West Side Montessori School - Teacher Education Program

When asked which 3 people she would invite to a dinner party, Angela Duckworth said, "I think that some of the people that I have most admired in education, that includes Maria Montessori, the Italian pediatrician, who just from her systematic observations of children had so many insights about character development, about intellectual development that have really stood the test of time. And you may know, Tom, the Montessori method is among the very most scientifically supported as developing all three strengths, our heart, mind, and will.”

What would you serve if Maria Montessori attended your dinner party?

Excerpt from, “Cultivating Character Through the Heart, Mind, and Will," interview by Thomas Burnett, Templeton Ideas podcast, 1/29/26, (templeton.org/news/cultivating-character-through-the-heart-mind-and-will)

The sandpaper letter says: this is what it feels like. The sand tray says: now make it yours.

Sandpaper letters give the fingers a memory. The exact shape, the exact feel, hardwired through touch. The sand tray lets them repeat it, refine it, own it. Together, they do something a worksheet, a flashcard, or a phonics app (gasp!) simply cannot:

They make language physical.

This is the beauty of the Montessori language sequence. The hand teaches the brain. The body leads the way. And when adult learners experience it firsthand, they finally understand why these materials have lasted over a century.

What do you think makes the sandpaper letters + sand tray combination so powerful?

🎉Join us tonight as we celebrate our fabulous 2025-26 WSMS-TEP interns!

Let’s honor their dedication to children, commitment to Montessori education, and their personal transformation in a joyful virtual gathering.

See you at 7PM on Zoom!

Literacy lives in the body long before it lives on the page.

These adult learners are walking the word "team" in both print and cursive on a NYC sidewalk, and every step is a reminder of why the Montessori language curriculum is so powerful.

The Montessori Method is built on the understanding that children learn through movement and multi-sensory experience. From Sandpaper Letters that let little fingers feel the shape of a sound, to the Moveable Alphabet, where children build words before their hands are ready to write, every material invites the whole child in. And large-scale movement like this engages the whole body in the learning.

What gross motor activities do you incorporate into your everyday lessons?

✨ ENROLLMENT EXTENDED! ✨
Have you been waiting for the right moment? This might be it.

We've extended the application window for our Summer Cohorts and we'd love to have you join us.

Whether you're drawn to Infant & Toddler, Early Childhood, Elementary, or Administrator, there's a place for you here.

Classes begin June 22. Spots are limited — DM us to learn more and get started! 💙

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In a Montessori classroom, care of the environment isn't a lesson. It's practice. Children tend, nurture, and take responsibility for the living world around them from day one.

At WSMS-TEP, our adult learners carry that same spirit. Because when we teach someone to care for a single plant, we're really teaching them to care. 💚

This World Environment Day, we're reminded that the habit of care is one of the most important things we can pass on.

We are so excited to wish Maria Gravel a Happy 99th Birthday! 🎂

Maria has been an integral part of the growth of Montessori in the U.S. since the 1960s. She is also one of the founders of WSMS-TEP’s Infant Toddler program and continues to be an instructor and field consultant to this day!

Maria has spent her life committed to education, beginning in New Jersey schools before moving to New York to support the growth of Montessori and at its inception. Maria earned both AMI and AMS EC credentials, as well as an AMS IT credential. She also has NYS (nursery-6) and NJS (K-6) certifications.

Please join us in wishing Maria a wonderful birthday! 🎈

Food, story, and celebration are some of the most natural ways students encounter cultures beyond their own.

Pairing Grace Lin's "Bringing in the New Year" with a shared meal is exactly the kind of experience that makes cultural learning real. Not a worksheet, not a lecture. A book, a table, and something delicious to eat together.

We prepare teachers to bring that intentionality into the classroom. Culture is not a unit. It is woven into everyday life.

The Montessori materials are designed for children, but understanding them deeply is the work of the teacher.

Matching three-dimensional planets to their name cards sounds simple. In practice, it asks you to slow down, look closely, and learn the names you thought you already knew.

That hands-on preparation is at the heart of what we do at WSMS-TEP. Teacher education is not just theory in a classroom. It is practice at a rug, with materials, learning the same way we want our children to.

C is for 🍪 … and 🐈 and 📸!

Using a sound tub is a joyful, hands-on way to build phonemic awareness in young children. Carefully selected objects representing a clear initial sound invite children to listen closely, isolate sounds, and connect spoken language to meaning. As the child explores the tub, they name each object and emphasize its beginning sound, strengthening their ability to hear and discriminate individual phonemes. This concrete experience lays a strong foundation for later reading and writing, supporting the child’s natural language development through movement, curiosity, and repetition.

And of course, it gives Montessori teachers an excuse to hunt down the perfect objects for their sound tubs! What’s your favorite tiny object in your classroom?