The Montessori 9-12 community is a children’s practice society, research library, laboratory, home base, think tank, moral playground, and circle of friends—sometimes all in the same day. After the elementary years, 12-year-olds transition from the prepared environment offering Cosmic Education to a new environment recognizing their emerging adolescent characteristics, potentials, and needs. Please join AMI 6-12 trainer Elise Huneke-Stone in a presentation and discussion of how experiences in elementary can shape this transition.
Elise Huneke-Stone has been involved in Montessori communities for over 35 years, including 10 years guiding a 9-12 class and 7 years working with the 12-15 year olds. She was part of the residential faculty at Hershey Montessori’s 12-15 program on the farm for three years with her husband David Ayer, who now works in communications for the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (NCMPS). They returned to their houseparent roles in Ohio for two years while Elise was completing AMI Training of Trainers. Elise is an AMI examiner and speaker and has collaborated for decades with local Montessori organizations and with AMI-EAA, NAMTA, and the (former) AMI-NAMTA Orientation to Adolescence. After completing ten AMI elementary courses at Montessori Northwest in Portland, Oregon, and Spokane, Washington, Elise is embracing “pandemic as portal” to reconnect with her passions for reading, writing, gardening, music, and human potential, both through her family (which includes 2 adult daughters, both Montessori trained) and through her new role as nana to her first grandchild.
