MiP: Montessori in Practice. Workshops for Montessori educators
We offer workshops for Montessori people who stand in the middle of daily practice and want to deepen and expand what they can do.
MiP stands for “Montessori in Practice”. Our workshops don’t happen in a seminar room but at our school, in a prepared environment with the materials you know from your own classroom. They are for people who already work with Montessori and want to develop their practice further.
Who the workshops are for
Our workshops are for people who work in Montessori environments every day:
- Teachers in Montessori elementary classrooms and Children’s Houses
- Assistants
- School leaders who want to strengthen their team
- Educators with a Montessori diploma who want to get to know a new subject area
No specific diploma is required. What you should bring: experience from your own Montessori practice and an appetite to keep learning.
Our speciality: chemistry in the elementary classroom
Our speciality is chemistry in the primary school.
Children ask why sugar dissolves in water and what happens to iron when it rusts. In Cosmic Education, chemistry belongs right in the middle. Yet many Montessori environments have hardly any material for it, and many educators don’t feel confident with the subject.
Our workshop “We are all stardust” is an introduction to chemistry and takes first steps into organic chemistry. We start with phenomena from children’s everyday lives and work with experiments you can use in your own environment straight away.
These workshops are offered by a doctor of chemistry, my son, and me. We have been developing the programme behind them since 2010 and have already run the teacher course in several countries. Scientific depth from chemistry and more than twenty years of Montessori practice at the same school: that combination is what MiP is about.
The chemistry workshop is a series of at least three Saturdays. Between sessions there is time to try things out in your own environment and bring questions to the next one.
Who teaches
Renée Classen leads the Mea Semita Montessori day school in Baar. She is a certified Montessori educator with AMI diplomas for ages 0 to 3, 3 to 6, 6 to 12 and 12 to 18, a Montessori trainer and an EDK-recognised primary teacher. For many years she has accompanied trainee Montessori educators through their training. More about Renée
Dr Moritz Classen earned his doctorate in chemistry at ETH Zurich and has been a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University since 2023, working on new therapeutic approaches against cancer. Chemistry for children has been part of his work since 2010: he co-developed a programme that brings chemistry into the primary school and has taught the accompanying teacher course in several countries. In the chemistry workshop he makes sure the experiments are scientifically sound and safe for children’s hands.
Renée and Moritz Classen described the idea behind the workshop in the journal “Das Kind”: “Chemie ist überall. Eine chemische Idee für die Primarschule” (issue 64, pp. 30 to 46).
Deepening courses: learning from each other
We are also glad to offer deepening courses again and again, in which we all share our competencies and learn from one another.
The deepening courses are meant as an exchange. Every participant brings their own experience, and in small groups we work on concrete questions from everyday practice.
Topics currently on offer:
- Big numbers: mathematics with the golden bead material
- Inflected parts of speech: the tricky four German cases
- “We are all stardust”: an introduction to chemistry and first steps into organic chemistry
- The geometric solids: from the Children’s House to the elementary classroom
- Storytelling: how do I develop stories of well known and unknown heroes and heroines?
- Spelling can be exciting! Let’s share our ideas with each other.
Would you like a different topic? Tell us in the form below. We plan the next courses around your wishes.
Format and details
- When: Saturdays, usually from 9:00 to 13:00, longer depending on the topic.
- Chemistry in the elementary classroom: a series of at least three Saturdays.
- Where: at our school, Mea Semita Montessori Tagesschule, Schutzengelstrasse 36, 6340 Baar.
- Language: German. On request we translate into English.
- Prerequisites: Montessori practice experience and an appetite to keep learning. No specific diploma is needed.
- Group size: variable, depending on the topic and registrations.
- Cost: on request.
- Certificate of attendance: yes, every participant receives one.
Upcoming dates
There are no fixed dates yet. If you would like to hear as soon as a workshop is scheduled, sign up in the form below. We will get back to you personally.
Which topics would you like?
Our workshops grow out of practice and out of your questions. Tell us which topics interest you, and we will plan the next courses accordingly.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need prior knowledge of chemistry?
No. The workshop is meant for educators without a science background.
What are the prerequisites?
Montessori practice experience and an appetite to keep learning. No specific diploma is needed.
When do the workshops take place?
On Saturdays, usually from 9:00 to 13:00, longer depending on the topic. The chemistry workshop comprises at least three Saturdays.
Where do the workshops take place?
At our school in Baar. The workshops depend on working in a real prepared environment with the original materials.
In which language are the workshops held?
In German. On request we translate into English.
Will I receive a certificate of attendance?
Yes. Every participant receives a certificate of attendance.
How do I register?
Via the form above or by email to info@measemitamontessori.com.