Next Meeting:

NHMA Teachers' Retreat, at Mountain View Montessori, Intervale NH.
Host: Juliet Fleischer Pre-registration is required.
Contact coordinator Meg Jones (msmonti@sprintmail.com or 532-6481)

Previous Meetings

NHMA Meeting Summary 8/9/08

We met this time at Green Valley School, in Pembroke. Wanda Nichols was our gracious host and she and her staff provided excellent facilities for both the workshop and the meeting that followed. We had 18 members attending and everyone reported being pleased they came. We are not only becoming a group that helps and supports each other, but one that can work together surprisingly well, in spite of being a relatively new organization.

The workshop topic was natural playgrounds and was presented by Ron King. He provided us with an overview of why natural playgrounds are more meaningful and enjoyable for children, and then showed a variety of ways to achieve the various elements that should be present. He also offers a consultation service as well as construction itself and his website, www.naturalplaygrounds.com, offers a wealth of information.

Our meeting afterwards started with a reminder to all members that NHMA membership dues for 2008-09 need to be paid by October 1st, 2008. Rates are $15.00/individual, $25.00/small school, $50.00/large school (schools decide their relative size themselves!). Checks can be mailed to Erin Woo (treasurer) 2445 Main St, Bethlehem, NH 03574.

We followed with an exchange of ideas for retaining kindergarten children, when the school is competing with public programs. Many schools find that they have high retention rates, especially if they offer full-day programs and more diverse and extensive activities than the public programs provide.

And we actually planned a retreat for teachers! It is being generously hosted by Juliet Fleischer, at Mountain View Montessori in North Conway, and a number of our members volunteered to help organize and contribute to the running of the event. It will be our next meeting and will be a weekend event, Friday night to Sunday morning, October 17/18/19.

Meg Jones has agreed to coordinate the event and activities and she may be reached at msmonti@sprintmail.com or 532-6481. Although we are unsure how many members would want to attend, Juliet’s site can probably accommodate 15-20 people comfortably. However, here is also the possibility of B&B accommodations nearby, if we need more room. More information will be emailed to members soon.

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NHMA Meeting Summary 5/10/08

Claire Doody, of Country Village Montessori, in Nashua, NH was our host and we had a record 18 members attend. After a short heads of school pre-meeting, we covered the usual business of treasurer and membership reports and an update on the progress of the website.

Then we chatted about the Statewide Open House week that we all took part in. There was a general consensus that we had found it valuable in a variety of ways, both to raise awareness of our schools in our local community, but also to use it as a vehicle to promote Montessori philosophy and ideals. Many schools linked it to another activity, such as showing the AMS Peace video, or running a children’s art show or a book fair. Mountain View Montessori let the children run the tours! It was agreed that we will repeat the Open House idea next April.

Health insurance is a topic that causes much discussion in our small schools. Although it would be wonderful to provide it, it appears that as an organization, we are unable to improve on the “buying power” that the New England Businessmen’s Association or other such entities, can offer. Some of our schools are already getting a relatively fair rate from them, with a low yearly membership fee.

And we ended with a discussion on future offerings at our meetings. Currently we meet 4 times a year, and we picked a workshop topic for the August meeting. We are hoping to invite a speaker on outdoor play and design of playgrounds, which was inspired by some of our members having read Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv. A teachers’ retreat isi also still possibly on the cards as well, maybe in February.

Next meeting is planned for August 9th at Green Valley Montessori, in Pembroke, NH. Time: 10 AM. Host: Wanda Nichols

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NHMA Meeting Summary 2/9/08

The New Hampshire Montessori Association met Saturday, February 9, 2008 at the Newport Montessori School in Newport. Teachers from all over the state came together to see this new facility and to discuss topics in Montessori education in NH.

Christy Whipple, NMS founder and owner, introduced herself to the group and described the program and plans for expansion. NMS has two preschool-kindergarten programs, and will add an elementary class in fall 2008. Plans are in place to expand the building as needed for the growth of the elementary levels.

We have a web site in place for NHMA. We will expand the website with an introduction to Montessori, meeting summaries, teacher-to-teacher resource information and photos of children from programs around the state. In the future we will add information for parents, job postings and communication for teachers, heads of schools and parents.

In April, from the 1st to the 6th, we will have a statewide open house. Individual schools will hold events, inviting anyone interested to learn about Montessori. Schools that are planning events include Bedford Montessori, Bedford, Merrimack Valley Montessori, Salem, Country Village Montessori, Amherst, White Pines Montessori, Bethlehem, Newport Montessori, Newport, Claremont Montessori, Claremont and Montessori Children's School, Concord. The events will be promoted in local newspapers and other news outlets.

Our next meeting is planned for Saturday, May 10 at the Country Village Montessori School in Amherst.

Submitted by Laura Mammarelli