MACTE accredited program

Early Childhood
Montessori Certification

Flexible, online or in-person, MACTE accredited. aim offers it all.
Embrace the wonder that children ages 3-6 have to offer!

course overview

During this course you will delve deeply into the philosophy and psychology of Montessori education for the 2 and a half to 6-year-old child.  You will also gain the foundational knowledge of the 4 great Montessori avenues of learning, practical life, sensorial, language and math.   Montessori classified children in this age group in the absorbent mind stage – ready and excited to engage in learning and exploration!  This course will teach you how to capitalize on that excitement by preparing an environment in which children will thrive. 

Which Program Is Right For You?

Career Starter

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Infancia Temprana

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Online Career Pro

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Career Pro

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what sets us apart

aim for a meaningful future in Montessori education

Authentic Montessori Training 

Our programs are developed and led by aim founder and program director Mary Ellen Maunz.  Mary Ellen has been active in the Montessori community since 1971.  In addition to teaching and leading Montessori schools, she has served as the Commissioner for Accreditation and Member of the Board of Directors for MACTE and held the position of Vice-President of the International Association of Montessori Educators (IAME) She has also been honored as the recipient of the esteemed MACTE Wisdom of the Elders award.

Superior Online and
In-Person Instruction

Our highly qualified faculty members present course materials with the help of our amazing AIM video production team.  Every lesson is produced, edited and perfected before it reaches our students.  Our faculty members travel far and wide to observe and interact with our interns, connecting on a professional and personal level.  AIM residencies are broadcast live with the help of a film crew and in-person residencies are hosted in Montessori schools across the nation.  We spare no effort in delivering the authentic Montessori experience to each of our students.

Innovative Montessori
Resources

We are dedicated to providing the most comprehensive and creative resources available to our AIM students and alumni.  aim offers 380 video lesson demonstrations, hundreds of lectures, detailed digital manuals, over 75 webinars and 20 professional development courses – all presented with the utmost care and high-quality video production.  We aim to provide the most innovative tools for modern Montessorians. 

Multi-tiered Levels of Training & Certification

Intent on sharing the authentic Montessori message with as many people as possible, we have expanded our slate of online and onsite programs. We offer four levels of training and certification - meeting the unique needs of our students across the globe.  We are sure to have a program that can fulfill your Montessori goals.

meet our early childhood faculty

Kara Renick

early childhood level coordinator
Kara is the Level Coordinator for Early Childhood. Before working at AIM Kara received her Montessori training through Age of Montessori (AIM) and started her teaching journey. She taught in Montana as well as Colorado.
In her time in Colorado Kara had the wonderful opportunity to help open a new Montessori school with the goals and passions to have a truly authentic and positive cultured school .Kara has visited Mexico and Honduras to visit schools in several different rural cities within both countries. In those schools she worked with teachers to empower them to teach the children with all their passion as well as provided them with new materials for their classrooms.
Kara has had a passion for children since high school. She discovered the Montessori philosophy and began her journey leaning and developing herself as a teacher and guide to the children and later on other teachers as well. She hopes to inspire and empower more teachers as she works at Authentic Institute of Montessori.
Outside of school, you can find Kara looking for adventure outside, climbing cliff sides, and enjoying time with her husband, two kids, and family dog, Whiskey River.

Liz Goodman

early childhood instructor
Liz currently teaches in a primary classroom at King’s Wood Montessori School in Foxboro, Massachusetts. She lives in Sharon, Massachusetts with her husband where they raised two children, a recent college graduate and rising college junior. Liz holds a M.Ed. in Montessori Education from Xavier University, a Montessori Early Childhood Certification from aim, and a B.A. in U.S. History from Central Connecticut State University. Her experience as an educator spans over 20 years both as a high school teacher, and for the past 11 years in an early childhood Montessori classroom.  
 
In her free time, Liz loves to read, hike, practice yoga, travel, cook, and spend time with family and friends. She is also a huge Boston Celtics fan!

Rocio Rademacher

early childhood faculty español
Rocio began her career in education over sixteen years ago, with the last eight years focused specifically on Montessori education. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Business from Anahuac University in Mexico. As an entrepreneur, Rocio initially worked with an innovative product for Central America's asphalt industry.

Her path took a significant turn when she encountered Montessori education through interactions with Montessori guides and students at a local farmer’s market. The natural rapport she had with the children led the guides to recommend Montessori training. Encouraged by their advice, Rocio pursued her Montessori certification in Costa Rica in 2017 and later completed a Master’s in Education from Loyola Maryland in 2022. Over the past eight years, she has worked in Montessori schools in cities such as Austin, Seattle, Minneapolis, and the Bay Area, developing a deep appreciation for how the Montessori Method supports children’s growth and development.

Outside of work, Rocio enjoys the beauty of nature, residing in the stunning Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina with her husband and their two dogs. This immersion in the serene landscape helps her feel revitalized and provides fresh perspectives on her work. Rocio is eager to join AIM and contribute to the ongoing growth of the program and its community.

Camilla Nichols

early childhood faculty Sweden
Camilla earned her degree in Early Childhood from the University of Lund in Sweden, where she was also born and raised.  She began her teaching career in 1994 after receiving her Birth-6, as well as her 6-9 Montessori certifications from St. Nicholas Centre in London, England.

With a passion for teaching and traveling, Camilla has since taught in Asia, Europe, and North America. Camilla was responsible for spearheading the development of the MCTD teacher education program at The Montessori Children’s Academy in Chatham, New Jersey in 2014 where she is also an instructor and advisor in addition to her role as The Senior Director of Montessori Development.

Camilla also holds an AMS Early Childhood Montessori Certification and consults to a Montessori School in Malmö, Sweden on an ongoing basis.

Camilla has raised two children who both went through Montessori Education and who are now successful college students in nursing and mountaineering degrees. Camilla was the former Essex County Director of Girls on the Run, a non-profit organization that empowers young girls mentally and physically.

Heidi Tussing

online faculty advisor
Heidi grew up in Lincoln, NE but lived in multiple states before settling in her current location of Helena, MT. Heidi has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Nebraska and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Wyoming. She spent many years as a child and family social worker as well as teaching social work students before finding Montessori when researching preschool options for her daughter. This discovery led to her own Montessori journey.

She completed her EC Montessori certification in Kalispell, MT in 2009 and worked in several Montessori preschools in Helena. She was the teacher for the first ever public Montessori preschool in Montana which was funded by the MT Legislature. She went on to obtain her Elementary I certification from Authentic Institute of Montessori and taught a lower Elementary class at a private Montessori school in Helena. Heidi currently is a substitute teacher for the public elementary Montessori teachers.

Heidi, her three children (2 of them adults) and husband love to spend time in Montana’s beautiful outdoors skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and sometimes relaxing in a hammock.

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early childhood course content

aim training and certification programs

which program is right for you?

Essentials

Fully online, self paced, great for independent learners

Career Starter

Fully online, faculty guided, upgradable to Online Career Pro or Career Pro

Online Career Pro

Fully online, faculty guided, virtual residency, independent internship

Career Pro

MACTE Accredited Program, Online courses, faculty guided, 3 week in-person residency, supervised internship

#authenticmontessori | #innovativemontessori | #aimfamily

what our aim alumni have to say

"I mean, how cool is it that you not only get these manuals describing each step of what each lesson entails, but you're able to watch and experience spot as a teacher, go through each step of those lessons and you can watch it as many times as you need.

You can look at that video and it's going to give you the confidence you need to go in there and just nail it. I love the video library. It's amazing."

"What I love about aim is that you're getting a super comprehensive understanding of the philosophy and teachings of Maria Montessori, and then you're going into the classroom and you are figuring out how to do it yourself, and you are getting the tools both through faculty observation and mentoring, how to really make it your own. I loved the in-depth understanding that I received in the academic program."

"The online course was so thorough and thoughtfully done that I knew during the course that I was going to be very well prepared and good at what I was doing. As somebody who is very invested in what it means to be a teacher, not just to deliver content, but to affect a child's life, the online course created space for me to explore and refine those parts of myself in preparation to be a better guide for the children in my care."

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