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Nido & Toddler Montessori Teacher Certification (0-3 Years Old)

Specializing in educating children ages 0 to 3, this certification training offers a unique and comprehensive approach to learning about how the Montessori method came to be, how to practice it, and the science that informs the way it functions in real-life classrooms today. Designed for experienced educators looking to earn a Montessori Teacher Certification from a MACTE-accredited institution and for those beginning their careers in Montessori education.
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Nido & Toddler Montessori Teacher Certification (0-3 Years Old)

Certification Overview

The path to completion is organized into three phases (Foundational Studies, Continuing Studies & Capstone), covering a broad range of topics including teaching methodology, childhood development, Montessori Theory, Montessori curriculum and more. It is delivered in a variety of ways to support multifaceted learning and provide both structure and flexibility to your circumstances.

Certification Overview

Getting Started Guided

Watch this short video to learn more about what it takes to get started with the Certification program.

Path to Completion Overview

Watch this video to learn more about what it takes to complete the Certification program, what training components are included in each Phase, and how to customize your own learning journey that suits your need and schedule.

Certification Overview

The Nido & Toddler Montessori Teacher Certification is a hybrid program consisting of online seminars, self-paced independent assignments, in-classroom practicum, and a 3-week in-person in-residency at one of Prepared Montessorian Institute (PMI)’s training sites.

The program prepares you to expertly implement Montessori educational principles in the classroom. Montessori Teachers prepare carefully to implement the Montessori Methodology with knowledge of child development, pedagogical practices, and nuanced decision-making. Our certification program offers you distinct ways to learn, practice, implement Montessori's principles, and receive certification from an institution that is accredited by MACTE (Montessori Accreditation Council of Teacher Education) and recognized in many places around the globe.

This program is for anyone starting out in the education industry, such as school teachers, educators, and homeschoolers, who seeks to become a certified Montessori educator.

DURATION

The certification program requires a time commitment of approximately 800 hours. It typically takes between one and two years to complete, depending on your personal circumstances and how rapidly you are able to complete the program requirements.

ACCREDITATION

Prepared Montessorian Institute is accredited by the Montessori Accreditation Council of Teacher Education (MACTE). Known and respected across the world, it is the only accrediting body for Montessori teacher education programs recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE AND REQUIREMENTS

The certification program is organized into three phases—Foundational Studies, Continuing Studies, and Capstone. In each phase, there are 4 major types of experiences: 1) online or in-person seminars; 2) independent studies of the curriculum; 3) in-classroom practicum; and 4) assessments. Throughout all three phases, you can also attend weekly Open Community Workshops online designed to provide guidance for your independent work.

Montessori Essentials Course

The 2-week Montessori Essentials course is the pre-requisite course for the certification program. You can start this course any week after enrolling into the program. In this course, you will complete some asynchronous work at your own pace and join two 45-minute online sessions to learn the fundamental concepts of Montessori and have a chance to practice some key Montessori lessons.

Phase 1. Foundational Studies (3 to 6 months)

After completing the Montessori Essentials course, you will begin Phase 1. Foundational Studies, which consists of a series of online seminars, Montessori Album Study, 20 hours of classroom observations, and assessments.

The Foundational Studies Seminars are offered all year round with 2 standard schedules—daytime and evening. The daytime schedule meets every Tuesday and Thursday between 12 to 3:30 pm Eastern Time, and the evening schedule meets every Tuesday and Thursday between 7 to 10:30pm Eastern time. Each seminar series runs for 20 days over a period of 2.5 months. Depending on when you start your program and complete the Onramp phase, you can choose to begin your Foundational Studies seminars with the next available cohort that suits your schedule.

Montessori Album Study is the most critical component of your training. The Montessori Album is essentially a collection of lesson and activity that makes up the Montessori curriculum for children between 0 to 3 years old. In the Nido & Toddler program, there are 3 Montessori Albums with about 200 lessons. Each lesson has written and/or video instructions by experts on how to deliver the presentation. As a PMI learner, you will access all the lessons digitally on our proprietary learning management system. You will engage with Montessori Album Study from Day 1 of your training and throughout your certification program where you will independently study each lesson with our resources, practice how to deliver each lesson with the appropriate Montessori materials, and complete online assessments to prove your mastery of the lessons. This structured process of self-study will guide you through the scope and sequence of the Montessori curriculum and help you master each Montessori “presentation.” We offer weekly Open Community Workshops online all year round for you to join a group of learners and a PMI coach to practice materials together.

In this phase, you will also begin your classroom observations. During Onramp, you’ll be introduced to the principles of observation and begin your first classroom observation assignment. 20 hours of classroom observations are required in Phase 1.

Phase 2. Continuing Studies (6 to 9 months)

You will begin Phase 2. Continuing Studies after completing all the requirements in Phase 1. In this phase, you will build upon learnings from Phase 1 and gain more knowledge on Montessori theory and classroom leadership, gain more practice with Montessori curriculum and classroom observation, and even start your practice teaching in a working Montessori classroom.

The Continuing Studies Seminars consists of 2 seminar courses—Montessori Theory and Micro-Observation & Classroom Leadership. Each seminar course has 10 standalone online sessions and assignments that can be taken in any order. We offer 4 series of the seminars each year, which means whenever you are ready, you can jump in to start taking your seminars.

You will also continue with your Montessori Album Studies and classroom observations in this Phase. By the end of Phase 2, you will complete all 50 hours of your classroom observations

The most exciting part of Phase 2 is to start your practice teaching! You may be working in a Montessori classroom already or you may be teaching in a Montessori classroom for the first time in your life. Regardless of where you are, you can start tracking your practice teaching hours as soon as you enter this phase. 160 hours of practice teaching are required in Phase 2. During your practice teaching, you will have 4 practice teaching reviews conducted by one of our field consultants for assessment and feedback. At least one of these visits will be in-person; the others will be remote. It's possible that, depending on your location, you may need a consultant to travel to you. The costs of traveling for the consultant (i.e., transportation, lodging, food) will be on your own expenses but we’ll cap it at $750 total. In Phase 2, two practice teaching reviews are required.

Phase 3. Capstone (3-6 Months)

This is the last phase of your program, which consists of a 3-week in-person in-residency at one of our training sites and the completion of your Montessori Album Study and practice teaching.

During the 3 weeks, you will engage in an immersive learning experience with other fellows and your instructors. We study and discuss child development, partnership with parents, and advanced Montessori presentation skills. We will also conduct oral assessments during the In-Residency.

We offer the in-residency workshop several times throughout the year and in different locations so you can plan for the in-residency opportunity most convenient for you.

Current Locations:

  • Chicago, Illinois: available to all learners
  • Bethesda, Maryland: only available to Guidepost learners
  • Austin, Texas: only available to learners whose tuition is fully sponsored by their employers

You will also complete your Montessori Album Study and the remaining practice teaching (160 hours) and 2 practice teaching reviews. Once you complete all the requirements, you are ready to graduate and become certified Montessori educator!

Prerequisites

  • Education Background: High School Diploma or GED and above
  • Material Access: Access to the full set of Montessori materials for aged 0 to 3 years old
  • Practicum Site: Access to a Montessori classroom that meets the following pracitcum site criteria:

1. Is fully equipped with Montessori and other appropriate materials

2. Runs an authentic Montessori curriculum

3. Contains a group of 6 or more mix-aged children in the program associated age group

TUITION & FINANCIAL AID

$5000 for the entire certification training (excluding travel and technology costs).

If you need to travel to your practicum site or in-residency, the costs are your responsibility. Any supplies and technology need to access the training (i.e., laptop, internet, webcam) are also your responsibility. Once in-person student teaching resumes, adult learners are required to have at least one field visit by a Prepared Montessorian consultant. Adult learners will be responsible for the expenses for this field visit (travel, accommodations, meals, etc).

Applicants can request either or both a scholarship and payment plan. Prepared Montessorian Institute evaluates applicant's responses and references in each cohort to determine the pool of applicants that are requesting scholarships and subsequently, determine if and how much of a scholarship is awarded. Payment options are as follows:

  • Pay in full within the first month of training
  • Pay in 5 installments
  • a. Pay first installment prior to start of training in order to be onboarded into training
  • b. Pay subsequent monthly payments in the 4 consecutive months following the start month
  • c. Installment fee of $10 (US) added to each monthly installment
  • Pay in 10 installments
  • a. Pay first installment prior to start of training in order to be onboarded into training
  • b. Pay subsequent monthly payments in the 9 consecutive months following the start month
  • c. Installment fee of $10 (US) added to each monthly installment

Details of financial package will be outlined in training offer if accepted into program. You will need to accept those payment terms as part of your acceptance into the training.

Our students tend to start the course with a strong sense of love and appreciation for young children. It is my privilege to see that love deepen throughout the course as they learn more about what young children need during the earliest phases of growth.
Monique Shen
Monique Shen
Nido & Toddler Teacher Trainer

Rolling Admissions Process

View the image below to learn more about the admissions process. when you are ready, visit the Admissions Page to view the training schedule and submit your online application.

Rolling Admissions Process
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Frequently Asked Questions & Answers

Meet Your Instructors

Mariana Serralde
Mariana Serralde
Mariana Serralde is our Senior Trainer. Mariana has been a Montessori educator for more than 20 years, working as a Children’s House Guide, Head of School, Montessori Mentor and currently as a Senior Montessori Trainer. She holds an AMI Primary Diploma from the Montessori Institute of San Diego, a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education with a specialization in Second Language Learning. Her passion for Montessori and diverse experience across the world brings about an empathetic approach to spreading Montessori pedagogy. Mariana has worked and supported several teachers and schools throughout her journey, including bilingual Montessori environments at all levels and collaborating in the development of a dual-language Montessori model for one of the first public dual-language Montessori schools.
Monique Shen
Monique Shen
Monique Shen is our Nido and Toddler Trainer. After earning her BA in Psychology from Stony Brook University, Monique continued to pursue her interests in developmental psychology and found that her true passion was in early childhood education. She graduated with her AMI Montessori Diploma for the 0 to 3 age group from The Montessori Training Centre of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and is currently pursuing a dual master's in Early Childhood and Special Education. Monique has opened and led toddler communities, and has also worked as part of the training team in international Montessori training courses in Mexico City for Nido and Toddler guides seeking Montessori certification.
Laura Kalama
Laura Kalama
Laura is our Nido and Toddler Trainer. Over the past 15 years, Laura has been actively involved in early childhood education. She studied education with an emphasis on music at Bridgewater College, Virginia, then moved to California to work with infant and toddler families. She received her Montessori training from the Prepared Montessorian and served as a Lead Nido Guide before joining our team.
Emily Daggett
Emily Daggett
As a child, Emily attended Montessori programs in Portland, OR through middle school. She credits her education with fostering a love of learning that continues to serve her today. After earning a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Occidental College, Emily traveled the world and found her way back to her roots. She received her Montessori 3-6 and 6-12 certification from the Association Montessori Internationale, as well as an M.Ed. from Loyola University. She is currently working on completing her 0-3 training. Emily has worked with children ages 18 months to 12 years in Montessori settings and most recently served as Communication Manager at Montessori Northwest training center. She hopes to use her background as a Montessori child turned educator to advocate for high quality education for all children.

EXPLORE A REWARDING, IMPACTFUL CAREER IN EDUCATION

Take the first step to open up future possibilities, and become a fully certified Montessori teacher in under 15 months.

To help bring forth a Montessori future, we have combined unprecedented accessibility with deep rigor and high standards. Our programs provide a variety of flexible options that accommodate your goals and schedule, while ensuring you receive a quality educational experience.

  • Discover course information and program details
  • Explore tuition, payment plans, financial aid, and direct job placement
  • Join a community of adult learners passionate about delivering Montessori education
Contact Us
Fill out the form and a Learning Advisor will get in touch via email within 24 business hours.

We host weekly certification training information sessions on Fridays from 3:45 pm – 4:15 pm Eastern Time. If you’d like to join the Zoom call, please RSVP via this link: https://calendly.com/hello-preparedmontessorian/info-session