Episode Details

Expert Episode: Follow the Child: Raising Independent Learners in the Infant/Toddler, and Primary Classrooms with Liliana Lemos, Educational Coordinator, Blanca Rincon, Toddler Teacher, and Joni Linch, Primary Teacher from Milton Montessori

https://miltonmontessori.org/

Host Stacey Poehler interviews Milton Montessori educational coordinator Liliana Lemos, toddler teacher Blanca Rincon, and primary teacher Joni Lynch about Montessori philosophy and programs. They describe Montessori’s mission of supporting the whole child beyond academics through independence, critical thinking, and social-emotional growth, with Liliana explaining how she observes classrooms and aligns curriculum across age groups. Blanca outlines the infant-toddler environment, emphasizing emotional security, a two-hour work cycle, practical life skills, language and motor development, and strategies for self-regulation such as naming and validating feelings, clear boundaries, consistency, and offering choices. Joni explains the benefits of mixed-age primary classrooms and gives an example of tactile learning using red rods and number rods. They discuss intentional toddler-to-primary transitions, home strategies like organizing for independence and rotating fewer toys, and how Montessori prepares children for other school settings. Families can tour and enroll via miltonmontessori.org, with a waitlist for infants and immediate enrollment available in Toddler, Primary, Elementary, and Middle School classrooms.

00:00 Welcome to the Podcast

00:14 Meet the Montessori Team

03:09 Why Montessori Matters

04:41 Infant Toddler Classroom

06:36 Toddler Emotions and Boundaries

08:45 Primary Mixed Age Benefits

10:24 Hands On Learning Materials

12:27 Transitioning Between Programs

16:33 Montessori at Home Tips

19:45 Preparing for Future School

22:32 Measuring Progress Without Tests

24:26 Tours and Enrollment Steps

27:19 Final Thanks and Sign Off