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Hi, I'm Julia!
AMI Diplomas in Assistance to Infancy (0-3), Primary (3-6), and Administration DONA trained Postpartum Doula
I began my Montessori career in 2009. It was an unexpected journey that led me to Montessori. I had just moved from Denver back to my home town of Oak Park, Il. I took a job at a local Montessori school while I meditated on what was to be my next move forward. The day I walked into West Suburban Montessori School, the path forward was laid out before me. All I had to do was to become aware of its presence. From the first time I saw a room full of 30 children aged 3 - 6 years old, working side by side in harmony, I knew I had found my path forward. I wanted to be a part of this beautiful process.
I started my AMI Casa dei Bambini (2 ½ - 6-year-olds) training nine months after my first day working in a Montessori school and never looked back. After earning my diploma, I began my role as a guide in the prepared environment. My training had prepared me practically to create activities, present new work, and lead the children to the appropriate activities. That was the easy part. It was the spiritual preparation that took much longer. I had to unlearn so many of the unintentional lessons I had absorbed from the adults around me when I was a child.
After many years of self-reflection, using the teachings of Montessori and the children as my guide, I came to a beautiful place of creating harmony in relationships with young children. I had achieved the ability to quiet my ego and let go of my expectations, in order to best serve each individual child and their journey to creating their unique personality. It wasn’t easy, but it has been the single most rewarding journey I have taken.
Over my career as a Montessori guide, I have worked with hundreds of children and their families. I have watched these children grow into happy, confident, and independent people, having provided an environment that calls to their young spirits. From the careful creation of spaces where children can explore without fear, build relationships without judgment, and try new things with the assurance that mistakes only improve the outcome, I have seen the transformation of the child many times over. I have worked with parents to embrace this journey, guiding them to establish the same socially supportive environment at home as they find in the classroom, creating a strong family foundation based on respect for both the parents and their children.
I invite you to connect for stand-alone Montessori troubleshooting session or more info regarding the Montessori theory and how to implement the ideas at home. Check back frequently for resources and new blog posts. Follow me on Instagram to get a daily dose of inspiration to get through those inevitable difficult days. You are not alone in this beautiful, messy, rewarding, difficult, enriching journey that is raising a child.