Voices in Montessori Podcast

Anna Perry joins the Voices in Montessori podcast to discuss what it really means to be a prepared adult in Montessori education. In this thoughtful conversation, our host, Tamara Sheesley Balis, and Anna discuss how self-awareness, humility, and reflection transform not only our teaching, but our relationships with children, families, and colleagues. Anna shares practical stories from the classro...

Jess Davis joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to discuss the need for explicit instruction on executive functioning for Elementary and Adolescent students in order to set them up for success. Executive functioning skills are cognitive (thinking) skills that support the processes needed to thrive in all areas of life- socially, physically, and academically. The...

Allison Jones and Elizabeth Slade join the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to discuss the invisible structures that keep a well-run Elementary classroom humming. After realizing that they each had spent years inventing and tweaking various structures and practices that were not explicitly taught in training, Allison and Elizabeth decided to write Finding Ground: Buil...

Ginni Sackett joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to discuss the important of meeting each child without expectations that they conform to a particular profile for success. (And then doing the same for ourselves and our classrooms!) She reminds us that Montessori method was designed for the child that doesn't necessarily "fit the mold." We must allow ourselves...

A culture of self-driven work among Elementary students doesn't emerge spontaneously. It needs to be carefully cultivated and maintained by the adults in the classroom. This takes intentional planning and effort, especially at the beginning of the school year. And the culture must be defended vigorously. Jamie Rue joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to talk abo...

Andrée Rolfe joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to share what she has come to understand to be essential truths about successful inclusion based on her 50 years of experience as a special educator and 13 years of experience as a Montessorian. Andrée suggests that rather than thinking of these guidelines as new set of “tools for your toolbox,” they are better v...

Cassi Mackey joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to discuss creating and living our values as an organization. As Montessorians, we live from a strong pedagogy, but embodying these values consistently can be challenging. Do our choices, actions, words, and interactions align with our Montessori values, especially in moments of stress, conflict, or uncertainty?...

Michelle Blake joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to share strategies Guides can use to help young children make a smooth transition to school. She will discuss things that Guides can do over the summer to build a relationship with the family, how to structure the child's first visit to the classroom, and what to do when children are experiencing a challenging...

Ann Epstein and Julia Volkman join the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to discuss the preliminary results of a research study examining the effectiveness of mentoring for Primary and Elementary Montessori Guides. Ann and Julia describe the structure of the mentoring program, the qualities of effective mentors, and the results of the study.

Angela Ma joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to discuss emotional resilience and the Elementary child. Angela offers practical strategies and helpful perspectives that can help Montessori guides feel confident about empowering their children to handle tough situations, persistent worry, or dysregulation. In addition to an in-depth, brain-based discussion about...

Jonathan Wolff joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to discuss creating effective teaching partnerships with your co-guide or classroom associate. Jonathan describes this relationship as a "delicate dance" that involves "choreographing a partnership built on trust and understanding, humility and honesty." Jonathan first defines what a well-functioning classroom...

Pamela Shanks joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to share information about Cortical Visual Impairment, an underdiagnosed learning difference that affects as many as 1 in 30 children in mainstream classrooms. CVI is often ignored, missed, or misdiagnosed as low vision, behavior problems, or learning disorders. CVI is a neurological visual processing disorder....

Chip DeLorenzo joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to discuss the importance of holding regular class meetings as a tool to build students’ leadership skills. He advocates that class meetings are essential to developing a sense of community and belonging for the students in your classroom. Chip describes the structure and processes involved in successful class...

Catherine McTamaney joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to talk about how we commit to Montessori in an open-hearted, horizon-focused way, while caring for our spirits and caring for each other. What draws people to Montessori and why haven't we yet seen the New Society that she promised? How might Montessori practice (and Montessori practitioners) need to comm...

Gulzar Babool joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to talk about how to build trust with families so that we can then share our objective observations through a collaborative exchange. Gulzar discusses how to share observations about what is working for the child and what might be inhibiting their learning in a way that builds partnership with the family. She ta...

Lydia Farmer and Kalai Ramanathan join the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to talk about preparing inclusive holiday celebrations in the classroom. While some educators choose to avoid all holidays for fear of leaving anyone out, Lydia and Kalai feel that this misses a valuable opportunity to create a sense of belonging for the children. Instead, Lydia and Kalai cele...

Patricia Ludick joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to revisit Dr. Montessori's wisdom and insights regarding our work as practitioners who are serving Adolescents. Patrica reminds us that we must be constantly growing in our understanding of the mysterious third plane of human becoming. She considers what time and practice has taught us, as well as revisiting...

Alexandra Sands joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to discuss cultivating concentration in young children. She begins with how we set the stage for children's concentration by carefully preparing the environment and with the way we bring new children into the classroom for the first time. She discusses ways we can use art, music, movement, and the outdoors to...

Michael Duffy joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to talk about Cosmic Education, the central element of Montessori Elementary education. He discusses the nature and purpose of Cosmic Education, as well as how it is implemented in the classroom. Michael implores Montessori teachers not get lost in the emphasis on math and language testing. He explains that as i...

Dr. Joyce Pickering and Amy Cushner join the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to discuss the early signs of learning differences that Guides can be looking for during the Primary years. They use the acronym CLAPS for the main areas of development: Coordination Language & Speech Attention Perception Social-Emotional Development Joyce and Amy describe typical develo...

Kathy Leitch joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to reframe the Montessori practice of daily observation - not as a chore, but as an act of love. After all, how do we know what to teach? If we're just choosing the next material on the shelf or turning to the next page in our albums, how is that different from conventional education? Our pedagogy is reliant on k...

Jana Morgan Herman joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to discuss some common Montessori myths. As a Montessori historian and researcher, Jana has searched every one of Dr. Montessori's original writings, including those in the archives in Amsterdam, transcribing them from the original Italian, looking for evidence of some commonly held Montessori practices. He...

Cheri Gardner joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to talk about how Elementary and Adolescent Guides can create a classroom culture that embraces worthy challenges, problem solving, and self-reflection. Cheri talks about the importance of Guides designing follow up work and projects that are "rich tasks." Rather than being procedural or routine, rich tasks are...

Heather Barger joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, 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 Mont...

Tammy Oesting joins the Voices in Montessori podcast, hosted by Tamara Sheesley Balis, to talk about raising ecological awareness in young children. This 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 Mon...