The Under Threes

All about baby and toddler communities

Email: annamariaguild@googlemail.com

Mobile: 07825613549

Welcome

“Our care of the child should be governed, not by the desire to “make him learn things,” but by the endeavor to always keep burning within him that light which is called intelligence.”

Montessori, The Advanced Montessori Method, p. 240)

Hi, my name is Annamaria and I am passionate about our baby and toddler communities and the way our youngest children learn. I believe that mindfully prepared environments serve our children’s motivations and prepare them for their future learning.

Montessori and Under Threes training and workshops

Face to face, online, half day or full day…..pick and mix….or just give me call and let me know about your training needs!

  • Back to basics: what you really need to build a baby and toddler Montessori community. Montessori philosophy in the Under Threes classroom.
  • The environment: the prepared environment as the servant of the child’s inner motivation and development. How can we create an effective, dynamic (child-environment-teacher) triangle?
  • The Absorbent Mind: who are the babies and toddlers in our care? Characteristics, developmental planes and milestones. Montessori principles and their implementation.
  • Play and learn: what do babies and toddlers play with and what do they learn from their explorations? Sensory learning, Treasure Baskets and Heuristic Play, with resources. Indoor and outdoor activities for babies and toddlers.
  • Activities of everyday living: fall in love (again) with AEL and learn how it contributes to children’s autonomy and the development of independence…and how do we do AEL for the Under Threes?
  • Early sensory learning and the Montessori Sensorial apparatus: sensory learning is much more than what you find on the shelves! Also, learn about the magic of the Montessori Sensorial apparatus.
  • Infant mental health and the preparation of the teacher: coming soon – my summer project for sure 🙂

Bespoke consultancy

  • Do you feel that your team needs empowerment and inspiration?
  • Is the environment failing to serve the children?
  • Do you wish to transform a non-Montessori setting into a Montessori community?
  • Do you have specific challenges?
  • I visit, observe, listen, chat, take notes (lots!), write a report, have meetings with you and keep in contact to see how things are going. Contact me for a chat!

About

I am an ex-MCI student and tutor. After completing Level 4 and 5, I moved to do a Level 6 Early Years Degree Course at London Metropolitan University. My Montessori interest started 18 years ago, when I was pregnant with our first baby. I trained while working in a fantastic Montessori nursery in Essex. After a few years of working in the nursery I opened up my Montessori childminding, which received an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted inspection report. I served the very young children (0-2.5) and their families with my heart. Later I was invited to manage and transform a local nursery into a fully functioning Montessori setting. It was a challenging task but undoubtedly one of the most interesting and most rewarding jobs I have ever had. I joined MCI to teach the Under Threes module, Sensorial, and apparatus workshops, used to be a placement tutor and look after apparatus practice in the College. I co-wrote training modules relating to the Under threes, articles for the Montessori magazine and delivered presentations.
I am now a part-time researcher and content manager at Village Global Education, where our humble team creates training apps for educators and parents in the early years. It is an amazing project, so make sure to visit our website!
Walking with my dog, hiking and daily exercise keeps me sane. Being connected to nature is very important for me!

I am grateful for:

  • All the opportunities I get to visit nurseries and collaborate with teams and other professionals. I always come away enlightened, with new snippets to add to my experience!
  • The marvelous Montessorians, friends and mentors at MCI and outside of it (you all know who you are!) who shaped me to who I am today and who I had a chance to learn form and work with. Check out the Collaborative Montessori and Montessori Musings to meet some of the authentic, experienced and knowledgeable Montessorians who I am thinking about…
  • My family, three teenagers and hubby – for putting up with me endlessly studying, coming and going and panicking about deadlines!

Testimonials…

“In 2020, Annamaria visited our nursery which recently had transitioned from the ‘ordinary’ setting to Montessori to advise us on how to best implement Montessori ethos and practice in our Baby and Young Toddler room. Her visit and advice proved to be invaluable – she quickly diagnosed the problems and presented us with a comprehensive report on what we can do to achieve our goals. Annamaria worked extremely well with all teachers and practitioners, and her knowledge and unobtrusive demeanour earned her immediate trust and cooperation of all our staff members.

Annamaria helped us to re-organised the room environment, went on a ‘hunting trip’ around the nursery to put together some wonderful Montessori activities for the little ones, delivered an informative, short workshop on heuristic play and the use of treasure baskets with babies. All these have become an important part of our everyday practice.

I would strongly recommend Annamaria’s services to anybody who wish a sound and hands-on advice on how to improve or move forward your nursery practice.“

Magda Kelham – Director, Alphabet House Montessori School Worksop

A bit of kindness – this website is being developed as you are probably reading these words and as I said before… I am learning something every day, this time, it is the hidden intricacies of Wordpress and website building. I am adding more pages and information as and when I manage. Thanks!

Still to come: collaborations, more testimonials, articles and webinars, favourite books and publications.

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