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María es una de la primeras amistades que hice en el mundo Montessori y también una de las mejores, a pesar de los kilómetros que nos separan nos entendemos muy bien y además admiro un montón su capacidad de lanzarse a la piscina y darlo todo cuando algo le apasiona. Hoy quiero compartir con vosotros la entrevista que le he hecho, en la que nos cuenta un poco más sobre su historia y su precioso proyecto Montessori Village, que lleva ya varios años en funcionamiento. Os dejo con ella:
¿Cómo conociste Montessori? Conocí Montessori en el año 2008, después de haber tenido a mi primer hijo. Por aquel entonces trabajaba para una empresa americana y en uno de mis viajes a nuestras oficinas en Washington DC fue donde conocí a una persona que llevaba a su hija a una escuela Montessori. Fue en ese momento donde me empecé a interesar por el método y decidí que quería formarme poco a poco y saber más. ¿Cómo surgió la idea de crear Montessori Village? En el año 2011, y coincidiendo con el nacimiento de mi segundo hijo, junto con mi socia Ana, decidimos emprender creando un centro de actividades en familia. En ese momento era difícil encontrar en Madrid lugares con actividades de calidad para niños pequeños, donde poder disfrutar junto a ellos. Una vez el centro estuvo en marcha, quisimos dar respuesta a la demanda creciente de una alternativa a la escuela tradicional y fue así como creamos el primer ambiente Montessori de Comunidad Infantil Montessori Village. Fue un piloto y la verdad que funcionó fenomenal.¿Te ha gustado? ¡Compártelo!
Maria is one of the first friends I made in the Montessori world and also one of the best, despite the kilometers that separate us we understand each other very well and I admire a lot her ability to undertake new projects and give everything when she truly believes in something. Today I share with you the interview where she tells us a little more about her story and her beautiful project Montessori Village, which has been running for several years already:
Have you found many obstacles to move forward with your project? How has it ben received?It was in 2008, after having my first child. At the time I was working for an American company and in one of my trips to our offices in Washington DC I met a person who was taking her daughter to a Montessori school. It was at that point where I became interested in the method and decided that I wanted to learn more about it.
In 2011, coinciding with the birth of my second son, along with my colleage Ana, we decided to start creating a family activity center. At that time it was difficult to find places in Madrid with quality activities for young children, where parents can enjoy with them. Once the center was underway, we wanted to respond to the growing demand for an alternative to the traditional school and that's how we created the first Montessori Infant Community environment; called Montessori Village. It was a pilot and it worked great.
We conduct various courses and workshops about Montessori for educators and interested families. We also conduct workshops and weekend meetings where families whose kids do not come to our schools, can meet us and spend the evening in the environment with the guide toget to know more of the method.
Any advice or suggestion for those who have in mind the idea of creating an alternative educational project like yours but end up settling?Families who have their children enrolled, enjoy Parents School, where every quarter we give a course to learn about the Montessori pedagogy.
Anyone who undertakes a project, whatever its nature, knows that it is very difficult. It is clear that you have to put a lot of heart, enthusiasm and work, but there are many obstacles to really push through a project with the quality that we want. We've had obstacles especially bureaucraticly and legally, not to mention the economic aspect, since there is no support or facilities for the entrepreneur. Hopefully this aspect will change and enhance the creation of projects and new businesses.
The welcome has always been good. We feel the affection from families and their gratitude every day. We believe that good work, honesty and quality are the key.
Over time other entrepreneurs have become interested in us and have decided to join our brand so that we are growing with the opening of other schools in various locations.
I would say that you should always fight for what and want and if you are determined you should go for it without hesitation. The advice I would give is that you should assess well beforehand all the pros and cons and what it really means to undertake their own project. One thing is to have a business on paper and quite another to have it really! There are many things that you must take into account, not only the economic factor, which is the main obstacle for many entrepreneurs. Your work begins to take 100% of your time so the time you can devote to your loved ones is scarce, especially in the beginning. My personal advice would be a very good time management and assess this aspect from the beginning so the family and everyday life does not suffer.
My name is Maria. I'm from Madrid and I am a mother of two children aged 4 and 8 years. Five years ago I left the comforts of my work and normal routines, to start my own project: Montessori Village, a small educational program based on Montessori pedagogy, which today has become a solid school project that covers all cycles of infant education (0 to 6). I am a certified Montessori teacher by the MMI (USA) and currently finishing my training as a Montessori guide with AMI. I have had the opportunity to visit many environments and Montessori schools and meet teachers from around the world, which made me have a very comprehensive overview of the method and the certainty that indeed, other forms of education are possible. Currently, I work as educational coordinator at the center Montessori Village La Moraleja and participate in the project expansion and creating new Montessori schools.
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