Inspirational Montessori Weekend: The Art of Nurturing the Spirit

Join the Montessori Society Bulgaria Association for our first Inspirational Montessori Weekend. Come to be refreshed, gain inspiration, and connect with our vibrant community!

The event will be very useful to:

• Parents
• Teachers – infant and toddler (birth-3 years), primary (3-6 years), elementary (6-12 years), adolescent (12-18 years)
• Kindergartens and Schools Administrators
• Psychologists and Speech therapists 

Participants are not required to have previous Montessori training. 

Guest Speaker

Jenny Marie holds AMI diplomas for the ages 3-6 and 6-12. She has mainly worked with the 6-12 and 12-18 (adolescents). She also holds a M.Ed. and she is an established AMI Elementary trainer. Jenny-Marie was one of the founders of the Montessori School “Lära för Livet” in Varberg, Sweden in 1995, teaching children from 1 till 16 years of age. She founded and runs the first and so far the only Swedish Montessori Farm School. Jenny-Marie has taught elementary and adolescent students for over twenty-three years. She has been serving as head of school since 2006. She has also lectured at the International Centre for Montessori Studies Foundation-Bergamo (CISM), in Italy since 2006, USA, India and Mexico.

Program contribution – presentation and Exhibition

Abstract submissions for presentations must relate to the event theme, “The Art of Nurturing the Spirit” and preferably focussing on at least one of the topics:

• Montessori in public education
• The transformation of the adult and learning environment
• Sustainable education models
• Innovative examples of schools and programmes

The event features presentations from speakers from diverse professional fields. We expect presenters:

• be passionate about researching and presenting the topic
• are willing to interact with participants
• are able to turn ideas into action

Event working language is both English and Bulgarian.

Abstracts for presentations must present original work. The Call for Contributions invite submissions of abstracts for three types of presentations:

1) Oral Presentation – a 30–45-minute PowerPoint presentation

2) Workshop – 90-minute session focusing more on demonstrations, case studies and audience interaction.

3) Exhibition Showcase – poster, projects, installation.

Exhibition

The Inspirational Montessori Weekend offers opportunities to share an exciting project or showcase great work you’ve done that may be of interest to event attendees. We will provide space suitable for a large poster with graphics, photos and descriptions of your project or work.

The proposals may be related to the theme of the event, but may also showcase outstanding work or projects related to innovative education in general. Montessori teachers will be invited to show projects or work that is directly influenced by their Montessori education.

Abstracts for presentations

Abstracts should be targeted to one of the following audience groups:

• Parents
• Teachers – infant and toddler (birth-3 years), primary (3-6 years), elementary (6-12 years), adolescent (12-18 years)
• Kindergartens and Schools Administrators
• Psychologists and Speech therapists 

Abstracts must give a general outline of the content to be presented and may also indicate one of the specifications below:

• Lecture
• Demonstration
• Case Study
• Group Interaction
• Display poster (for Exhibition)

Proposals must be submitted electronically by February 7, 2023. Proposals received otherwise or after the deadline will not be accepted.

 Online submission of abstracts for presentations 

1. The submission title is limited to 20 words and must be submitted using sentence case. The title is a short description of your presentation.

2. The submission description is limited to 300 words and must not include any images, charts or tables.

3. The description must be written in the following format:

Introduction

State the purpose and background to the presentation. Summarise what will be presented and how it is relevant to the event theme, “The Art of Nurturing the Spirit”.

Content

List a bullet point outline of content detail and how much time has been allocated for each section.

Objectives

State two or three objectives of the presentation, e.g. ‘Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to…’.

Bibliography

List any relevant books or articles related to the presentation.

Online Presence

Include links to previous presentations, work, or personal experiences.

Other Relevant Information

Include any other relevant details.

Submission criteria

1. The event aims to provide a space for discussion and inspiration and all interested participants are encouraged to submit an abstract.

2. Abstracts for presentations will be selected based on their relevance to the theme and relevance to the topics, taking into account the overall program of the event.

3. Exhibition submission proposals will be reviewed based on their relevance to our event.

Note:

Authors of all abstracts will receive notice by email of their abstract acceptance or non-acceptance by March 1, 2023.

Accepted abstracts will be published. For each accepted abstract, including exhibit participation, submission of the presenter’s name, photograph and brief professional biography will be required. The title of the presentation will be indicated on the website of Montessori Society Bulgaria and other advertising materials.

Accepted abstract authors agree to their personal data being submitted and stored in accordance with MSB’s Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. No remuneration is paid for presenters or Exhibition presentations.

Authors of accepted abstracts are required to register for The Inspirational Montessori Weekend and pay the early registration fee for the event by March 10, 2023. Authors of accepted abstracts also agree to cover the cost of their own travel, accommodation, meals and any printing, postage or other costs associated with their presentation.

 Inquiries about the abstract submission process may be made via office@imontessori.bg.