SA Montessori

Time for a throwback with today’s Monday Montessori quote! It’s been 10 years since the second photo in this sequence was taken, but the illustration remains as relevant as ever. This same tool is still used in our classrooms, with new children following this familiar pathway of repetition as they move from being novices to masters with these challenging and valuable Practical Life skills. With this task, and countless others, we have seen time and time again that repetition is not only necessary for learning but also a source of joy. Children who repeat tasks of their choosing are not bored, they are not stagnating. They are engaged, they are enjoying the process, and they are evolving as they refine their abilities and reinforce their knowledge.

Adults sometimes struggle to respect a child’s right to repetition - sometimes we want to rush them, or redirect them to something new. Yet when we allow and encourage repetition, we are aiding the child’s growth as well as honouring their autonomy.

Such heartfelt words from a beautiful family about Little Oxford Montessori at Unley. It means the world to us when parents share their reflections and appreciation with us, and we are just as grateful that they entrusted us with the privilege of caring for their little ones.

Starting off the week with an inspiring quote from Dr Maria Montessori. Each day we are privileged to see the imaginative energy of children, watching their strength as they explore, create and grow. As adults we try to maintain that energy and imagination that happens so naturally and joyfully in childhood!

We wish to assure all of our families that SA Montessori is still going strong!

News has broken today that a group of Montessori early learning and care centres in Adelaide has gone into liquidation. We know this could cause concern for our families who may wonder if any of our centres are impacted or involved. We wish to assure you that we have no connection whatsoever to that entity.

Our seven SA Montessori centres - Cedars, Chancery Lane, Echoes, Jescott, Lilliput Village, Little Oxford and Rosemont House - are all stable, secure and flourishing.

Our families and educators have nothing to worry about, because although the childcare landscape is challenging at the moment we have been confidently navigating its evolution for the last 35 years and we intend to keep doing the same for decades to come!

We are hopeful that a positive resolution will be found for the children, families and educators who are part of the early childhood communities impacted by the liquidation. We are sure this is a challenging time for all of them, and we wish them the very best as the situation moves forward. In the event that any of those centres are eventually unable to continue operating, our doors will certainly be open to try to welcome and support as many educators and families as possible. However, we recognise that continuity of care would be the ideal outcome so we hope that another operator can be found to maintain those services as they are.

We are so proud to be part of this innovative and collaborative approach to professional development! KidSense are presenting, with SA Montessori hosting, a series of workshops designed to build cross-disciplinary dialogue that will deepen our holistic understanding of the child. This is a truly unique approach to learning from and with one another, with meaningful and contextual dialogue between occupational therapists, speech therapists and early childhood educators.

Professionals from these disciplines - or those studying towards these careers - are very welcome to join us!

We will share this post regularly in our Stories so we can share a live link, but you can find more details by visiting
https://childdevelopment.com.au/careers/professional-development-events/

We are very excited to share the story of our beautiful intergenerational village in the latest issue of
Look out for your copy to learn more about this innovative and life-changing community partnership between and

Chancery Lane Montessori sits right in the heart of Adelaide CBD. Within the bustle of a busy city, we offer a calm and inspiring sanctuary for children. We also take advantage of our location, connecting closely with the local community. One way we do this is through Chancery Lane’s zoo visits, where children get to observe some furry or feathered friends. The smiles say it all!

Jescott Montessori used Book Week as inspiration to collect some special donated books for

Thanks to all our Jescott families for their generosity!

Some more creative costumes and magic moments from Book Week at Little Oxford Montessori.

A pop of colour, a touch of royalty, and a lot of magic for Book Week at Little Oxford Montessori in Unley.

The only thing better than having an excuse to wear your PJs to preschool is knowing that it’s for a great cause! Our centres were proud to participate in National Pyjama Day to raise funds and awareness for the Pyjama Foundation’s Love of Learning program for children living in foster care. It’s such a valuable and important project to invest in. Over at our intergenerational village, we even had some of our grandfriends join in on the fun!

The Early Years Learning Framework has been revised and updated. Version 2 was released in March this year in preparation for formally replacing Version 1 in January 2024. We are proud that our SA Montessori centres are ahead of this timeframe as we are already embracing the updates and incorporating these revisions into our practices.

The relationships we build with children are always meaningful, and can be very profound. Our educators influence the children, but it is equally true that each child leaves a lasting impression on their educators. This always means that we hold lovely memories of the children who have been part of our community, and in most cases we know that they are continuing to make amazing memories of their own, and we are often privileged enough to catch up with them for many years after they graduate from our centres.
However, there have also been times when a child we have cared for deeply has not gone on to enjoy the long life we had imagined for them. Sadly, there have been some children who have said farewell to the world much earlier than their time.
We recently found out that a beautiful little boy who had attended one of our centres has passed away. As we process our emotions over this, and as we send our love and care to his family, we are also stopping to think about the other children we have cared for who did not get the years they deserved, and we are thinking of their parents too, who filled their little one’s short life with joy but now carry the weight of their absence.
It is a heavy topic to address, but it’s an important one. Loss is uncomfortable to talk about, but we shouldn’t let our discomfort leave people alone in their grief. There are no “right words” to say, but silence is no better.
If you know someone who has lost a child, whether it was yesterday or a decade ago, whether that child was 18 weeks old born sleeping or 18 years old when they departed, please remember that their parents still love them with the same intensity and reality as if they were in their arms in the present moment. Please be there for them, no matter how much time passes, to validate their feelings, to share in their memories, to appreciate their strength but also assure them it’s okay to struggle.
We are sending our love to the parents we know who still miss their children, and we want you to know that we will always hold our own special memories of them too.

In case you missed us on The Project, you can catch up on the inspiring story of the intergenerational engagement happening at Echoes Montessori (Modbury) and the residents of ECH Inc's Encore apartments for independent retirement living. The friendships being forged in this intergenerational village are truly uplifting!

Adelaide Pre-School Brings Kids And Grannies Together A childcare centre in Adelaide is crossing generational divides as it's in the middle of an aged care village, and the residents love to hang out with their little mates.

Let’s try this again! Our segment on intergenerational learning at and Encore apartments is now due to air TONIGHT on The Project (from 6.30pm on channel 10). We had a bit of a disappointment on Monday night when our feature was unexpectedly shuffled off the schedule due to unexpected breaking news, and it’s possible that the same could happen tonight (I guess live TV programs don’t value predictability and security the way early learning programs do!) However, we hope that the segment runs according to plan tonight so that we can proudly share our intergenerational story with the country!
We’d love you to tune in, or watch the episode on demand via 10Play after it airs.

We are so lucky to see Intergenerational magic in action every day, but tonight we get to show it to the country courtesy of The Project sharing our Echoes Montessori and Encore village story! We hope you’ll watch, and that it will inspire others to embrace their own intergenerational journey!

Our Founder and CEO Barbara Langford was proud to share her words of wisdom at the ‘Montessori Australia Early Childhood Best Practices’ conference this weekend.

Barb’s presentation and attendance at the conference represents our ethos that learning is lifelong journey and a reciprocal exchange. We all continue to grow and learn throughout our years, and we all have something to teach as well as new ideas to absorb.

Cedars Montessori in Unley has some limited spaces available in our Montessori Playgroup for Term 1.

Our sessions are a wonderful introduction to Montessori education, in a warm, relaxed environment where a parent or carer can share the experience with the child.

Each term is planned with a focus topic, and weekly sessions involve a variety of individual and
group activities using the following Montessori areas;
* Sensorial (focuses on their senses and enables children to begin problem-solving)
* Practical Life (exercising and developing the child’s fine motor skills)
* Language and Literacy (phonics and numeracy)
* Art and Craft (open-ended craft experiences including drawing, painting, glueing etc)
* Outdoor (spacious play areas using age-appropriate equipment and activities)

Our Session Co-ordinator, Andrea, is a qualified Early Childhood teacher and has spent more than 20 years of educating children with SA Montessori. With a warm and nurturing personality, and her energy and passion for working with the 1-3 year olds, she prides herself on the relationships she forms with both children and parents. This is evident in her ability to engage with the children during the sessions, and her communication with families in guiding their child through their early education journey and preparing them for pre-school. Andrea also works in the Cedars Preschool 2 days a week, which helps to provide a smooth transition when our Playgroup children are ready to step into that next group.

Playgroup sessions are also a great opportunity for mums and dads to meet other parents and develop friendships that can last a lifetime.

What’s been happening at Echoes Montessori intergenerational village this week? Doting on dogs, creative crafts, and lots of learning and laughter!

Dr Maria Montessori said, “Establishing lasting peace is the work of education. All politics can do is keep us out of war.”

Today, Remembrance Day, we can honour those who have served and those who have fallen by committing to creating a future where others do not have the make the same sacrifices.

Let us teach our children the value of cultivating peace.

Lest we forget.

When the Minister for Education and your local MP visit sneak a peek at an innovative intergenerational program, they can’t help but get hands-on!

Thank you to the Hon Blair Boyer MP (Minister for Education, Training and Skills) and Olivia Savvas MP (local representative for Newland) for celebrating Early Learning Matters Week with us at Echoes Montessori in Modbury, where lifelong learning matters too because we live and learn alongside our friends from Encore apartments for independent retirement living. We appreciate Blair and Olivia touring our centre, giving such positive feedback about their observations, and leaving their mark by helping to plant a tree in our village garden.

Thank you also to the talented Ahsan from for capturing so many special moments during the day.

In honour of RUOK? Day, we are sharing the Positive Mental Well-Being Pledge that our team developed to articulate our commitment to promoting and protecting mental health in our community.

Asking “are you okay?” is a wonderful starting point, but we felt it was important to clearly define our values as well as identifying specific strategies to turn our intentions into actions.

On Early Childhood Educators’ Day, we wish to express our immense gratitude to all of the passionate professionals within the SA Montessori team, and our appreciation for our colleagues in the early childhood community. Working with young children and their families is a privilege, and if doing it well is both an art and a science then we are so glad that our educators are the perfect blend of Kahlo and Curie!

Our history reflects the values that guide us. SA Montessori's first centre - Jescott Montessori - was founded back in 1989 by a mother seeking a nurturing and inspiring early learning experience for her own child.

Our founder, Barbara, is still hands-on with each of the SA Montessori centres. Her daughter, Jessica, has gone from being one of Jescott's inaugural students in her childhood to an integral member of the SA Montessori team as an adult. Now the cycle continues as Jessica's little boy, Robin, prepares to start his Montessori journey at Jescott in our special parent-child 'Nido' Playgroup.

The idea of creating a 'home away from home' that inspired Barbara back in 1989 is what still drives us today. Our ethos is that the education and care we deliver to your child has to be of the standard we want for our own children. With the benefit of 33 years of experience behind us, we continuously strive to provide environments that are engaging and experiences that are enlightening, with support from teachers who are caring, compassionate and connected with the children and their families.

Learn more about who we are, and how we can support your family, at our Open Day this Saturday 27th August, 1-3pm.

Learn more at www.samontessori.com.au

We are delighted to host an Open Day on Saturday 27th August from 1-3pm.

The magic of Montessori can nurture your child’s heart, mind and body during their early years.

We’d love you to come along and see our stunning environments, meet our dedicated educators, and learn more about how Montessori education can prepare your child not just for school, but for life!

“Concentration is the key that opens up to the child the latent treasures within him.”
Dr Maria Montessori

This beautiful illustration of such an important insight courtesy of Little Oxford Montessori.

Adelaide is certainly in the midst of some very wet “worm days”, but nothing can dampen the spirits of children!

Worm day! 🪱 ♥️

We could not be prouder of the one-of-a-kind artwork that now adorns the entrance to Echoes Montessori.
Our portrait of Dr Maria Montessori was created by the young emerging artist Kate Hendry.
Kate aimed to capture the dignity and wisdom of Dr Montessori, while also infusing the image with the energy and vibrancy of early childhood.
We thank Kate for creating this inspiring artwork for us.
More of Kate’s work can be viewed on Instagram at .hendry.art (where you can also contact her if you’d like to enquire about commissioning an artwork.)

If your child is a close contact from exposure in their family life or social life, they are still able to attend their early childhood setting as long as they follow the testing requirements outlined by SA Health and they are not showing any symptoms.

We do ask all of our families to exercise caution and common sense when considering the risks to others. If your child has been very directly and intimately exposed to someone who is Covid positive, and it therefore seems very likely to you that your child will develop the virus in the coming days, you might make the choice to keep them home (if you are safely and comfortably able to do so) as a courtesy to other children and families. The government requirements are the minimum expectations, but as a society we can also go above and beyond when it comes to caring for one another.

If your child is a close contact, they must:
▪️ wear a mask in public if they are 12 or older for 7 days after exposure
▪️ undertake 5 rapid antigen tests (RAT) over a 7 day period (with at least 24 hours between tests and one test on day 7)
▪️ report their RAT result if it is positive
▪️ not attend Tier 1 sensitive settings (hospitals, aged and disability care) for 14 days after their exposure, unless to seek medical care or supplies
▪️ not attend Tier 2 sensitive settings (GPs, allied health, dentists, pharmacy) for 7 days after your exposure, unless to seek medical care or supplies
▪️ notify their school or early childcare setting
▪️ get a PCR test as soon as any symptoms develop and quarantine until a negative result received. Your child should stay at home until they are well.

If you are not comfortable using a RAT on your child, they can have a PCR on day 1 and day 6 after exposure. Your child does not need to quarantine while they wait for the result unless they have COVID symptoms.

Specific advice applies if you or your child is a classroom contact at a preschool, early childhood or school setting.

For more information, visit www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/COVIDcontacts