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Happy New Year! Cincinnati Montessori Society volunteers have been working really hard on our Annual Conference scheduled for Saturday, February 21st. This year's conference will have many well researched and nationally known speakers. We are offering an array of workshops, at a very affordable cost, with age levels spanning from birth to adolescents and sessions that will interest teachers, administrators and parents. The conference has professional development for everyone, including SUTQ hours, Kentucky and Ohio early childhood hours, and CEU's are available. The Northern Kentucky Convention Center will be hosting our event again this year. There are several hotels within walking distance. For more details on hotels offering a special rate, check here.
We hope that you will be able to make it to this year's Annual Conference. I always find that the conference helps rejuvenate me and solidify the importance of Montessori Education. Join us to connect with other Montessorians and take away new ideas to try in your school.
Hope to see you there,
Kristin Patterson
CMS Vice-President
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2015 CMS Conference
We hope to see you at our 2015 Conference
on FEBRUARY 21st at the
Northern Kentucky Convention Center
This year, we are going green!
In an effort to reduce waste and save paper, workshop handouts will be available one week prior to the conference. Go green with us by bringing your own water bottle or coffee mug and you will get an extra raffle ticket for a chance to win some great prizes from our vendors!
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Representative John Becker Comes to Visit
by Jill Wilson
As a first step in bringing the awareness of Montessori Education to the legislative table during educational policy meetings, I invited Representative John Becker, Ohio House District 65, to tour Children's Meeting House in Loveland, Ohio and see the power and beauty of Montessori Education in action.
The classrooms were quiet, yet bustling with activity and movement. Children were working together sharing ideas and answering questions about their work while other children 
worked independently, absorbed in their process. Teachers were hard to find, quietly giving lessons, answering questions and providing assistance when needed. Looking like chaos compared to a conventional classroom, Meg Thomas, the Head of School for Children's Meeting House, explained some of the reasons why a Montessori classroom is so successful. She emphasized how the children working independently, on work of their own choosing, from carefully designed and sequenced materials, deepens the level of learning within the child and,
through careful observation, allows the teacher to easily assess the child's skills and knowledge - without the time-consuming testing that is so prevalent in conventional schools.
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Mercy Montessori Students Make Math Fun!
by Gretchen Hooker
A team of four innovative students at Mercy Montessori has created a project that uses technology within the Montessori math environment. Elise Bergeron (5th grade), Audrey Hull (4th grade), Hank Perry (6th grade), and Aidan Stephenson (6th grade) are all members of Mercy's FIRST LEGO League (FLL), an after-school team that introduces students in grades 4-8 to the fun and excitement of science and technology. (FIRST is an acronym for: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). Over 265,000 children from 80 countries participate on FLL Teams, which meet from August through December annually.
Continue reading here >>>
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Montessori Internship in South Korea
by Emma Garrett
I recently returned to Cincinnati from the first semester of my internship year. However, my return trip home was a bit longer than most. I was interning in a 3-6 room at Ilgok Eunsung Kindergarten in GwangJu, South Korea. When my advisor, Gina Lofquist, heard my hopes of traveling to South Korea and interning in a Korean
kindergarten she
enthusiastically jumped on board. Although Xavier had never sent a student before, suddenly I was there, in a Korean classroom with students and teachers who spoke very little English. When first beginning my semester, I expected to grow as an educator, to be challenged on a personal level, and to gain a deeper understanding of Korean culture. Although I did do all of those things, I found
unexpectedly that the greatest knowledge I gained was about what I assumed I already knew: the child.
Continue reading here >>>
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Why Montessori? A Parent's Perspective
by Brian Muething
We chose Montessori education for our children nearly five years ago. With greater insight to the Montessori approach and seeing the early returns, we can offer Montessori education this compliment: if given the chance to make the education choice again for the first time, we wouldn't change a thing.
We chose Montessori education believing that our child was unique and special and thus needed something other than a one-size-fits-all approach to education. Montessori, we thought, offered our son the opportunity to take on challenges as he was ready for them. And, vital to his success, we hoped he would be able to elect his own path - undertaking the works of his choice on a daily basis, feeling in control of his future at a tender age - but within an environment that was structured and his progress measurable. Montessori has fulfilled the hopes that we had.
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 Cincinnati Montessori Society is a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring together parents, teachers and schools in order to promote and support the Montessori philosophy. It is governed by a volunteer board of trustees of Montessori parents, teachers, students, administrators and others interested in supporting Montessori education. If you are interested in serving on the board or have talents to share, please contact us. Each year, as we vote in new board members, we examine how we are serving our customers and what else we can do to support and promote Montessori Education in Cincinnati. Your feedback is very important to us - comments, compliments and critiques!
- What do you like and/or dislike about our service?
- What ideas do you have to make our organization better?
- What areas do you think are important for CMS get involved in?
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Cincinnati Montessori Society
on Facebook
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Montessori Community Calendar
Professional Development Workshop Opportunities, Montessori School Open Houses, and more!
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CMS Board Member Highlight
Name: Heather Gerker Current School/ Occupation: Program Director, Greater Cincinnati Center for Montessori Education Years of Teaching: 12 years Why did you choose Montessori? One observation of a Montessori class in action and I was hooked! I was so inspired by the joy of learning, deep concentration, and the respect that was given to the children. As I learned more about the pedagogy, I was further inspired by Montessori's emphasis on focusing on the individual child and developing to thier full potential at their own pace. Why did you join the CMS board? I returned to the Greater Cincinnati area after living, working, and attending school in Maine for five years. I wanted to learn more about Montessori in Cincinnati, meet fellow Montessorians, and hopefully find a job. Fortunately, I did all three! Favorite teaching moment: It's so hard to narrow it down to one moment. While working in the Early Childhood classroom, I always enjoyed observing the interactions between the children. Watching an older child teach a younger child is a beautiful thing! Working in adult education, I enjoy the one on one interactions with adult learners. Supporting them on the trans-formational journey of becoming a Montessori teacher brings me such joy! Interesting personal fact: I have traveled to 13 different countries. What do you love most about Montessori? "Follow the child." Enough said. Interests and Hobbies: I enjoy spending time with my family (3 year old twins, a 6 year old, and an amazing husband). I am a bit of a book nerd and love to read just about any- thing. I also enjoy getting messy with the kids and creating new, engaging "work" at home for them. Anything else? I always tell those interested in learning more about Montessori that it's a way of life, not just a way of teaching. I believe this to be whole heartedly true!
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CMS Executive Board Members
President
Heather Gerker, M.Ed.
Vice President
Kristen Patterson, M.Ed.
Treasurer
Susan Flaspohler, M.Ed.
Membership Secretary
Meri Fox
Recording Secretary
Valerie Dyas, M.Ed.
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CMS Newsletter Staff
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