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. They help us plan, organize, and complete the tasks for basic needs and self-actualization. They help us control our emotions (vs. be controlled by them), actively engage in activities, make good decisions, and complete tasks.

Without strong EF skills, students will struggle to attend to lessons, follow directions, keep track of materials, retain content, and complete tasks. In addition, low EF can mimic a lack of motivation, comprehension, or memory and can be misinterpreted as intentional misbehavior or refusal.

If these challenges sound familiar when thinking of certain students in your classroom, you are not alone. In recent years, executive functioning skills have been an increasing concern for classroom teachers. Jess walks us through what to look for in the classroom, how to address EF deficits, and ways to work EF practice into daily routines. She explains the three categories of executive function, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control, and how these link to innumerable daily tasks. This is a great introduction to Executive Function and systematic ways to support the children in our care who need extra EF support.

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: Building Strong Elementary Practice, in hopes of saving other Elementary Guides years of experimentation (that often comes at the expense of the children). The book is filled with practical tools and resources to support and ground Elementary Guides.

In this conversation, we focus on just one small part of their shared wisdom: implementing systems for shared accountability. As Montessorians, we know that intrinsic motivation and the use of the Montessori materials are essential. AND...the second plane is also a sensitive period for developing the skills of time management and materials management - skills that are essential for their longterm development.

So what does this look like in practice? How do Guides keep track of what students are working on? How do the students keep track? And do we create these systems and tools to support students' self-reflection rather than rushing through checklists? We discuss the use of work journals in depth. Join Allison and Elizabeth for this fascinating discussion.

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 to break free of what the "ideal" Montessori child, Guide, and classroom "should" look like, to actually meet the children where they are. Yet focusing on the needs and interests of each particular child, as well as the group as a whole, can sometimes be a creative challenge for the Montessori Guide. Ginni shares guidance from her long career as a Montessori Guide, trainer, and consultant.

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 about ways to establish the expectations to support the cultivation of a strong work culture in the Elementary environment.

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 viewed as broader beliefs that inform what you do and how you do it. In other words, these guidelines enable the adult to transform in a way that enables us to serve more children well.

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?

Cassi explains that operationalizing and socializing the community's values is critical so there is a strong understand of "what we do at this school." How do we show up, what do our words sounds like, what do our actions look like, and how do we hold ourselves accountable? These values are created through consensus; they become a shared agreement or "a promise to each other." Cassi walks us through the process of how a school staff creates their shared values.

Next Cassi talks about how to operationalize these values, which involves identifying your desired outcomes and defining how these values translate into observable behaviors. Cassi explains that we further reinforce these values by embedding them into the strategic direction, staff evaluations, staff meetings, and more.

This work can change the culture of your school. Cassi has so many specific examples and practical suggestions - you don't want to miss this!

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 time adjusting to school life.

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 ways to help our children build the skills to navigate their internal emotional world, Angie Ma authored a book to empower children with information to better understand their emotions and offers a free recording of helpful information for parents. After all, as Angie says, "Emotional resilience is not about feeling good, it's about getting good at feeling."

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 team looks like. Jonathan then dives into how successful teams overcome common challenges to achieve harmony, cohesiveness, and sustained joy.

Jonathan describes specific strategies to build a successful teaching partnership. We all know it's important to clarify roles and responsibilities of each member of the team. But Jonathan encourages us to first get to know the "whole" teammate. (What brought you here? How do you best learn? What are signals that you are feeling stressed?) He advises engaging early and often in "alignment conversations" (for example, "What do we do when...?") to create consistency among the classroom team. Jonathan also explains how to employ the Montessori “Three Period Lesson” model to orient and educate team members. Jonathan shares these strategies - and so much more - in this inspiring episode of Voices in Montessori!