Program | 1st Asian Nienhuis Montessori Retreat 2024 - Sri Lanka

montessori since 1929

23 - 26 OCTOBER 2024

from our environment to yours The Prepared Environment

The Prepared Environment from our environment to yours

Montessori education seeks to provide children with environments ideally suited to each stage of development; this allows them to respond to the inner call of specific ‘sensitivities’ and gives them the freedom to act in accordance with their innate human tendencies. Thus, if education is viewed as a method to fulfil the optimum potential of the human being in every facet of his emerging personality, this ‘prepared environment’ provides a secure and permanent foundation on which to base development. The prepared environment is different for each developmental plane but guided by the same principles. The prepared environment and the role of the guide in the prepared environment distinguish Montessori from other approaches to support the development of the human being. The special environments enable to perform various tasks which induce thinking about relationships. The logical, sequential nature of the environment provides orderly structures which guide discovery and activity: theorems are discovered, not presented; spelling rules are derived through recognition of patterns, not merely memorized. All activities help to build confidence and self-esteem. Every aspect of the environment involves creative invention and careful, thoughtful analysis. In viewing outcomes at each Montessori level, it must be emphasized that why and how humans arrive at what they know and what they are capable of is just as important as what they know. “The task of the guide becomes that of preparing a series of motives of cultural activity, spread over a specially prepared environment, and then refraining from obtrusive interference. ...guides can only help the great work that is being done, as servants help the master. ” Maria Montessori - Education for a New World, p. 3

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The program October 23 - 26

Wednesday October 23

13:00 Registration in Hotel Lobby

15:00

Bus Trip

Training Center and Children’s House Tour (Good Shepherd Maria Montessori Training Centre)

15:15

16:45 Bus Trip

17:00 End

18:30 Dinner

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Program

Thursday October 24

Patricia Wallner

09:00 An Environment Prepared for Adaptation

10:30 Coffee Break

Madlena & Marilyne

11:00 Capturing the essence of sensory experience

12:30 Lunch

14:00 The Environment for Guided Discovery

Carla Foster

15:30 Coffee Break

Ask the trainer | meet and greet | open breakout sessions | shopping time

Retreat sessions

16:00

17:30 End

18:30 Dinner

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Friday October 25

Jenny Marie Höglund

09:00 A Prepared ‘Unprepared’ Environment

10:00 Coffee Break

10:30 Sport is a key to educate human potential

Jip Bartels

12:30 Lunch

Enriching the Lives of Older Adults - using the principles of the prepared environment

14:00

Anne Kelly

15:30 Coffee Break

Ask the trainer | meet and greet | open breakout sessions | shopping time

Retreat sessions

16:00

17:30 End

18:30 Dinner

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Program

Saturday October 26

09:00 Bus Trip

10:00 Welcome at Nienhuis

Nienhuis Factory

10:30 Factory Tour - From our environment to yours

A production environment, prepared for a sustainable future

Nienhuis Team

12:00

12:30 Lunch

14:00 Bus Trip

15:00 End of Retreat

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Special Offer during this weekend Nienhuis Montessori offers you a 25% discount on all orders exclusive of shipping costs. Please feel free to benefit from this generous offer! Please send in your orders in advance by email to sales@heutink.com with the discount code 25-RETREATSL , so that we can already make the necessary preparations. 25% discount

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Speakers

Patricia Wallner has been working in Montessori since 1970. She took her AMI 3-6 diploma in Washington D.C. and the 0-3 diploma in Houston, Texas with Dr. Silvana Montanaro. For 17 years she worked in a bilingual Infant Community in Amsterdam, The Netherlands where she lives. In 1995 she began the Training of Trainers program supported by the AMI and during her training ear ned a Master’s degree in Education. She has trained students and lectured in Europe, Asia and the U.S.A. Her goal is to promote Montessori, especially for the 0-3 age group in Europe.

Patricia Wallner

Lecture: An Environment Prepared for Adaptation A prepared environment with clear designated areas is important for adaptation and order. Infants need consistency so that they feel the sense of belonging in the time, place and culture they are born into. This There should be a place for sleeping, for eating, for changing/toileting, and for movement.

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Madlena Ulrich Madlena Ulrich spent her childhood in Germany and attended a Montessori Elementary school there. She moved to Norway as an adolescent and later obtained a Bachelor’s degree as a preschool teacher and is about to finish a Master’s degree in pedagogy at the university College of Vestfold, Norway. She took her original AMI 3-6 training at Mount St. Mary’s Montessori College in Dublin, Ireland. Since 1995 she has worked in the classroom and has been involved in the development of Montessori in Norway by giving lectures and serving as Vice President on the board for the national association NMF. In 2008 she started on her Training of Trainers, spending two years with Molly O’Shaughnessy in Minnesota and a Summer course with Ulla Wikefeldt in Sweden. She is currently part of the AMI faculty in China and trains and lectures in Norway as well as in many other countries.

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Speakers

Lecture: Capturing the essence of sensory experience The child explores abstract concepts such as dimensions or weight with the help of the concrete sensorial materials, thus capturing the essence of all things in the world. These materials mobilize the child’s human tendencies for observation, manipulation and abstraction, which all are the ingredients of intelligence. Through a sequence of activities, the child prepares himself for the discovery and building of human culture.

Marilyne Maugin After finishing her ‘Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies’ in medieval literature at the university of Lyon Lumières, Marilyne moved to London, where she finished her doctorate, and was giving college at the university on French civilization and medieval literature. When she returned to France in 2001, she finished her AMI 3-6 diploma. For 10 years she worked as a Montessori teacher in several schools in and around Paris. In 2015 she finished her AMI 6-12 diploma course, and in 2017 Marilyne started the AMI Training of Trainers program (3 – 6). She is now working at the Institut Supérieure Maria Montessori in Paris, where she training new teachers, consulting Montessori kindergartens and is still doing research together with the ISMM-trainers.

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Lecture: The Environment for Guided Discovery Montessori materials are not teaching materials, but used for exploration and discovery. The social environment in the Elementary is also an experiment to discover the principles of living in a community, where even conflict and virtues are pieces of material. What is the role of the adult in preparing such an environment, and guiding the children towards success?

Carla Foster Carla Foster is originally from California, but has lived the last 14 years in Norway. She graduated from UC Berkeley, California with bachelor’s degrees in Social Anthropology and Scandinavian Studies and a masters in Old Icelandic Literature and Norwegian Literature. She has her AMI 3 - 6 diploma from the MMTO in London in 1984 and her AMI 6-12 diploma from Milwaukee in 1990 and has been working with elementary children since 1990. She had her own class in Norway for 12 years before joining the AMI Training of Trainers program. Since then she has assisted on the AMI 6-12 summer course in London with Ann Dunne and the AMI 6-12 course in Chennai with Jean Miller. She is now training and lecturing in Norway and several other countries. Any spare time is spent doing various forms of dance.

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Speakers

Jenny Marie Höglund Jenny Marie holds AMI diplomas for the ages 3-6 and 6-12. She has mainly worked with the 6-12 and 12-18 (adolescents). She also holds a M.Ed. and she is an established AMI Elementary trainer. Jenny Marie was one of the founders of the Montessori School “Lära för Livet” in Varberg, Sweden in 1995, teaching children from 1 till 16 years of age. She founded and runs the first and so far the only Swedish Montessori Farm School. Jenny Marie has taught elementary and adolescent students for over twenty-three years. She has been serving as head of school since 2006. She has also lectured at the International Centre for Montessori Studies Foundation-Bergamo (CISM), in Italy since 2006.

Lecture: A Prepared ‘Unprepared’ Environment For the 12 to 18-year-olds Maria Montessori had a special environment in mind. Because adolescents are in a special stage of life, on the threshold of adulthood, the environment should reflect all aspects of adult life and provide opportunities, not only to pursue academic interests but also participate in real adult practical work in a social setting as close to a real society as possible. Through experiences of everyday life and its responsibilities, the adolescents will practice what it takes to become a contributing member of a wider society.

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Anne Kelly Anne Kelly is a registered nurse, Aged Care Montessorian and Dementia Consultant. She is currently the Director of Montessori Consulting in Australia. Anne also holds qualifications in Post Graduate Dementia Management, Assessment and Workplace Training and Dementia Care Mapping. She has worked extensively in aged and dementia care both residential and community for the past 38 years. In 2009 she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to further study Montessori methods for Dementia Care. Since this time Anne has continued to build her reputation as an experienced Aged Care Montessorian and she is now in demand to provide mentoring and training in Montessori methods for organization’s wishing to embrace Montessori methods into practice. Her work takes her across Australia and the world. Anne is considered an Australian and World leader in Montessori Methods for aged care and dementia. She is the chair of the Association of Montessori Internationale Scientific Pedagogical committee on Montessori for Dementia and Ageing. This committee has established trainer standards and an international certification for the application of Montessori principles into aged care. The committee is committed to the training of trainers in countries around the world to ensure sustainability of a model that has the potential to change the face of aged care one step at a time. Anne is well known throughout Australia. Her training is motivational, inspiring and she has been asked to speak about Montessori and the potential it has to change the lives of elderly people including those people living with dementia at many organizations and conferences both in Australia and across the world. Anne published her first book in 2017, Forgetfulness, Feelings and Farnarkling, a book that examines where aged care has come from, where we are now and where we need to be. In June 2021 she joined AMI as Head of Montessori for Dementia, Disability and Ageing.

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Speakers

Lecture: Enriching the Lives of Older Adults, using the principles of the prepared environment Montessori for Dementia and Ageing supports people living with memory loss or dementia by creating a prepared environment, filled with cues and memory supports, that enables individuals to care for themselves, others, and their community.

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Lecture: Sport is a key to educate human potential

Sport - in comparison to traditional physical education - offers a more concrete and culturally embedded point of interest to the child. When the sports environment is provided and maintained according to Montessori principles, it presents ample opportunities for self-construction (3-6), social exploration (6-12) and identity formation (12-18). So, how can one prepare this environment and themselves as an adult?

Jip Bartels Jip’s dream was to become a successful professional soccer player. He played for the Dutch national youth teams and signed a contract at AFC Ajax aged 16, but unfortunately three cruciate ligament injuries at the age of 17, 18 and 19 prevented him from living that dream. During his stay at the AFC Ajax youth academy he came in touch with Ruben Jongkind and Patrick Oudejans. Jip kept playing semi-professionally but decided to focus on his study and even won the prize of ‘Student Talent of the Year’ during his Bachelor (Honors) in Organizational Sciences. He thanked this to his extracurricular activities and his positive, energetic, and disciplined attitude. After finishing his Master Business Administration, he moved to Melbourne to start Montessori Sports programs in Australia. In 2021 he came back to Amsterdam to continue his mission with Montessori Sports. He holds a 6 to 12 AMI Assistant Certificate. Jip believes that sports and Montessori is the best combination for young children to develop their full potential.

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Practical information on the first Asian Nienhuis Montessori Retreat

Language The main language which will be used during this weekend will be English. For larger groups of participants it is possible to organize translation equipment. For this we would like to ask you to bring your own translator. The costs of this will be calculated per group for the full event on top of the regular registration fee. You can send an email to m.demink@heutink.com for any requests regarding translation equipment. Please indicate the size of the group, the language and if you will take your own translator(s). Costs The costs for this Montessori Retreat will be $250 per person. Except for breakfast all meals and coffee and tea breaks are included (3 x dinner & 3 x lunch). The maximum number of participants is 250. Special Offer Special Offer during this weekend Nienhuis Montessori offers you a 25% discount on all orders exclusive of shipping costs. Please feel free to benefit from this generous offer! Please send in your orders in advance by email to sales@heutink.com with the discount code 25-RETREATSL , so that we can already make the necessary preparations.

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Information

Venue The venue of the First Asian Nienhuis Montessori Retreat is the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, 77 Galle Rd, Colombo 00300, Sri Lanka. How to reach the venue area There are plenty of taxis on arrival in Colombo. Step outside of the arrival gate and change up a small amount of money enough for the taxi to get you to the city. It will take about 30min drive along the freeway. Accommodation Generally speaking people wish to book their stay by themselves, so we do not offer any accommodation. You can of course stay in the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, but also choose to stay in a hotel nearby that may be a bit more affordable, like the Granbell Hotel Colombo or Ramada Colombo. There are quite a few options in the direct proximity of the venue.

Registration You can register by using the following link: nienhuisretreat-SL.paperform.co/.

The last date to register for this Montessori Retreat is 29 September 2024.

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Nienhuis Anders Celsiusstraat 15, 7442 PB Nijverdal, The Netherlands Phone: +31 (0) 88 20 35 700 info@heutink.com | www.nienhuis.com

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