Slowing down, connecting, growing together
Join us for a retreat experience from your home. A place where we can slow down, connect with each other, and up-level our Montessori practice at home. It's time to go deeper...
This 8-week program is suitable for all Montessori families. Whether you are new to Montessori or have been practising Montessori at home for some time. The topics we cover will apply to any age child from baby through to teenager.
The community will be much like a Montessori school with all of us helping and learning from each other. Sometimes we'll be able to help someone, consolidating our own learning. And other times, we will take away ideas from others in the group.
I'm Simone Davies,
an AMI Montessori educator for nearly 20 years
and parent of two young adults.
I love helping you bring
Montessori into your home.
This retreat is something different.
This is not a workshop with lots of reading.
This is a space where we will cover 8 topics in 8 weeks. Each topic you will receive a short video and a prompt to focus on one aspect of Montessori for the week. And each week builds on the next.
We'll have a cosy private community on Instagram where we can share with each other how we are working on the topic in our families and learning from and supporting each other.
There will be weekly 1-hour live calls to ask your questions and go into breakout rooms to have discussions with others in the community.
And each topic will have a beautiful PDF poster to download. A visual reminder to inspire us.
less reading,
more putting Montessori
into practice
The retreat will cover 8 topics - a topic each week which we will be exploring together. The prompts will be concrete ways to bring Montessori into your home with examples and ideas to try.
have your
Montessori questions
answered
Bonus introductory call:
Monday 1 May at 1pm ET / 7pm Amsterdam time
#1 Sunday 7 May 1pm - 2pm ET / 7pm - 8pm Amsterdam time
#2 Saturday 13 May 8am - 9am ET / 2pm - 3pm Amsterdam time / 10pm - 11pm AEST
#3 Sunday 21 May 1pm - 2pm ET / 7pm - 8pm Amsterdam time
#4 Saturday 27 May 8am - 9am ET / 2pm - 3pm Amsterdam time / 10pm - 11pm AEST
#5 Sunday 4 June 1pm - 2pm ET / 7pm - 8pm Amsterdam time
#6 Saturday 10 June 8am - 9am ET / 2pm - 3pm Amsterdam time / 10pm - 11pm AEST
#7 Saturday 17 June 8am - 9am / 2pm - 3pm Amsterdam time / 10pm - 11pm AEST
#8 Sunday 25 June 1pm - 2pm / 7pm - 8pm Amsterdam time
If you can't attend live, you'll be able to send in your questions beforehand and the recordings will be made available to all participants.
a cosy and safe
space to connect and learn together
This is where the community happens. Each topic will have posts where we can share what we are working on and get ideas from others.
There is so much we can learn from each other to help us build a stronger Montessori practice in our homes.
Testimonials
"This course was really a wonderful opportunity to see Montessori with all its grace and power! I loved everything about it! Montessori for all! The format of this retreat promoted so much enjoyment and a safe and kind place to learn and grow." - Josie
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"Wow what a beautiful 8 weeks of learning!!" - Ma Sa Ba
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"This retreat was incredibly helpful, and supportive - especially at a challenging time for all of us. I loved how each week built upon each other, and already plan to go back and start from week one soon." - Shehla
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"Before this retreat I thought that Montessori was only for a few and that it will take long time and money. How wrong I was! In these weeks I feel I have discovered the essence of the approach. Thank you for making this happened and for allowing so many people to have access to such a wonderful way of learning," - Johanna
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"Where to begin? I loved the Montessori retreat so much and I’m so glad and grateful that I was able to connect with parents and families worldwide. I’m a bookish person and read Simone’s book a while ago and thought I got this. However, the 8 weeks have shown me again how different it is to just read and cognitively understand something to observing, doing and trying and pausing and trying again is. And doing it in a community is such a privilege. I learned that you can do Montessori with the things that you already have at home and that at the core it’s all about being calm and taking time to pause and observe." - Annika
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"During this retreat, we have come to realize that Montessori is based on relationship, communication, respect and trust rather than just toys and activities. Before starting this retreat, we were a bit stressed that we were not always updated with so called Montessori activities as you can see on social networks, and felt overwhelmed and worried for our son’s progress. Through these weeks, we feel our bond of family has got stronger than ever, and now we have a core value of these 8 topics we always refer to from next week." - Rieko
Course overview
Starts Monday 1 May
for 8 weeks
- Live call dates, times & Zoom link
- Introduction call - recording etc (42:42)
- Live call #1 - recording etc (62:34)
- Live call #2 - recording etc (90:55)
- Live call #3 - recording etc (125:06)
- Live call #4 - recording etc (68:21)
- Live call #5 - recording etc (96:13)
- Live call #6 - recording etc (96:45)
- Live call #7 - recording etc (89:47)
- Live call #8 - recording etc (87:47)
I'm delighted that Akshatha (@maanvi_and_me) and Ana-Kay (@pickneys_at_play) will be joining us to share their experiences in our live calls and in the Instagram community. Dream team!
Akshatha is a mother to a 3.5-year-old toddler. She is a Certified Positive Discipline Educator, and an AMI trained Montessori Assistant for the 0-6 age group. She follows Montessori, Positive, and Conscious parenting approaches with her daughter and is currently following the Montessori diploma course for the 3-6 age group.
Ana-Kay is my go to person for raising Montessori twins. A self-taught Montessorian, she discovered this approach to parenting while researching how to best support her premature twins’ development. Now three years into practicing at home with her sons, she is furthering her passion by becoming certified as a Montessori Guide for ages 0-3.
Frequently asked questions
1. Do I need to attend live?
No, each topic you will receive a short video and a prompt to work on for the next week. This is something for you to practice in your daily life. You will have lifetime access to the course to come back as your child grows.
There are weekly live calls but these will also be recorded and placed in the learning area as soon as they are ready. You will also be able to submit questions if you can't be live on the call and we'll do our best to answer as many as possible.
2. Is it suitable for someone new to Montessori? Is it suitable for someone who has been practising for some time?
The retreat is for beginners through to those who have been practising Montessori for some time who would like a refresher or to go deeper.
The retreat is designed to meet you where you are at. The prompts will introduce you to Montessori ideas for you to put into practice, but the learning will come from trying it out during the week and sharing in the Instagram group what you are learning and, in turn, learning from others.
3. Is there a particular age group?
The topics we cover can be applied to any age child from baby through to teenager. And would also work well for families with more than one child.
4. Will we have access to the program after the 8 weeks?
Yes, you will have unlimited access. The private Instagram group will also remain open after the course finishes.
You can work at your own pace but you will get the most out of the program by participating in the Instagram community each week.
5. Do I need to join Instagram to participate?
As this is a community-based program sharing with and learning from others, you will benefit the most from this program if you take part in the Instagram community.
6. How much time will it take each week?
The beauty of this retreat is that there is only a small amount to read for each topic and a short video to watch. The rest is by putting it into practice in your regular week and sharing with the Instagram community. So you can spend 5 minutes a topic just watching the video, 20 minutes a topic if you read the prompt too, or up to an hour or two a week if you participate in the calls and the Instagram community.
7. What if I miss the Early Bird pricing?
I'm sorry if you miss out on the early bird window which ends promptly on Sunday 30 April, midnight PST. But you get to pay full price and that is appreciated too and 20% of the profits will go to Educateurs sans Frontiers, the Black Montessori Education Fund, and the Indigenous Montessori Institute.
8. I have done The Montessori Retreat before. Is this the same?
It can be wonderful to sign up for the retreat again. The topics will be the same but you always take away what you need right now. There will be new live calls and a new community to connect with. And we have a fresh new look with beautiful art from Hiyoko Imai. Hope you will join us again!
9. Accessibility? All videos and live calls will be closed captioned with subtitles in English.