

This year at Refresher, I felt invited into this mission by attending multiple sessions on Montessori and neurodiversity, the keynote address by a Montessorian doing amazing work with mothers and young children in Mexican prisons, as well as the main Elementary session taking a deep dive into grammar and the ways its study empowers young people to eloquently express themselves verbally and in writing. I left the conference feeling inspired and with some fun new ways to explore grammar in Lower El!"

Laurie Orso, Primary Guide: “Attending the AMI refresher course is always an exciting opportunity to learn more. This year we were presented with ideas on how to bring more nature into the classroom through materials etc... and bring the children outdoors to work in new and creative ways.

We were also grateful to hear from Montessori Sports Educators who have implemented successful curriculum into Montessori schools worldwide! This curriculum has been approved by AMI so that sports are not reserved for just for PE and recess time but gross motor and physical activities like this can be incorporated throughout the day in the work cycles. I’m excited to order materials and find ways to get the children moving, coordinated, and connected more with their bodies and nature!"

Najia Safdar, YCC Guide: “The refresher course was a great opportunity for me to refresh and enrich my knowledge about child development. It was also a way to exchange ideas with other Montessorians so that we can work even better with the children. Thank you for providing me with this opportunity."

Lauren Fox, YCC Guide: “A major takeaway I had from the refresher is the importance of the guides really putting in the effort and being given time to observe; the children in their own environment, the children in other environments, as well as different approaches to various forms of behaviors and conflict-resolution strategies. It’s now more apparent and ever that we as educators must be willing to be accepting and tolerant of more than one type of person/child, different behavioral styles, and become much more educated on neurodivergencies. It’s important for us to go back to Dr. Montessori’s heart for children with different learning abilities and give them the grace and understanding they need to thrive within our communities… It’s glaringly apparent that we have not been quite grasping how detrimental it is to a child’s development to be ostracized so fully from their peers and community. 

Essentially: What can we all be doing to accomplish a more neurodiverse classroom/school? How can we become more accepting and tolerant of those that see the world differently than ourselves? What education is available to us Montessorians so we are better equipped within our environments to better support the range of children we serve? If our classrooms are already filled with the appropriate materials to support the spectrum, how do we ensure we are prepared to link them to those materials in a way that best meets their individual needs? 

Kim V. Schneider, M.Ed., J.D., LPC, Head of School: “Attending the AMI Refresher Experience with the faculty is a wonderful bonding experience that gives each of us renewed enthusiasm and tools to bring back to the classrooms. This year’s theme was adaptation. I was particularly excited about ideas for involving our rising Adolescent students in the creation of their classroom and giving them agency in assessing and helping to meet the ever-changing needs of our CMS community."