“The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.” -Maria Montessori

The Absorbent Mind, Kalakshetra Publications, 1949, Ch. 3, pg. 27

*This video is borrowed from YouTube as it gives a beautiful explanation of what Montessori education is all about.

Allison has been working with children since she was one herself!  She studied Fine Arts at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Tufts University, focussing a lot of her work on following how young children think.  After graduating with a Bachelors in Fine Art (BFA) she moved out West to Portland, Oregon.  She immediately found work with Portland Public Schools, working as a para-educator (a special needs one-on-one aid).  She was assigned to work at the first public charter Montessori School in Portland, to support a few special needs children in the lower elementary classrooms.  During this time she became greatly interested in the Montessori philosophy, materials and classroom environments.  The Montessori classrooms and tools for learning directly inspired Allison in her creative mindset for spacial installations and child brain development.  The following school year she began working at a near by Montessori pre-school in the infant and toddler communities.  After a couple years she was the lead Infant guide.  In order to further her understanding and knowledge of the Montessori principles, Allison attended the Assistants to Infancy training program at The Montessori Institute Northwest.  She now has her AMI Assistants to Infancy (0-3) diploma.  Since graduating from MNW Allison has been working closely with families in their homes to create environments that are optimal for their child's development and their families needs.