Montessori Institute of North Texas

Before we can guide a child toward wonder, we must continue cultivating our own capacity to observe. Therefore, we left the classroom and took our notebooks into the woods.

We spent time observing the plants around us, recording what we noticed, and reflecting on how we introduce the World of Plants to children.

Montessori invites us to begin with observation. The more carefully we look, the more there is to discover. A vine climbing a trunk, new growth reaching toward the light, the remarkable variety contained within a small patch of forest--

Children are naturally drawn to these discoveries. Our work is to help them see what is already there.

I am grateful for opportunities like this to slow down, observe, and reconnect with the natural world alongside our students.

- Trainer Caroline Clark & Course Assistant Cynthia Blessman
At the new 3-6 MINT course in Nashville, TN

A new course has arrived at MINT! 🥳
The AMI Montessori for Dementia, Disability, and Aging Practitioners Course is now accepting applications.

This six-month, 100% online program is designed for people who support older adults and adults with disabilities and want to apply Montessori principles in care settings or with loved ones.

If you’ve completed the MDDA Introductory Workshop and are ready to take the next step, this course was created for you.

Enrollment opened today, and the first cohort begins July 1, 2026.
🔗 montessori-mint.org/mdda-practitioners

Happy Birthday, Miss Stephenson!

Join us in celebrating Miss Stephenson’s Birthday by supporting the MES Fund Annual Day of Giving. Every contribution helps aspiring Montessori educators pursue AMI teacher training and continue the work she championed. 🌷

Donate here:
https://mesfund.org/?blm_aid=22618113

A good book study has a way of spilling beyond the classroom!
Here’s a glimpse of students in MINT’s Nashville AMI 3–6 Diploma Course spending time with Dr. Montessori’s writings. Some found a peaceful corner, others worked through ideas together, and a few settled onto the patio floor with notebooks. It makes us think about how often Montessori training looks like reflection shared in community.

Greetings from Nashville!

Between Montessori training sessions and a tour of the city, we’ve been enjoying the opportunity to get to know Nashville and the wonderful Montessori community here. We are honored to be part of the city’s first AMI 3–6 Diploma Course! We excited to see Montessori continue to grow here.

Caroline Clark & Cynthia Blessman
3-6 Trainer & Course Assistant

MINT Alumni Spotlight: Luisa Losada

Before discovering Montessori, Luisa Losada spent nearly a decade as a bilingual educator in Dallas ISD and Plano ISD classrooms. As a native Spanish speaker, supporting bilingual learners was always at the center of her work.

What first drew her to Montessori was a growing realization that there had to be a better way.

"I had started to see that forcing knowledge isn't the best way to teach a child."

As she studied Montessori under 3-6 Trainer Uma Ramani, she began to see learning differently.

"When I started studying Montessori, I saw that learning actually happens all around us, even when we don't notice it."

Today, Luisa serves as a Lead Guide at Bella Gardens and is the founder of Lula's Little House, a Montessori resource platform and shop inspired by her commitment to language, culture, and supporting prepared environments. Through the project, she helps Montessori Guides access multilingual materials that connect children with language and the world around them.

"Honestly, I use Montessori in everything. For me, it isn't a teaching method, it's a way of living."

One lesson from her training continues to guide her work today: the importance of helping children develop meaningful connections to their culture, language, and place in the world.

Thank you, Luisa, for the work you do on behalf of children, families, and the Montessori community.

Every Montessori Guide begins somewhere. This time, it is in Nashville, Tennessee!

MINT has just welcomed a new cohort of students to the AMI 3–6 Diploma Course with Trainer Caroline Clark and Course Assistant Cynthia Blessman.

Over the coming months, they will study Montessori theory, child development, observation, and the prepared environment. It will be an intense year of study as they prepare to work with children ages three to six.

We are honored to be part of that journey and look forward to watching this cohort grow throughout the year.

Welcome to MINT!

At first glance, this looks like an unusual trapezoidal window.
In reality, it is a "two-way mirror", an observation window used by adults during school visits and training. So, one side serves as a mirror, allowing observers to watch a Montessori environment without disrupting the children's concentration and independence.

What makes it especially memorable is that the window itself is a geometric plane figure. During a recent Refresher Course visit to Scripps Montessori School, participants discovered that this was just one of several geometric windows incorporated into the building’s design, creating a connection between the prepared environment and the Geometry Cabinet.

Sometimes the environment itself becomes part of the lesson!

Photo: Sarah Messmore
AMI 3-6 Trainer-in-Training, MINT

What does Montessori teacher education look like? In addition to lecture and reading, it looks like:
- Discussion around a table
- Independent hands-on practice
- Collaboration, reflection, and careful attention to detail.

We love seeing how AMI Montessori 6–12 Diploma Course students experience the same respect for concentration and purposeful work we seek to offer children.

Here: Trainer Virginia Viscovic's 6-12 cohort in Houston, Texas