My journey…
It all started…
In 1997, we realized that our before and aftercare children at Countryside Day School needed a place to call their own. They were detached and uninspired by their Day Care environment AND in their Montessori classrooms. In the daycare environment, they bickered, damaged things, and were careless and uninterested; in the classroom, they were only interested in being with each other and waiting for Aftercare to begin. It was time for a change! Read All Day-All Year Montessori: A Living Community to learn more about how we got there.
About me…
I grew up in Glenview, Illinois, where I later met my “husband to be” in High School and began my journey in Montessori at Countryside Day School as a part-time assistant in the before and after-school program in 1989. I went on to assist in the toddler, 3-6-year olds, and elementary environments. I directed the many variations of the school's daycare program while earning a BA in graphic art from the Illinois Institute of Art. I earned my Primary (3-6-year old) AMI diploma from the Milwaukee Montessori Institute, taught by Hildegard Solzbacher and Joen Bettman in 1999.
I am a self-proclaimed pioneer in creating one of the US's first authentic All-Year Montessori 3-6 models. Since the launch of the class, I have nurtured and tailored this program into a truly magnificent experience for children who spend much of their lives at school. The AYM program runs from 7:30 to 5:30 for 245 days per year.
I have presented at conferences for the Association Montessori Internationale, North American Montessori Teachers’ Association, Montessori Education in Aotearoa New Zealand, Association of Illinois Montessori Schools, Montessori Teachers Institute of Professional Studies, Loyola University Maryland, and Montessori Education Center of the Rockies on this program and reached hundreds of attendees from all over the US, Mexico, Chile, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Nigeria. I have also consulted at schools nationwide.
My husband, Jim, and I live in Northbrook, Illinois, and have two grown children. I love to spend my spare time (ha!) in the kitchen. You name it: cakes, cookies, pies, and I bake it!