Multilingual Montessori

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.

Follow Multilingual Montessori:

Today's Frequently Asked Question is: Can I Teach My Child a Language That Isn’t My Native Language?

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!  

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!

Follow Multilingual Montessori:

A question I hear all the time is: Is it too late to raise my child bilingual?

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!

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.

Follow Multilingual Montessori:

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.

Follow Diandra:

Follow Multilingual Montessori:

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.

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.

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.

Follow Multilingual Montessori: