Journey to The Montessori Event 2023 – Lette Lucas and Lilian Pavesi

North Texas Montessori Institute graduates, Lette Lucas and Lilian Pavesi share more about their journey to The Montessori Event and their topic, Let’s Sing and Move–Bringing Music into your Everyday Routines, which they presented at the 2023 conference in March.

This is your first time presenting at The Montessori Event, what inspired you to submit a presentation this year?

Last year, we had the opportunity to attend The Montessori Event in Nashville, Tennessee. It was a fantastic and truly inspiring experience for us. It was our first time attending the event, and we were impressed by the diverse group of attendees from all over the world.

We had the opportunity to participate in various sessions and hear from a variety of speakers, which provided a wealth of learning opportunities. We were able to take what we learned and apply it in our classroom as well as share our insights and knowledge with our colleagues, which was rewarding.

The reason we submitted a proposal to present at The Montessori Event is that we are both deeply passionate about the Montessori Philosophy, and wanted to share our knowledge and insights on this topic with others in the Montessori community. By sharing our experiences and perspectives, we can help to contribute to the ongoing conversation about Montessori education.

Your presentation focuses on the importance of music for infants and toddlers. What was the process of choosing a topic like? Did you know immediately that this was what you wanted to present? Why or why not?

We put a lot of thought into it. We knew we wanted to choose a topic that aligned with the Montessori belief in fostering a child’s development. The Montessori approach to music education has always fascinated us, and we knew immediately that this would be a topic we would want to present. Music plays an essential role in the development of children and that it is a powerful tool that can be used to support various aspects of a child’s growth, including language development, movement, socialization, and emotional development.

Both of you have been Montessori instructors for over a decade. When did you first experience the power of music for infants and toddlers?

We noticed that the children in our classrooms responded positively to music and that it had a profound effect on their development. When we played music during work time, it helped to create a calm and focused environment for the children. Incorporating songs and fingerplays into our language lessons helped enhance the children’s language development. We also observed that music helped support socialization and emotional development, as the children would often engage in singing and dancing together.

Personally, music has been a powerful tool for us as educators. It helps us to create a positive and engaging environment in the classroom and allows us to connect with the children on an emotional level and support their development. We believe that music is a universal language that can be used to support all aspects of a child’s growth.

Your presentation includes a variety of musical styles, why is incorporating culturally diverse music for infants and toddlers important? What role does that play in creating respectful, culturally aware adults?

Incorporating culturally diverse music for infants and toddlers is important because it helps expose children to a wide range of musical styles and cultural experiences.