Today’s conversation is the third in a series of check-ins with my good friend and new bilingual mom, Samantha. We previously checked in when Samantha’s daughter was 12 months and 15 months.  If you missed our first two conversations, you can go back and hear them (they are episode 50 and episode 56). We recorded this update back in the spring, when Samantha’s daughter was 18 months old, right after her family returned from a trip to Italy to visit her partner’s family. I hope you enjoy...

Mariana Bissonnette (she/her) is an internationally recognized speaker, author, AMI 0-6 trained Montessorian and AMI 3-6 Trainer-in-Training working with parents, teachers, trainees, and school leaders in implementing Montessori on either side of the classroom doors. She is also the founder of The PEACE Program (Parent Education and Child Empowerment) where she supports families, Montessori educators, and Montessori schools. Mariana’s work centers on the depth of the Montessori method in...

Nichole Holtvluwer is a mom and Montessorian with over two decades of experience working with young children. Nichole currently lives and works as a Montessori Toddler Guide at Hala Kahiki Montessori School on the island of Lāna’i, part of the Hawaiian archipelago, with her husband and their 3yo daughter and 7yo dog. You may know Nichole as Radicle Beginnings on Instagram, where she shares lots of information and inspiration about supporting babies and toddlers using Montessori...

Today’s episode is the second in a series of check-ins with my good friend and new bilingual mom, Samantha! In our first conversation, I introduced you to Samantha and her one-year-old daughter, who is learning both English and Italian at home. We talkd about the joys and challenges Samantha was experiencing with her daughter’s bilingualism, and what her daughter’s language use was like as she turned one year old. So if you didn’t get a chance to listen to that first episode, I encourage...

My guests for this episode are Simone Davies and Junnifa Uzodike, the authors of the upcoming book, The Montessori Child. They are both accomplished Montessorians and authors, and just generally lovely people. We had a great conversation about their work and their upcoming book, and I know you’re going to enjoy it. Simone Davies is the author of “The Montessori Toddler” and co-author of “The Montessori Baby” and “The Montessori Child” books, comprehensive guides to raising children in a...

Alexandra Torres Guerrero is the Interim Principal at Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School in Washington DC, where students learn in both English and Spanish.  Alex was born in Bogotá, Colombia and has lived in the DC area since 2007. She is AMI-trained at the 0-3 and 3-6 levels, and is currently doing her AMI Administrators Certificate training. She has worked at LAMB for the past 12 years and recently became the school’s interim principal. LAMB is a really unique...

Trisha Moquino is a member of the Cochiti, Kewa, and Ohkay Ohwingeh Tribal Nations. She is the Co-Founder, Education Director and Elementary Keres Speaking Guide at Keres Children's Learning Center, an Indigenous Language Immersion Montessori school in Cochiti Pueblo, NM. Trisha also helps in the continued development of KCLC’s Indigenous Montessori Institute, an anti-racist teacher training grounded in our Philosophy of Indigenous Education.  In this conversation, Trisha shares what it’s...

Zil Jaeger (they/them) is a Montessori educator, consultant and coach, with a passion for literacy and a commitment to anti-bias, antiracist education. They are Montessori trained at the 3-6 and 6-12 levels, with multiple literacy certifications. They believe that classrooms should be spaces of joy, critical engagement, and community-minded learning. An advocate for literacy learning, Zil is devoted to translating research into effective classroom strategies. They love supporting teachers,...

Jasmine Williams is the Race and Equity Specialist at the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector. Jazz provides race and equity guidance and education, and delivers Montessori theory and practice instruction for the NCMPS Montessori Teacher Residency. Jazz has worked in bilingual Montessori programs for 12 years, including 8 years in a public program, as a classroom teacher, reading interventionist, Montessori coach, and academic director. Jazz has lived in, volunteered in and...

Today we’re doing something a little different! This is the first episode of what will become a series of check-ins with my good friend and new bilingual mom, Samantha. In this first conversation, I’ll introduce you to Samantha and her one-year-old daughter, who is learning both English and Italian at home. We’ll talk about the current joys and challenges Samantha is experiencing with her daughter’s bilingualism, and what her daughter’s language use is like right now. Then we’ll check in...

Elizabeth M. Castillo is a multilingual poet, writer, teacher, and parent. Her childhood was split between the Congo and England, and she spent her adolescent years on the tiny, tropical island of Mauritius. She now lives in Paris with her family and two cats. Elizabeth homeschools her two daughters, and writes a variety of different things, in a variety of different languages, and under a variety of pen names. She also runs a handful of small businesses, dabbles in charity work and teaches...

Today's Frequently Asked Question is from a listener: What if my child switches between langauges? I'm back with another Frequently Asked Questions episode - a quick, bite-sized episode focusing on one frequently asked question about language acquisition, Montessori language development principles, or multilingualism. I alternate these episodes with the longer-form interviews parents, educators and experts in their fields on topics relating to Montessori and multilingualism that you’re...

Bianca Solorzano is a Montessori guide and consultant for Baby Tour Guide. In the past Bianca has run her own Montessori Infant Classroom, otherwise known as a Nido, and has also held roles in Admissions and School Administration. She now supports parents and educators through her Montessori Babies Podcast, the Montessori Babies Course, and on her Instagram account, @babytourguide. In our conversation, we talk about what Bianca loves about working with babies and their parents, and what it...

Today is a very special day: I started this podcast exactly two years ago, in September 2021! Since then, I’ve interviewed over 40 educators, parents, authors, researchers, professors and experts about Montessori and multilingualism. A few months after I first started the podcast, in December 2021, I put together this bonus episode with advice from the first ten guests that I interviewed. At the end of each episode, I invited each guest to share some advice that they had for listeners,...

Jenna Clark Embrey is the Literary Manager and Dramaturg at Lincoln Center Theater in New York City. Jenna develops plays and supports playwrights alongside serving as the Executive Editor of the Lincoln Center Review. She received her MFA from the American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theater School for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University. Jenna is also the mom to a two-year-old named Amelia, who attends a German immersion preschool in New York. Jenna studied German as an...

If you've ever wondered about Montessori at the adolescent level, this is the episode for you! In this episode, I speak with Hannah Ewert-Krocker, a former Montessori child who worked as the director of the farm school program at the Denver Montessori Junior/Senior High School for seven years. Hannah shares incredible insights about Montessori at the adolescent level, the joys and challenges of running a public Montessori program, and what she loves about working with adolescents. Hannah...

Jacqueline Ménoret is an American living in Paris. Jackie graduated with a Master’s degree in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She works in higher education in Paris, coordinating French-speaking study abroad programs. Jackie founded the Immigrant Book Club in 2020, and is also the co-founder of a new bilingual magazine called Revue Version Originale, available this fall. Jackie grew up in Wisconsin and now lives in Paris with her husband and her...

Have you ever wondered about what Virtual Montessori school is like? Not Montessori schools that temporarily held virtual classes during the pandemic, but an academic program designed to be a fully remote Montessori school? In June of 2022, I graduated from Linköping University in Sweden with a Master’s Degree in Child Studies. For my final thesis, I conducted a qualitative study about teachers’ experiences, and their impressions of their students’ experiences, in a virtual Montessori...

Today's Frequently Asked Question is: What’s the best way to raise a multilingual child? I'm back with another Frequently Asked Questions episode - a quick, bite-sized episode focusing on one frequently asked question about language acquisition, Montessori language development principles, or multilingualism. I alternate these episodes with the longer-form interviews parents, educators and experts in their fields on topics relating to Montessori and multilingualism that you’re already...

I'm bringing back one of the podcast's most popular episodes about one of the most requested topics: Montessori with toddlers! On Episode 15 of the Multilingual Montessori Podcast, I spoke with Claudia Lundahl, an AMI Montessori toddler guide, postpartum doula, and freelance artist living in London, England. One of Claudia’s first teaching experiences after college was teaching English in France through TAPIF, which stands for Teaching Assistant Program in France, where she taught English to...

Kaila Diaz is a sociolinguist who specializes in childhood and family bilingualism.  She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband Alfredo and their 3.5 year old daughter.Kaila is the director of Bilingüitos, an educational platform and online community for parents raising bilingual kids. Kaila also hosts the Bilingual Parenting Podcast. In this conversation, we talk about Kaila’s experiences growing up bilingual in a monolingual home, and her experiences now raising her own bilingüita, or...

Laura, Megan and Rachel are three trained Montessori guides and new mothers who host the Montessori Moms in the Wild Podcast. Between the three of them, they are trained in Montessori education for ages birth through twelve years old. Their podcast aims to serve caregivers who want to learn more about the Montessori philosophy but also want a bit of lightheartedness and realness when it comes to the ups and downs of parenting. In this conversation, we talk about how Laura, Megan and Rachel...

Sylvia Arotin is the founder and CEO of Guide & Grow. She runs My Montessori school in Sydney, Australia and is an international speaker and trainer for educators and parents, specializing in communication and guiding children's behavior. Sylvia holds an International Montessori 0-3 diploma, 3-6 assistants’ certificate, International Communications degree and a Masters in Teaching specializing in early childhood. Sylvia created Guide & Grow from a desire to help raise tomorrow’s...

Viorica Marian is a Psycholinguist, Cognitive Scientist, Psychologist, and writer known for her research on language, bilingualism, and multilingualism. She is the Ralph and Jean Sundin Endowed Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders and Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University, and is the Principal Investigator of the Northwestern Bilingualism and Psycholinguistics Research Laboratory. She received her PhD in Psychology from Cornell University, Master's degrees from Emory...