The United Montessori Schools of Indiana (UMSI) will host a Montessori conference at Trine University on Saturday, October 22. Join us from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. as we hear from different leaders in the Montessori field as they explore the conferences theme: "Nurturing from the Roots: Taking the Montessori Experience Outdoors"

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Jana Morgan Herman will be the keynote speaker for the conference and will talk about Montessori's Outdoor Classroom. Many schools advertise "all-day Montessori" when describing the activities that happen inside the classroom during school hours. Interestingly, Montessori's school day was indoors for only part of the day.

For much of the day, the outdoors played a significant role in the Scientific Pedagogy practices as Applied to Child Education in 'The Children's Houses.' From the day's description in the first casa to her description of the school day in her little school in India, children spent a great deal of time outdoors. What did outdoor spaces look like? What did they do during those afternoons? What does current research suggest about the educational value of spending time outdoors? Join us to learn more about Montessori's vision for outdoor education as a natural part of the school day and how your school can add these experiences no matter if you are located in a strip mall or on a large property.

Jana’s been involved in Montessori education since 1992, first as a parent sub, then as a teacher, school director, teacher trainer, and director of training for VMAT, a MACTE teacher education program. She travels internationally, presenting, training teachers, and working with parents. Jana has a Master’s in Montessori and is a co-founder of The Kentucky Montessori Alliance. Jana moderates numerous Facebook groups and pages, including a 7500-member Montessori parent Facebook group. She is the National Director of Montessori Education for Endeavor Schools. She has courses available for teachers and administrators on Trillium Montessori and is a co-author of the Montessori Parent Coronavirus Survival Guide and numerous articles for parents and teachers. 

There will also be a workshop by Priscilla Spears, who owns Big Picture Science and will speak on “Making Elementary Biology Relevant” – on updates in science applied to the Montessori curriculum.

Other things to look forward too for this conference:

• 12 vendor tables for participants to persue

• Parent track for Montessori parents

• Breakout workshops (parent track, early childhood track, elementary track)