Montessori Practicum

Prerequisite: Montessori Certification requires a full academic year of concurrent Monday through Friday internship in a Montessori/Early Childhood Program under the direct supervision of an experienced certified Montessori teacher.

You are required to attend the orientation held on Tuesday, August 27 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

This practicum must be taken concurrently with the other Montessori program courses in order to earn the credential. It is designed to apply learning in real time with real children for the most efficient and advantageous skill development toward becoming a Montessori teacher/caregiver. Weekly practicum activities are daily from September through June and supervised by an already, experienced Montessori credentialed adult. An expert Montessori professional visits each practicum site quarterly to provide the adult learner with evaluation and mentoring. While some practicum sites allow a volunteer position from 8:30-12:30, a full time position (40 hr./week) that provides the experience of a full day cycle is encouraged. This course requires both participation in a Montessori classroom that matches the age for the credential being sought as well as weekly meetings during fall quarter, which provide preparation for observation to individualize learning, strategies in documentation, authentic assessment, professional leadership, accreditation standards, and preparation of professional and child portfolios. “Child Development” and “Child, Family and Community” are prerequisites for this course since this coursework is required by the State of California to work in any early childhood program.