Inside the BCMA Montessori Conference
Nancy Graham, owner of Pathway Montessori schools, attends several Montessori conferences each year. It is a means of sharing ideas, networking with other teachers and strengthening ties within the community.
Keynote Speaker
At this years BCMA (British Columbia Montessori Association) conference, Nancy had the opportunity to converse one-on-one with the keynote speaker, Eduardo Cuevas, a world-class speaker and trainer in Montessori Methods. His primary message? It is much more powerful for children to be concentrated instead of just occupied. A calming of the child occurs after a child has worked with a Montessori material that fully engages their interest in a concentrated manner. Teachers were reminded to mindfully observe and follow the child as opposed to arbitrarily telling them to pick a project.
The 3 i’s of Learning
As a Montessori Directress, Nancy has observed first hand, how engagement is key to learning. She calls this effect the 3 i’s of learning: an INQUISITIVE nature, an INTEREST in the materials and the INDEPENDENCE to explore. Supporting a child’s natural curiosity and allowing them to work things out themselves, leads to confidence, enhanced problem solving skills and innovative thinking. Children experience the present-day joy of discovery, while setting the groundwork for future success.
The Montessori Conference in Pictures
–————————————
About Eduardo Cuevas:
Eduardo Cuevas is the Director of Training at the Montessori Training Centre of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He has lectured extensively at Universities around the world on the Montessori method.
About Nancy Graham:
Nancy is owner of Pathway Montessori schools in Calgary, AB and Fort Langely BC. She continues to act as a Montessori directress at one of the schools and believes that teachers have a sacred obligation to help their students become acquainted with their potential.
