Montessori Conference 2015

This year I attended the AMS Annual Conference in Philadelphia. It was my first Montessori conference and it was also my first time visiting Philadelphia. So I was pretty excited! The conference was from March 12-15th.

Montessori Teachers at a bar haha! 

I arrived Thursday evening or should I say Thursday night because it was about 10pm when we arrived at our hotel. We stay where the conference was being held, Philadelphia Marriott.  My co-workers and I went to a bar in downtown Philadelphia.

I do not remember the name of the bar...how sad is that? (Sorry had to look it up, its called McGillin's Olde Ale House) But I remember they serve the yummiest Chili nacho platter ever!


Friday morning, I attended my first workshop. I decided to attend the "Supporting Infant & Toddler Language Learning in English, Spanish and ASL". I loved this workshop! This workshop was about children learning a different language at home and at school and how we in the Montessori environment can help that child continue to learn and be fluent in the languages they learn. What I enjoyed the most was the examples they gave and the 5 Simple Strategies to Facilitate Language Development.

I loved the displays all around the hotel that showcased work from so many different schools.

Philadelphia Montessori Charter School

Montessori Peace Table

I attended a few vendors at the conference and bought some materials for my classroom. I seriously wanted to buy so many things at the conference but I tried to stick with the list I had made before attending the conference.  I bought a practical life frame (shoe clips) and a few object to picture matching activities for counting.

I would have to say my favorite vendor was Mad About Montessori only because I got so many things from them! I think I bought about five key chains to give to family and friends, so many pencils and pens and I also got a bumper sticker for my car that says, "Montessorian". I even bought a small tote bag which I absolutely adore.

I was excited to take a photo with Frank Leto. My students love his music and so do I! They're so catchy and fun for children to sing and dance along to.



Saturday, very early in the morning,  I attended a workshop being presented by my director, Dr. Kathy Roemer and Mary Ellen Kordas. Let me just say, I have been working at my school for four years now and I have never heard my director speak outside of my school setting. It was called "Support for Aspiring Leaders". This was such an amazing workshop! I have always respected my director but I honestly gained a whole new respect for her. Lets just say her workshop was very inspiring.

We had a keynote speaker that day, Jennifer Senior (she is the author of All Joy No Fun). I loved to hear her speak. She was so brutally honest about how parents really feel about their children and what goes on at home sometimes. She left us all with a quote that totally resonated to me "Joy is grief inside out".

Saturday night, my co-workers and I attended the Philadelphia Freedom Party. It was so much fun! They had little video montages where we wore props to take photos. 

It being my first Montessori conference, I totally enjoyed myself! I left this conference feeling inspired. It was such a special feeling being amongst other Montessori professionals who understand and value the philosophy just like I do. I am looking forward to next year's conference which will held in Chicago!

Until next time,