Montessori Conversations
Montessori Conversations is a live online speaker series that you can join from anywhere in the world. Each two-hour session offers professional development credit and brings Montessori trainers, educators, and guest specialists together to explore important questions in the field.
This Year’s Theme:
Family Engagement
The 2026–2027 series examines how educators, school leaders, families, and care partners can build stronger relationships in support of human development.
Across seven conversations, speakers will explore family engagement within different Montessori communities and stages of life, including:
School-wide partnerships with families
Montessori approaches to dementia, aging, and care partnerships
Constructive conversations with families about children’s development
Contemporary perspectives on adolescence
Supporting children ages 6–12 beyond school
Competition and collaboration through Montessori Sports
Prepared home environments for children ages 0–3
Series Details
Online, 6:00–8:00 p.m. Central Time
$20 per session
Two hours of professional development credit per session
Each conversation is presented live via Zoom on a monthly scheduled Tuesday. Please register separately for each session you plan to attend. You will receive a registration confirmation, and MINT will email the Zoom link on the day of the session. Registration fees are nonrefundable.
Participants receive a certificate for two hours of professional development for each session attended.
2026–2027 Speaker Series Registration
Select a session below to register and learn more about the presentation.
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Nancy Coronado
Admin TrainerPresentation:Building Partnerships with Families: A Whole-School Approach
Strong family partnerships begin with a shared understanding of Montessori, supported by school-wide systems, consistent practices, and meaningful communication. This conversation will explore strategies for engaging families throughout their relationship with the school, from admissions and orientation to ongoing partnership and retention. Participants will consider how administrators and staff can work together to help families understand Montessori and participate meaningfully in the school community.
Registration
https://montessori-mint.populiweb.com/router/forms/respond/187/c256c61a17a66e5cfcab33946f2e3134 -
Melissa Crenshaw, MCPC
Presentation:What Does It Mean to Be a Care Partner?
This conversation will explore what it means to be a Care Partner and how Dr. Montessori’s vision of education as an “aid to life” can guide and support us through different stages of life. Participants will consider how Montessori principles can inform meaningful roles, relationships, and responses when supporting older adults through dementia, aging, and other changes later in life.
Registration
https://montessori-mint.populiweb.com/router/forms/respond/185/5d4e50616ea6069673f11009af52cd98 -
Dr. Paige Krabill
Zaynab Olin TwaddellPresentation:What Do I Say? Finding the Words to Talk with Families About What You’re Noticing: A Power of Possibility Approach to Family Conversations
Many teachers grapple with how to speak with families when they notice something in a child, such as a struggle, behavior, or developmental difference. These conversations can be difficult, and the words we choose can either open a partnership or close one down.
What Do I Say? is rooted in the Power of Possibility, a strengths-based framework that equips educators with practical strategies for approaching family conversations. Participants will consider language that invites collaboration, strengthens the family partnerships critical to helping children thrive, and keeps the child’s development at the center of the conversation.
Registration
https://montessori-mint.populiweb.com/router/forms/respond/190/29bff2ed47cd33f3143452caaae66aaa -
Gena Engelfried
12–18 TrainerPresentation:Understanding Adolescents
What are the needs of adolescents, and how do their characteristics change throughout this dynamic stage of development? This conversation will examine what Dr. Montessori wrote about adolescence and consider how her observations correspond with contemporary research. Participants will explore how this knowledge can help adults support adolescents through significant physical, intellectual, social, and emotional change as they develop independence and move toward adulthood.
Registration
https://montessori-mint.populiweb.com/router/forms/respond/186/6c5859e769d90382cb01d13587457f9eon -
Virginia Viscovic
6–12 TrainerAnna Discenzo
Presentation:Supporting Second Plane Children
How can parents and other caregivers support second-plane children beyond the school walls? This conversation will examine what second-plane children are like, their developmental needs, and practical ways adults can aid their development at home. Participants will consider how to encourage independence, responsibility, exploration, and meaningful participation while supporting the social and intellectual growth characteristic of this plane of development.
Registration
https://montessori-mint.populiweb.com/router/forms/respond/189/2521cf1f6fee76232d66700a5ca73b13 -
Caroline Clark
3–6 TrainerSantiago Nacinovich
Montessori Sports TrainerPresentation:Competition and Collaboration in Young Children
This conversation will explore independence and interdependence through the lens of competition. Participants will examine how healthy competition, guided by the child’s inner teacher, can serve as a powerful tool for development while supporting collaboration.
Hosted by Caroline Clark, the session will bring Santiago Nacinovich together for a discussion grounded in real-world experience working with children.
Registration
https://montessori-mint.populiweb.com/router/forms/respond/188/d62ef53af2d74fb1ff09da9898780ed9 -
Molly Schayot
0–3 TrainerElsa Couch
Presentation:Taking Montessori Home
Parents often ask what they can do at home to support their child. This conversation will examine how educators can work with parents to create prepared environments throughout all areas of the home. Participants will consider practical ways to encourage movement, independence, meaningful participation, and joyful family collaboration in daily life while respecting the developmental needs of children ages 0–3.
Registration
https://montessori-mint.populiweb.com/router/forms/respond/191/588237dbf40e409bc6694f265fb79880
Keeping Professional Development Accessible
MINT is a nonprofit Montessori training center committed to supporting Montessori professionals beyond their initial training. With the support of our community, we can offer each Montessori Conversation for $20 and make continued professional development accessible to participants around the world.
If you are able, please consider making an additional donation. Your contribution helps sustain the series, welcome knowledgeable speakers, and extend learning opportunities throughout the Montessori community.