Multilingual Montessori
By Gabrielle Kotkov
Follow instagram.com/multilingual.montessori and visit multilingualmontessori.org for more!
Multilingual MontessoriApr 20, 2024
56. Bilingualism at 15 months: Italy with a Baby
Today’s episode is the second in a series of check-ins with my good friend and new bilingual mom, Samantha!
In our first conversation, I introduced you to Samantha and her one-year-old daughter, who is learning both English and Italian at home. We talkd about the joys and challenges Samantha was experiencing with her daughter’s bilingualism, and what her daughter’s language use was like as she turned one year old. So if you didn’t get a chance to listen to that first episode, I encourage you to go back and listen to that one first! That was episode number 50, from November 1st, 2023.
Today’s episode is our next check-in, for 15 months old! Since our last check-in, Samantha and her family traveled to Italy to spend time with her in-laws, and her daughter got to experience Italian culture, food, and language in Italy for the first time.
I hope you enjoy this 15-month check in with Samantha!
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55. The Montessori Child with Simone Davies and Junnifa Uzodike
My guests for this episode are Simone Davies and Junnifa Uzodike, the authors of the upcoming book, The Montessori Child. They are both accomplished Montessorians and authors, and just generally lovely people. We had a great conversation about their work and their upcoming book, and I know you’re going to enjoy it.
Simone Davies is the author of “The Montessori Toddler” and co-author of “The Montessori Baby” and “The Montessori Child” books, comprehensive guides to raising children in a Montessori way. Simone is an AMI Montessori educator based in Amsterdam. She also has a popular blog, instagram and podcast “The Montessori Notebook” and is mother to two young adults. Simone currently runs parent-child Montessori classes in Amsterdam at her school Jacaranda Tree Montessori.
Junnifa Uzodike is an AMI 0–12 trained teacher, a wife, and mother to four children, all raised with Montessori principles from in-utero. Junnifa is the founder and head of school of Fruitful Orchard Montessori school in Abuja, Nigeria, serving children from 15 months to 12 years old. She is the co-author of The Montessori Baby and The Montessori Child books, and sits on the board of Association Montessori Internationale.
Their new book, The Montessori Child, comes out on March 5th, 2024, and is now available for pre-order. And if you pre-order it, you can get access to digital bonuses through the publisher that include a collection of poetry and songs curated by Simone and Junnifa, illustrated clothing labels for drawers, an observation sheet for when difficult situations arise, and more.
And if you would like to win a copy of the book, be sure to take my podcast listener survey! As I enter a new year of podcasting, I would love to learn more about you, the listener, and what you'd like to hear from the podcast - even if this is the first time you’re listening!
To thank you for taking the podcast listener survey, you'll be entered to win your choice of e-book from guests on the Multilingual Montessori podcast, including The Montessori Child by Simone and Junnifa.
54. Inside a Dual Language Public Montessori Charter School
Alexandra Torres Guerrero is the Interim Principal at Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School in Washington DC, where students learn in both English and Spanish.
Alex was born in Bogotá, Colombia and has lived in the DC area since 2007. She is AMI-trained at the 0-3 and 3-6 levels, and is currently doing her AMI Administrators Certificate training. She has worked at LAMB for the past 12 years and recently became the school’s interim principal.
LAMB is a really unique school because it is a public Montessori charter school, and so I was excited to have the chance to chat with Alex about the dual language structure of the school, how they serve the student and parent community, and the joys and challenges that come with joining the Montessori method with the public and charter schools frameworks.
Take the Podcast Listener Survey (and be entered to win one of three e-books written by past and future podcast guests!)
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53. Indigenous Montessori Education with Trisha Moquino
Trisha Moquino is a member of the Cochiti, Kewa, and Ohkay Ohwingeh Tribal Nations. She is the Co-Founder, Education Director and Elementary Keres Speaking Guide at Keres Children's Learning Center, an Indigenous Language Immersion Montessori school in Cochiti Pueblo, NM. Trisha also helps in the continued development of KCLC’s Indigenous Montessori Institute, an anti-racist teacher training grounded in our Philosophy of Indigenous Education.
In this conversation, Trisha shares what it’s like to be a part of a heritage language immersion school and why language revitalization efforts are so important for the Cochiti Pueblo community and other Indigenous communities. She also shares why she felt that Montessori was the best pedagogical fit for the language revitalization efforts of the Keres Children’s Learning Center, and why it was important to create a training center for Montessori guides that is grounded in anti-racism and an Indigenous philosophy of education.
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52. Literacy Learning with Zil Jaeger
Zil Jaeger (they/them) is a Montessori educator, consultant and coach, with a passion for literacy and a commitment to anti-bias, antiracist education. They are Montessori trained at the 3-6 and 6-12 levels, with multiple literacy certifications. They believe that classrooms should be spaces of joy, critical engagement, and community-minded learning. An advocate for literacy learning, Zil is devoted to translating research into effective classroom strategies. They love supporting teachers, caregivers, and schools to empower children in their learning.
In this conversation, Zil shares insights into the sciences of reading, and how we can support literacy learning in Montessori environments according to the latest research. They also share their memories of going to Montessori school as a child, and their experience being the parent of a child attending a public Spanish-language immersion elementary school in Portland, Oregon!
Zil is offering listeners of the Multilingual Montessori Podcast a 15% discount on their shop with code LITERACY.
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51. Equity in Public Montessori with Jasmine Williams
Jasmine Williams is the Race and Equity Specialist at the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector. Jazz provides race and equity guidance and education, and delivers Montessori theory and practice instruction for the NCMPS Montessori Teacher Residency.
Jazz has worked in bilingual Montessori programs for 12 years, including 8 years in a public program, as a classroom teacher, reading interventionist, Montessori coach, and academic director.
Jazz has lived in, volunteered in and traveled to 48 countries, most recently returning from four years in China. She is passionate about equitable and joyful Montessori education, and her dream is to bring free, socially justice centered Montessori training and education to marginalized communities throughout the world. Jazz is currently earning a doctorate in Education for Social Justice at the University of San Diego.
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50. Bilingualism at 12 months: Meet Samantha
Today we’re doing something a little different! This is the first episode of what will become a series of check-ins with my good friend and new bilingual mom, Samantha. In this first conversation, I’ll introduce you to Samantha and her one-year-old daughter, who is learning both English and Italian at home. We’ll talk about the current joys and challenges Samantha is experiencing with her daughter’s bilingualism, and what her daughter’s language use is like right now. Then we’ll check in again in another 3 months to see how things have changed! I’m excited to share Samantha’s journey with you and have the opportunity to follow up with her throughout the next year.
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49. Multilingual Homeschooling with Elizabeth M. Castillo
Elizabeth M. Castillo is a multilingual poet, writer, teacher, and parent. Her childhood was split between the Congo and England, and she spent her adolescent years on the tiny, tropical island of Mauritius. She now lives in Paris with her family and two cats. Elizabeth homeschools her two daughters, and writes a variety of different things, in a variety of different languages, and under a variety of pen names. She also runs a handful of small businesses, dabbles in charity work and teaches languages part-time.
In her writing Elizabeth explores the different countries and cultures she grew up with, as well as themes of race & ethnicity, motherhood, womanhood, language, love, loss and grief, and a touch of magical realism.
In this conversation, we talk about language, identity and how that can shift at different points in one’s life. We also talk about Elizabeth’s multilingual homeschooling journey with her daughters, and her work writing multilingual poetry and children’s books, as well as her forthcoming podcast!
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48. What if my child switches between languages?
Today's Frequently Asked Question is from a listener: What if my child switches between langauges?
I'm back with another Frequently Asked Questions episode - a quick, bite-sized episode focusing on one frequently asked question about language acquisition, Montessori language development principles, or multilingualism. I alternate these episodes with the longer-form interviews parents, educators and experts in their fields on topics relating to Montessori and multilingualism that you’re already familiar with.
If you have a question about anything related to Montessori and multilingualism that you’d like me to answer on one of these episodes, you can send me a message on Instagram or email me. You can also submit a voice message, and you might hear your voice on a future episode!
Show notes: https://multilingualmontessori.org/what-if-my-child-switches-between-languages/
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47. Bianca Solorzano on Montessori with Babies
Bianca Solorzano is a Montessori guide and consultant for Baby Tour Guide. In the past Bianca has run her own Montessori Infant Classroom, otherwise known as a Nido, and has also held roles in Admissions and School Administration. She now supports parents and educators through her Montessori Babies Podcast, the Montessori Babies Course, and on her Instagram account, @babytourguide.
In our conversation, we talk about what Bianca loves about working with babies and their parents, and what it has been like raising her own son in their bilingual English-Spanish household. We also discuss how parents can support their babies by incorporating Montessori into their parenting, and we discuss the question Bianca is asked most often about raising Montessori babies. Hint: it has to do with the floor bed!
Take 30% off the Montessori Babies Course!
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Bonus Episode: Advice from Past Guests
Today is a very special day: I started this podcast exactly two years ago, in September 2021!
Since then, I’ve interviewed over 40 educators, parents, authors, researchers, professors and experts about Montessori and multilingualism.
A few months after I first started the podcast, in December 2021, I put together this bonus episode with advice from the first ten guests that I interviewed. At the end of each episode, I invited each guest to share some advice that they had for listeners, and I compiled all that advice into one episode to share with you.
Whether this is your first episode or your fiftieth - thank you for listening to the Multilingual Montessori Podcast!
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46. Jenna Clark Embrey, Dramaturg at Lincoln Center Theater
Jenna Clark Embrey is the Literary Manager and Dramaturg at Lincoln Center Theater in New York City. Jenna develops plays and supports playwrights alongside serving as the Executive Editor of the Lincoln Center Review. She received her MFA from the American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theater School for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.
Jenna is also the mom to a two-year-old named Amelia, who attends a German immersion preschool in New York. Jenna studied German as an adolescent, and now is re-learning German along with Amelia. We talked about how they utilize the time and place method at home to structure German into their day, and what the experience has been like for Jenna to observe Amelia’s language development in both English and German. We also talk about Jenna’s experiences studying in Russia during her masters program, and how her work as a dramaturg intersects with language and translation. Jenna is a fascinating person and a wonderful human - I know you’ll enjoy this conversation!
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From the Archives: 5. Hannah Ewert-Krocker on Montessori with Adolescents
If you've ever wondered about Montessori at the adolescent level, this is the episode for you!
In this episode, I speak with Hannah Ewert-Krocker, a former Montessori child who worked as the director of the farm school program at the Denver Montessori Junior/Senior High School for seven years. Hannah shares incredible insights about Montessori at the adolescent level, the joys and challenges of running a public Montessori program, and what she loves about working with adolescents.
Hannah also shares her thoughts about what it was like growing up with a mother who is a trained Montessorian, and her experiences teaching a bilingual English/Spanish yoga class in Denver, Colorado.
This episode originally aired on October 20, 2021.
For more information: - AMI Montessori training for teachers at the adolescent level, visit https://www.montessori-imti.org/ - Hershey Montessori School adolescent community: https://hershey-montessori.org/programs/adolescent-community - Denver Montessori Junior/Senior High School: http://dmhs.dpsk12.org/
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45. Jacqueline Ménoret, An American in Paris
Jacqueline Ménoret is an American living in Paris. Jackie graduated with a Master’s degree in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She works in higher education in Paris, coordinating French-speaking study abroad programs. Jackie founded the Immigrant Book Club in 2020, and is also the co-founder of a new bilingual magazine called Revue Version Originale, available this fall. Jackie grew up in Wisconsin and now lives in Paris with her husband and her cat.
In this episode, Jackie talks about learning French with her dad as a child and adolescent, and her experiences studying abroad in France and England. She also talks about the decision to start a book club in Paris focused on reading exclusively immigrant authors, as well as the new literary magazine she founded with our mutual friend, Maria Laura Ribadeneira, who you may remember from episode 18 of the podcast.
Warning: this episode may make you want to drop everything and move to Paris!
Pre-order Revue Version Originale
Listen to Episode 18. María Laura Ribadeneira, Polyglot in Paris
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44. A Look at Virtual Montessori School
Have you ever wondered about what Virtual Montessori school is like? Not Montessori schools that temporarily held virtual classes during the pandemic, but an academic program designed to be a fully remote Montessori school?
In June of 2022, I graduated from Linköping University in Sweden with a Master’s Degree in Child Studies. For my final thesis, I conducted a qualitative study about teachers’ experiences, and their impressions of their students’ experiences, in a virtual Montessori program that started at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
My good friend and former coworker Claudia, an AMI 0-3 trained Montessorian, joined me back on the podcast to interview me about the master’s program and the contents of my thesis research. You might remember Claudia from episode 15, where I interviewed her, and episode 20, where she interviewed me about starting Multilingual Montessori.
In this episode we chat all about virtual learning - both in the contexts of the master’s program, and my research on virtual Montessori preschool, what my biggest takeaways were from interviewing virtual Montessori teachers, and what the future of virtual Montessori school might be.
Full text of Gabrielle's thesis, Virtualizing Montessori: Experiences of teachers working in a fully remote Montessori preschool (click "fulltext" in upper right corner)
View Gabrielle's research poster from the 2023 American Montessori Society conference
Episode 15. Claudia Lundahl on Montessori with Toddlers
Episode 20. How Multilingual Montessori Came to Be: An Interview with Me!
Episode 32. Linda McGurk on Outdoor Living with Children
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43. What’s the best way to raise a multilingual child?
Today's Frequently Asked Question is: What’s the best way to raise a multilingual child?
I'm back with another Frequently Asked Questions episode - a quick, bite-sized episode focusing on one frequently asked question about language acquisition, Montessori language development principles, or multilingualism. I alternate these episodes with the longer-form interviews parents, educators and experts in their fields on topics relating to Montessori and multilingualism that you’re already familiar with.
If you have a question about anything related to Montessori and multilingualism that you’d like me to answer on one of these episodes, you can send me a message on Instagram or email me. You can also submit a voice message, and you might hear your voice on a future episode!
Listen to Episode 31: Can I Teach My Child a Language That Isn’t My Native Language?
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From the Archives: 15. Claudia Lundahl on Montessori with Toddlers
I'm bringing back one of the podcast's most popular episodes about one of the most requested topics: Montessori with toddlers!
On Episode 15 of the Multilingual Montessori Podcast, I spoke with Claudia Lundahl, an AMI Montessori toddler guide, postpartum doula, and freelance artist living in London, England. One of Claudia’s first teaching experiences after college was teaching English in France through TAPIF, which stands for Teaching Assistant Program in France, where she taught English to French middle schoolers in a town along the Swiss border near Geneva. Claudia then discovered Montessori, and we talk about her experiences as a toddler guide, including what developmental work happens in a Montessori toddler classroom and what it’s like to be an early childhood educator and not be a parent.
Claudia also shares her experiences as a postpartum doula and why she finds that work aligns very well with Montessori principles. She also shares about her experience starting an English-immersion Montessori homeschool class in London with a French family during the first summer of the pandemic. Claudia is a font of knowledge about toddlers and Montessori, and I think you’ll learn a lot from her, whether or not you have a toddler in your life!
This episode originally aired on February 2, 2022.
Listen to Episode 20. How Multilingual Montessori Came to Be: An Interview with Me!
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42. Kaila Diaz of Bilingüitos
Kaila Diaz is a sociolinguist who specializes in childhood and family bilingualism. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband Alfredo and their 3.5 year old daughter.Kaila is the director of Bilingüitos, an educational platform and online community for parents raising bilingual kids. Kaila also hosts the Bilingual Parenting Podcast.
In this conversation, we talk about Kaila’s experiences growing up bilingual in a monolingual home, and her experiences now raising her own bilingüita, or little bilingual. We discuss common myths about bilingualism, and ways that parents can support bilingualism in their children.
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41. Montessori Moms in the Wild
Laura, Megan and Rachel are three trained Montessori guides and new mothers who host the Montessori Moms in the Wild Podcast. Between the three of them, they are trained in Montessori education for ages birth through twelve years old. Their podcast aims to serve caregivers who want to learn more about the Montessori philosophy but also want a bit of lightheartedness and realness when it comes to the ups and downs of parenting.
In this conversation, we talk about how Laura, Megan and Rachel all got their start as Montessori educators, how they met each other, and how they decided to start the Montessori Moms in the Wild podcast. We discuss how having their own children changed their approach to Montessori in their own families, parenting with partners who are learning about Montessori, and of course, their biggest takeaways from their first year as podcasters.
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40. Sylvia Arotin of Guide & Grow
Sylvia Arotin is the founder and CEO of Guide & Grow. She runs My Montessori school in Sydney, Australia and is an international speaker and trainer for educators and parents, specializing in communication and guiding children's behavior. Sylvia holds an International Montessori 0-3 diploma, 3-6 assistants’ certificate, International Communications degree and a Masters in Teaching specializing in early childhood.
Sylvia created Guide & Grow from a desire to help raise tomorrow’s children and to create a movement towards supporting caregivers on their path to raise future generations. With its roots in Montessori, positive communication, positive discipline and building children’s emotional intelligence, Guide & Grow takes a holistic approach to guiding parents and educators so they can help their children to grow and build lifelong skills.
In this conversation, Sylvia shares her path to Montessori and her experiences with multilingualism, both as a child and now as an adult. We also talk about her work doing Montessori with the elderly, and she shares her best advice for parents when it comes to navigating the toddler years!
Watch Gabrielle and Sylvia's conversation about Supporting the Multilingual Child on YouTube
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39. The Power of Language with Viorica Marian
Viorica Marian is a Psycholinguist, Cognitive Scientist, Psychologist, and writer known for her research on language, bilingualism, and multilingualism. She is the Ralph and Jean Sundin Endowed Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University, and is the Principal Investigator of the Northwestern Bilingualism and Psycholinguistics Research Laboratory. She received her PhD in Psychology from Cornell University, Master's degrees from Emory University and from Cornell University, and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Alaska.
Her new book, The Power of Language, which was released in April 2023, is a revolutionary book that goes beyond any recent book on language to dissect how language operates in our minds and how to harness its virtually limitless power.
In this book, Dr. Marian reviews research showing that learning a new language:
· Enhances executive function
· Results in higher scores on creative-thinking tasks.
· Develops critical reasoning skills.
· Delays Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia by four to six years.
· Improves decisions made under emotional duress.
· and changes what we see, pay attention to, and recall.
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38. The Bilingual Montessori Project
Marikay McCabe and Mirka Vlčková are two of the co-founders of The Bilingual Montessori Project.
Marikay McCabe founded Madrid Montessori School in 2006 and was its Director until 2017. In 2018 she established Learning Ecologies to continue supporting Montessori educators as a school consultant and by offering seminars on bilingualism and school organization & leadership. In 2020 she co-founded the Bilingual Montessori initiative in order to offer a virtual home for educators working in bilingual and multilingual schools. She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Columbia University and completed school management and leadership training from NAMTA and the Whole School Leadership Institute. She has also taken AMI training at the Elementary and Adolescent levels.
Mirka Vlčková is a mother of four children for whom she founded a Montessori Primary and Elementary School in the Czech Republic. She also founded and runs Montessori Institute Prague, an AMI teacher training center in the heart of Europe. Mirka is passionate about helping enthusiastic and inspired people bring Montessori to children in their communities. Recently she started her own podcast called Montessori Institute Prague Podcast.
In our conversation, Marikay and Mirka share a wealth of experiences including raising bilingual children, founding bilingual Montessori schools in Europe, and running an AMI Montessori teacher training center. They also share the goals of the Bilingual Montessori Project and ways that educators, parents, and school administrators can get involved with the project.
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37. What are the stages of second language acquisition?
Today's Frequently Asked Question is: What are the stages of second language acquisition?
I'm back with another Frequently Asked Questions episode - a quick, bite-sized episode focusing on one frequently asked question about language acquisition, Montessori language development principles, or multilingualism. I alternate these episodes with the longer-form interviews parents, educators and experts in their fields on topics relating to Montessori and multilingualism that you’re already familiar with.
If you have a question about anything related to Montessori and multilingualism that you’d like me to answer on one of these episodes, you can send me a message on Instagram or email me.
You can also submit a voice message, and you might hear your voice on a future episode!
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36. Nasma Alkhafif on the Dialect Dilemma
Nasma Alkhafif is an Early Childhood Consultant and bilingual mom living in Columbus, Ohio. Born and raised in Cairo, Egypt, she holds a Master's in Education and a Bachelor's in Psychology. Nasma is also a certified AMI 3-6 Guide and Positive Discipline Parent Educator. As a parenting coach and consultant, Nasma is passionate about providing children with the best environment and resources needed to reach their full potential. In addition to her professional work, Nasma is a mother of two bilingual children, and implements Montessori-inspired parenting in her home.
In our conversation, Nasma and I discuss how she discovered Montessori, and what bilingualism looked like for her growing up in Cairo versus what it looks like in her life now in the US. She shares how one of the greatest dilemmas for her and her husband in raising their children with the Arabic language is how to find the balance between their two dialects of Arabic - standard Arabic, which is used for reading and writing, and Egyptian Arabic, which Nasma and her husband use for conversations. She also shares about when she decided to speak in Arabic to her children, and what that linguistic and emotional shift was like for her.
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35. Veronica Benavides of the Language Preservation Project
Harvard-educated doctora of education Vero Benavides has spent her career exploring and advocating for the intersection of identity, language, and learning.
Throughout her career in education—as a high school and middle school teacher, a Fulbright scholar, a leadership coach, and the Executive Director of a leading early childhood educational research and training center—she's always sought to create strengths-based environments where all people and children thrive.
Now, as founder and CEO of The Language Preservation Project, Dr. Benavides works to support the reclamation and flourishing of heritage languages across global contexts. Through learning resources and cohort-based programs for educators and families, The Language Preservation Project decolonizes language learning to promote bilingualism in homes and schools.
In this conversation, Vero and I talk about her own language experiences growing up and what it has been like to speak exclusively in Spanish to her two young children. We also discuss what learning a heritage language means for many people, and how she supports heritage language speakers through her work with The Language Preservation Project.
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From the Archives: 3. Chelsea Daniel on Mindfulness and Montessori
In Episode 3 of the Multilingual Montessori Podcast, I spoke with Chelsea Daniel, an AMI Montessori guide, birth doula, and certified yoga instructor living in Brooklyn, NY. Chelsea is the founder of Chickadee Yoga, where she teaches children's yoga, prenatal yoga, and postnatal/baby + me yoga classes. We discuss the intersection of mindfulness and Montessori, how to use mindfulness to support children, and how we as adults can use mindfulness practices to be our best selves when caring for children. We also chat about Chelsea's experience living in Austria for several years as a young child and learning to speak German there.
This episode originally aired on October 6, 2021.
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34. Paula Lillard Preschlack on The Montessori Potential
Paula Lillard Preschlack was a teacher and the head of school at Forest Bluff School in Illinois for over 25 years. Her work focuses on the principles and benefits of the Montessori approach. Paula attended Hampshire College and holds a Master's Degree in Education from Loyola College in Maryland, has diplomas from the Association Montessori Internationale for Assistants to Infancy, Primary, and Elementary Levels, and she audited the NAMTA/AMI Orientation to Adolescent Studies. Paula and her husband Jim have two children, now 18 and 20 years old. Her new book, The Montessori Potential, will be published in February 2023.
In this conversation, Paula and I discuss her experiences growing up as a Montessori child and how she decided to go into the field of Montessori education herself. We discuss her new book, The Montessori Potential, and we talk specifically about some of the important features of Montessori’s language curriculum throughout the Planes of development.
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33. Claudia Serrano Johnson, Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist
Claudia Serrano Johnson is a bilingual speech-language pathologist and a mom of three living in Virginia. Claudia is passionate about empowering Latinx parents with accurate information on bilingual language development. On her social media platforms, she clarifies misinformation such as "Bilingualism causes delays", "Bilingualism confuses children", and "Bilingual children speak later." Claudia feels strongly that these myths negatively impact the bilingual community by making parents fear passing on their language or delaying parents from seeking the right supports for their children. Ultimately, Claudia hopes that by sharing this information, parents can continue fostering bilingualism in their families.
In our conversation, Claudia debunks some of these myths about bilingualism, and offers advice on what parents can say to doubters to help bust these myths. We also talked about what signs Claudia looks for in her work as a speech-language pathologist that indicate a bilingual child might be experiencing a speech-language delay or disorder, as well as strategies to maintain bilingualism with a child who is diagnosed with a speech-language delay or disorder. And of course, Claudia shared her own journey as a bilingual parent and the joys and challenges she and her husband have experienced in raising their three children with two languages.
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32. Linda McGurk on Outdoor Living with Children
Linda McGurk is a Swedish-American freelance writer and author of the book, There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom’s Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient and Confident Kids. Linda is a passionate advocate for the Nordic outdoor tradition friluftsliv and believes that the best childhood memories are created outside, while jumping in puddles, digging in dirt, catching bugs and climbing trees. Her latest book, The Open-Air Life: Discover the Nordic Art of Friluftsliv and Connect with Nature Every Day was published earlier this month.
In this conversation, we discuss Linda’s experiences parenting bilingual and bicultural daughters, as well as her own experiences with bilingualism and biculturalism. We talk about the Nordic preschool curriculum and parallels with the Montessori approach to early childhood. We also talk about the benefits of being outside, for both children and adults, and how we can motivate ourselves to spend more time outdoors.
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31. Can I Teach My Child a Language That Isn’t My Native Language?
Today's Frequently Asked Question is: Can I Teach My Child a Language That Isn’t My Native Language?
I'm back with another Frequently Asked Questions episode - a quick, bite-sized episode focusing on one frequently asked question about language acquisition, Montessori language development principles, or multilingualism. I alternate these episodes with the longer-form interviews parents, educators and experts in their fields on topics relating to Montessori and multilingualism that you’re already familiar with.
If you have a question about anything related to Montessori and multilingualism that you’d like me to answer on one of these episodes, you can send me a message on Instagram or email me. You can also submit a voice message, and you might hear your voice on a future episode!
Follow Multilingual Montessori:
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30. Meagan De Clerck on Multilingual Homeschooling
Meagan De Clerck is a multilingual mom of four. Meagan lives with her family in Northern Vermont and homeschools her children with a Montessori-inspired curriculum. Meagan’s children are trilingual; she and her husband use the one parent one language method in their home. Meagan speaks exclusively in Spanish to her children, her husband speaks exclusively in French, and they get English exposure from their community. Since we recorded this episode over the summer, Meagan has also started speaking Italian with her children every day at lunchtime (which you might recognize as the “time and place method”).
Meagan went to Montessori school as a child growing up in Houston, Texas. She has a Masters in International Policy and Crisis Management from the University of Rome La Sapienza and has lived and worked all over the world, including at an NGO in Kenya and throughout Central and South America.
Meagan is a great example of a parent teaching her children a language that is not her first language - if that’s you, or something you aspire to, I hope this conversation will provide some inspiration and reassurance that it can be done - and it doesn’t need to be perfect!
If you have a question about anything related to Montessori and multilingualism that you’d like me to answer on one of these episodes, you can send me a message on Instagram or email me. You can also submit a voice message, and you might hear your voice on a future episode!
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29. Is It Too Late to Raise My Child Bilingual?
A question I hear all the time is: Is it too late to raise my child bilingual?
This is the first episode of a new series of short, bite-sized episodes where I’ll tackle a frequently asked question about language acquisition, Montessori language development principles, or multilingualism. I’ll alternate these episodes with the longer-form interviews that you're already familiar with, so every other week you’ll continue to hear from parents, educators and experts in their fields on topics relating to Montessori and multilingualism, with these shorter FAQ episodes in between.
If you have a question about anything related to Montessori and multilingualism that you’d like me to answer on one of these episodes, you can send me a message on Instagram or email me. You can also submit a voice message, and you might hear your voice on a future episode!
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28. Natalia Sáez, Bilingual Education & Applied Linguistics Professor at Columbia University
Natalia Sáez is a professor and researcher at Teachers College Columbia University focusing on second language development as well as bilingual/bicultural education. Natalia is also the founder and co-owner of TraducGlobal, which offers language services to clients around the world. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Cognitive Science from Universidad de Chile, and a Master of Arts degree in Applied Linguistics from Teachers College Columbia University, from which she also has a Doctor of Education degree specializing in Applied Linguistics.
In this conversation we talk about Natalia’s experiences growing up in both NYC and in Chile, and what role languages played in her life as a child and a young adult. We talk about her work as a professor and researcher in the Applied Linguistics and Bilingual Education departments at Teachers College Columbia University in New York, and she shares her advice for both parents and teachers when working with bilingual or multilingual children. Natalia has some really great insights about language development and language education, and I think you’ll learn a lot from her - I certainly did!
Find out more about TraducGlobal.
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From the Archives: 13. Beth Allison on Learning Navajo With Her Son
Beth Allison is a mom, educator, and entrepreneur who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Beth is Navajo and grew up on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, but she is not fluent in the Navajo language. When her son, who is now 2 and a half, was born, Beth decided to learn Navajo along with him. She quickly found that there weren’t as many teaching resources for an indigenous language like Navajo as there are for world languages like Spanish and Mandarin. So she began creating and sharing resources and videos for other parents teaching their children Navajo as well, which she now shares on her website The Allison Exchange.
In our conversation, Beth talks about what it was like to grow up hearing Navajo spoken around her but not speaking it herself, and why she made the decision to raise her son speaking Navajo. She shares a history of the Navajo language and why it means so much to her as a Navajo woman and mother to keep the Navajo language and culture alive and pass it down to the next generation.
This episode originally aired on January 19, 2022.
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27. Diandra Morse from Bilingual Playdate
Diandra Morse is a bilingual mom, licensed clinical social worker and child advocate living in Syracuse, New York with her husband and two bilingual sons. Diandra is Dominican American and was raised in both the Dominican Republic and New York City. You might know Diandra from Instagram as Bilingual Playdate, where she promotes positive language attitudes towards all languages, language variations, accents, dialects and reminds parents that they are the heart of their child’s bilingualism.
In this conversation, Diandra shares her experiences raising two bilingual sons, and what it has been like to watch her husband transition to speaking Spanish to their children as well. She talks about how she decided to use her Instagram platform to focus on advocating for bilingualism by dismantling myths about bilingual children, drawing attention to discriminatory and linguistically oppressive practices, connecting parents to bilingual parenting community supports and providing parents with play-based Spanish learning ideas that they can incorporate in their home to preserve their Spanish heritage language.
Diandra is so insightful and enthusiastic and I definitely left this conversation feeling inspired - I think you will too. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Diandra!
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26. Jesse Gevirtz on Montessori with Adolescents
Jesse Gevirtz is the Director of Adolescent Programs at Austin Montessori School in Austin, Texas. Jesse has been teaching in Montessori schools for 25 years, 21 of them at Austin Montessori School. He holds an AMI Elementary Diploma and an AMI Diploma in Adolescent Studies. Jesse attended Montessori school as a child in Houston, Texas in the early 1970s. He is the parent of two Montessori children: both of his young adult daughters attended Austin Montessori School from their early childhood years all the way through the adolescent program.
In this conversation, we discuss Jesse’s path to Montessori and what he loves most about working with adolescents. We also discuss what it was like having his two daughters in his class, and how parenting adolescents is different from teaching adolescents. Jesse shares his insights about what children need most during their adolescent years, and how parents can support adolescents in a Montessori way even if they don't go to a Montessori school.
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25. Yuna Seong, Language Program Director at Columbia University
Yuna Seong is a language educator and assessment expert living in New Jersey. She is the Director of the Community Language Program, the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Certificate Program, and the Language Program Management Certificate at Teachers College Columbia University, where she hires and trains language educators and language program professionals who aspire to teach and manage their own language programs.
Yuna earned her MA in Second Language Studies from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa with a focus on language Assessment, measurement, and program evaluation, and she is expecting her doctorate in Applied Linguistics at Teachers College Columbia University in 2023. Having grown up bilingual in both the United States and Korea, and always having to code-switch between two different cultures and languages, Yuna values the importance of intercultural communications skills, and she is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion across global language teaching and learning contexts.
In this conversation, we talk about Yuna’s journey as an educator and higher education program administrator, as well as her own experiences growing up bilingual.
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24. Melina Gac Levin, Founder of NYC's First Forest School en Español
Melina Gac Levin is an educator and bilingual parent who lives in Brooklyn, NY. She is the founder of Pueblo, which supports multicultural families through parenting classes and consultations. She is also the co-founder of Nido Forest, NYC's first forest school en Español. Melina has a dual Masters from Bank Street College of Education in Infant, Toddler and Family Development and Early Childhood General and Special Education. She is a former preschool teacher, and currently teaches graduate students at Bank Street College of Education. In this conversation, we discuss Melina’s experiences growing up with multiple languages and how they shaped her identity. We also discuss her journey to becoming a teacher and what led her to found Pueblo and Nido Forest. Melina shares her experiences raising two bilingual daughters, and offers advice for parents raising bilingual or multilingual children.
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23. Jackie Howard, Bilingual Educator and Former Montessori Child
Jackie Howard is a bilingual educator and former Montessori child living in Austin, Texas. Jackie grew up speaking Spanish and English at home, and went to a Montessori school from kindergarten to 8th grade. She has worked in the education field for 13 years, first as a bilingual elementary teacher, then as an instructional coach mentoring teachers, and now as a high school humanities teacher and college consultant.
In our conversation, we discuss Jackie’s childhood memories of Montessori school and how she thinks her Montessori education has influenced her as an adult, as well as what it was like transitioning from Montessori to a Waldorf high school and then to college. We also discuss her experiences studying abroad in Spanish-speaking countries, first in high school in Peru, then in college in Mexico, and finally in Spain where she got her masters degree in Spanish Language. Jackie shares her experiences as a bilingual Spanish-English educator in low-income public schools in Texas, and what advice she has for parents who are raising bilingual children.
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22. Lynda Apostol on Montessori Homeschooling
Lynda Apostol is a Montessori teacher, parent, and homeschool coach who lives in Southern California with her husband and two children. Lynda has worked in both public and private schools as a teacher, instructional coach and administrator. During the pandemic, she decided to homeschool her young children, and we talk about how that decision came about in our conversation.
When she began sharing her homeschooling experiences on social media, she found that other parents were seeking guidance about how to homeschool their own children in a Montessori way. She decided to share her knowledge and experience by becoming a homeschool coach, and she developed a coaching program to help parents homeschool their children guided by Montessori pedagogy and principles.
Social justice and global perspectives are important to Lynda’s work, and we talk about how homeschooling can be a way to work towards social justice and creating inclusive Montessori spaces.
Instagram accounts that Lynda mentions in the episode:
Afrocentric Montessori
Modern Montessori Guide
Montessori Madre
Whole Child Home
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21. Sophia O'Brien-Udry on Teaching in a Bilingual Montessori School
Sophia O’Brien-Udry is a Children’s House guide at a Montessori school in New York City. Although Sophia is monolingual herself, she teaches at a bilingual Montessori school, and we talk about her experiences working in a bilingual environment, and what she has learned about language from her bilingual colleagues and students. Sophia is also the Director of Culture at her school, where she partners with families to narrow the gap between the Montessori classroom and the home. In this episode, we talk about ways that parents and teachers can support children’s language development in the preschool years, and what Sophia believes is the most important reason to expose children to multiple languages.
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20. How Multilingual Montessori Came to Be: An Interview with Me!
The guest for this episode is…me! I invited my good friend and former coworker Claudia to interview me about my education background and how I came to start Multilingual Montessori. Claudia was a podcast guest a few episodes back (linked below) and in honor of my 20th podcast episode, I thought it would be fun to be in the hot seat myself. I asked Claudia to interview me and she came up with some great questions for me about growing up in Manhattan and going to NYC public schools, teaching English in Italy, how I discovered Montessori, training in London, my teaching experiences, the masters program I’m finishing up, and of course, how Multilingual Montessori came to be. I hope you enjoy getting to know a little more about me and my journey!
Episode 15: Claudia Lundahl on Montessori with Toddlers
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19. Siri Panday, Director of Education for Toddler and Primary at Marin Montessori School
Siri Panday is the Director of Education for Toddler and Primary at Marin Montessori School in Northern California. Siri is trained as both a 0-3 and 3-6 AMI Guide, and she has worked in Montessori schools as a guide, administrator, and consultant for over 20 years. Early in her teaching career, she had the opportunity to help open a Montessori Children's House classroom in Kathmandu, Nepal, and we chat about her memories of teaching in Nepal and learning to speak Nepali. Siri grew up bilingual in English and Norwegian, and she now has two daughters who are trilingual in English, Norwegian, and Nepali. In this conversation, we talk about navigating identity and moving between cultures, raising multilingual children, and how Siri's understanding of Montessori evolved once she became a parent.
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18. María Laura Ribadeneira, Polyglot in Paris
María Laura Ribadeneira grew up in Quito, Ecuador where she spoke Spanish at home, English at school, and studied French outside of school. She went to college in the US (with me!) where she also studied Italian and Ancient Greek, and studied abroad in Italy and France. After college graduation, she moved to Paris for a masters degree, where she has lived ever since, and just became a French citizen a year ago.
In this conversation, we chat about language and identity, as well as navigating an academic life, a professional life and a social life in multiple languages.
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17. Being Bilingual and Bicultural with Tania Ginsberg-Jambou
Tania Ginsberg-Jambou is a French-American bilingual mom and Montessorian living in California. Tania grew up speaking both French and English with her American father and French mother. Tania and her husband, who is French, have three children with whom they speak exclusively in French at home.
Tania is trained as an AMI 3-6 Montessori guide, and before she became a mother, she taught in a bilingual Montessori Children’s House in Paris. She shares what that experience was like for her and how bilingual education functioned in that classroom. In addition to her Montessori training, Tania is also trained in the Pikler Method, known as RIE or Resources for Infant Educarers, and she is also trained as a NeuroMovement Practitioner. We talk about how she uses both her RIE and NeuroMovement trainings with her children these days, and how NeuroMovement has been particularly transformative for her son, who has cerebral palsy. We also get into a wonderful discussion about language and identity, both about how these themes have shown up in Tania’s own life and how she sees them manifesting in her children’s lives as they grow.
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16. Janina Burmeister on Life as an Expat Mom
Janina Burmeister is a mom and Montessorian living in Valencia, Spain. Janina is originally from Germany but she has lived abroad for the past twenty years! In this episode, Janina shares her experiences as an expat living in nine countries over the past two decades, and how that has shaped her cultural and linguistic identity.
Janina and her husband have a five-year-old son Henry who speaks three languages: German, English and Spanish. When Henry was a baby, Janina and her husband, who are both educators, realized that his language wasn't developing as quickly as they would have expected. Instead of deciding to speak in only one language to him, as some people recommended, they decided to get him checked out by a doctor. Janina shares that experience and what her son's language progress has been since then.
Janina also shares her journey to becoming a Montessorian and what advice she would give to parents wanting to raise their child with two or more languages.
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15. Claudia Lundahl on Montessori with Toddlers
Claudia Lundahl is an AMI Montessori toddler guide, postpartum doula, and freelance artist living in London, England. One of Claudia’s first teaching experiences after college was teaching English in France through TAPIF, which stands for Teaching Assistant Program in France, where she taught English to French middle schoolers in a town along the Swiss border near Geneva. Claudia then discovered Montessori, and we talk about her experiences as a toddler guide, including what developmental work happens in a Montessori toddler classroom and what it’s like to be an early childhood educator and not be a parent.
Claudia also shares her experiences as a postpartum doula and why she finds that work aligns very well with Montessori principles. She also shares about her experience starting an English-immersion Montessori homeschool class in London with a French family during the first summer of the pandemic. Claudia is a font of knowledge about toddlers and Montessori, and I think you’ll learn a lot from her, whether or not you have a toddler in your life!
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14. Romali Rosales Chavarría on Second Language Learning in the Montessori Children's House
Romali Rosales Chavarría is a Montessori educator, researcher, and mom of two bilingual sons. Romali is from Mexico and lives in Glasgow, Scotland with her family. In the spring of 2021, she published an article in the Journal of Montessori Research called “Second Language Corner for Children’s House: A Practitioner–Researcher Journey Into Bilingualism in Montessori Education” in which she shared her experiences implementing an English language program in a Montessori Children’s House classroom in Mexico.
In our conversation, Romali shares her thoughts about implementing bilingual programs in Montessori, as well as the process of researching and writing her article, and where the fields of multilingualism and Montessori are headed next.
Link to Romali's paper: https://journals.ku.edu/jmr/article/view/13401/13910
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13. Beth Allison on Learning Navajo With Her Son
Beth Allison is a mom, educator, and entrepreneur who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Beth is Navajo and grew up on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, but she is not fluent in the Navajo language. When her son, who is now 2 and a half, was born, Beth decided to learn Navajo along with him. She quickly found that there weren’t as many teaching resources for an indigenous language like Navajo as there are for world languages like Spanish and Mandarin. So she began creating and sharing resources and videos for other parents teaching their children Navajo as well, which she now shares on her website The Allison Exchange.
In our conversation, Beth talks about what it was like to grow up hearing Navajo spoken around her but not speaking it herself, and why she made the decision to raise her son speaking Navajo. She shares a history of the Navajo language and why it means so much to her as a Navajo woman and mother to keep the Navajo language and culture alive and pass it down to the next generation.
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12. Andrea Imhof on Supporting Language Development in the Early Years
Andrea Imhof is a PhD student in Clinical Psychology at the University of Oregon. Her research focuses on understanding language development in the early years and how it is impacted by high-stress factors. Before she went into research, Andrea worked as an elementary school teacher and advisor in low-income neighborhoods of New York City. Andrea shares her advice from her dual perspective as a former teacher and a current researcher about how we can support language development in the early years. Andrea is also raising a bilingual son: her husband Lars grew up speaking Swedish at home, so they are planning to raise their six-month-old son Axel with Swedish as well. We also chat about the similarities between Montessori and the Reggio-Emilia daycare that her son attends, and why we both love the idea of forest preschools.
More about Andrea Imhof
TED Talk about "Serve and Return" (Molly Wright: How Every Child Can Thrive By Five)
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