Families in Action

Purchase all fourteen sessions, including the PMAI enrollment video

This session explores the power of our words and their effects on human flourishing. By examining and changing our word choice to and about children, each other, and ourselves, we can change our sense of the school community and the children’s sense of self and agency in the world. The Language of Reverence model emphasizes creating a powerful, shared language that allows all members of the community—children, families, and school-based adults—to feel respected and valued.  Positive Phrasing invites families to speak to and with children in a positive manner, imagining the best in them and building their potential.

Freedom within limits for younger children, or Freedom and Responsibility for older children, are cornerstones of the Montessori method. Our school supports children learning at their own pace with the freedom to choose their own activities. This freedom comes with both limits and responsibility. This session will review these topics and leave you with suggestions for how to carry this back to your home.

This session focuses on families of children who are about to make a transition from one classroom to the next. It outlines an evening that introduces families to the new level and offers them insight into what’s coming next for their child.

Includes our enrollment video!

Welcome Back to School! Our Open House event is for the whole school. We will share a Welcome Video as you arrive. The video offers an introduction to the ways a Montessori school is different from a traditional school. The handout for this event is a glossary of Montessori terms that you may hear used at school or at other Family Engagement events. From there, you will have an opportunity to visit your children’s classroom.

Literacy skills develop over years and families can have an enormous impact on how seamlessly those skills are developed. In this session we offer explicit instruction on how to support your children so we can engage in a true partnership between school and home. This slide deck includes two embedded videos demonstrating how to read with your Primary child and how to read with your Elementary child.

Numeracy skills develop over years and families can have an enormous impact on how seamlessly those skills are developed. In this session we offer explicit instruction on how to support your children so we can engage in a true partnership between school and home.

Includes our Enrollment VIdeo!

Orientation is a fundamental human need. This event demonstrates how to welcome new students and their families to the unique Montessori program and orients them to the school, staff and classroom environment.

Dr. Montessori established a view of child development that looks at their growth in six year increments. She called these ‘planes’ of development. Each plane of development has particular characteristics, sensitive periods and independence goals. This event is designed to offer an overview of the planes of development, with a particular focus on the plane(s) in our school. (You can tailor this presentation to emphasize your school’s population and the way you serve their developmental needs.) The handout is a document that shows the four planes of development in a table, so everyone is able to see how each plane relates to the others. This is particularly helpful if you have children of various ages, who may be in different planes of development.

This presentation invites families to learn about the Montessori program beyond primary. Your guides can alter the deck to reflect their classrooms and students to entice families that may otherwise make a different choice for the elementary or middle school years.

This session provides you with the tools you need to create a well-organized opportunity for families to visit children in the classroom that isn’t overwhelming for children or their families.

As summer approaches, families are given ideas for how to keep their Montessori child learning throughout the summer. Families will leave this session with tools and resources to support continuous learning all summer long.