Upcoming Adolescent Refresher Course 

Once we have information on the next Adolescent Refresher Course, it will be posted here. Keep an eye out! 

Participation is open to those who have attended the five-week AMI/NAMTA Orientation to Adolescent Studies and/or AMI 12-18 Diploma Course.

Space are limited. Registrations will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. 

Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2022

The Annual Adolescent Refresher, Ljubljana, 16th - 18th September 2022: Some insights into an enriching weekend

It is said that the longer the wait, the greater the joy. And it was very true in the case of the Annual Adolescent Refresher 2022 in Ljubljana.

We had waited for almost two years for the gathering to finally take place from September 16th to 18th. According to AMI, the Annual Adolescent Refresher allows to "encourage teachers working with adolescents to deepen their understanding of Maria Montessori's ideas and to re-examine the essential aspects of their work in the light of its main objectives".

Participants from all over Europe enjoyed a weekend with Jenny Höglund (AMI trainer 6-12 and 12-18) and Patricia Wallner (AMI trainer 0-3) in an exclusive prepared environment at the Montessori Center in the suburbs of the beautiful city of Ljubljana. Not only we enjoyed plenty of food for the brain and soul in the course of the two days; the culinary well-being was well taken care of which proved to be very welcome after intense rounds full of thoughts and discussion. A big thank you! to Melita and Pavel Demšar for their warm hospitality and perfect organization.

The focus on Saturday was on human development. Jenny and Patricia gave us many insights about key principles such as trust, acceptance, adaptation and will - all together common basic concepts for the first and the third stage of development. We also considered work and the diversity of its manifestations in the context of Edrkinder. It resulted in exciting and intense conversations with many valuable practical experiences. In the afternoon, we learned about Temperament Profiling from Patrica Wallner, a tool based on observable behaviours that allow us to adapt better our role as an aid to life to the needs of children and adolescents.

Our discussion on Sunday were focused on our role as adults in early childhood and adolescence. We had an intense discussion about what it means to be a role model. We finally deepened our thoughts during a seminar on a text of Maria Montessori from "Education and Peace". We can now take Jenny Höglund's words as a guide in the various settings of our daily work with adolescents, their families and colleagues. Having asked practitioners what the essential characteristics of their work with adolescents would be, three emerged: love of work, love for people (no matter if they show their best side), and enjoying and taking delight in being and working with young people.

We look forward to the next Adolescent Refresher in 2023!

Brno, Czech Republic, 2024

The annual adolescent refresher in 2023 was postponed until the beginning of January 2024 when we met again, this time at the Montessori adolescent community Perlička located outside Brno in the Czech Republic. The weekend consisted of discussions related to the theme "Role of the Adult". What are the expectations of adults working in an adolescent community? What does Montessori say about the preparation of the teacher and the competencies needed? Discussions also included how we best can support adolescent practitioners who are currently working in adolescent communities around Europe.

The adolescent community hosted us with a great attitude and delicious cuisine. We also had a few minutes to walk around the farm and the local village. It was a great weekend. A big thank you to Montessori Perlička and everyone who came to join!

Chavannes-sur-Reyssouze, France, 2024

The Annual Adolescent Refresher took place 11th-13th October 2024 in Chavannes-sur-Reyssouze. The community of adolescent practitioners were very happy to meet the adolescent community at the Montessori farm school of Chavannes. It was very inspiring to visit a community which is living and working in a historical building of 300-year old farm house. The surrounding is very peaceful and quiet, with fields and farms in the neighbourhood – ideal environment in the country side as Maria Montessori suggested for the adolescents. Our hosts were the adolescents, accompanied by Manuel Penin, Maxime Heurtaux and Afrin Bagwan. 

Our focus during the weekend was dedicated to the topics of work and moral development. Even though our society is rapidly changing, these two topics are still very relevant and we need to address them in our work with the adolescents. Our guest speaker, John McNamara, shared his insight concerning technologies and how to introduce them to the adolescents as a tool for their studies and for their life. Technologies and AI will be a part of their life for sure and if we are here to provide education as aid to life, we cannot ignore them. Our task as educators is to introduce strategies how to use them in a purposeful way, rather than let the adolescents outsource their academic work to AI and replace their personal social interactions to the social media platforms only.

We spent hours discussing the texts by Maria Montessori – The Planes of Development and Moral Education. We also worked with the text by a German AMI Elementary trainer Peter Gebhardt-Seels with the title Why Not Consider Erdkinder? This question is pointing out the fact that until now we really do not have prepared environments around the world, which would work the way as Maria Montessori did envision them. It would be time to start, don`t you think?

We are all looking forward to meeting again this summer in Sweden. It is a wonderful opportunity to exchange with the practitioners around Europe, to get inspired and motivated to continue our work in our adolescent communities.

Rydet, Sätila, Sweden

Annual Adolescent Refresher 2025, The Montessori Centre for Work and Study, Rydet

This year's Annual Adolescent Refresher was a special one. It took place August 29-31, 2025, at the Montessori Centre for Work and Study, Rydet, bringing 21 participants from seven European countries back to the very place where they had first trained. Many completed their Montessori adolescent training courses a decade ago, while about a third of the participants had just earned their AMI 12-18 Diploma in May 2025. Despite the different stages of their journeys, returning to Sweden felt like a true homecoming for everyone.

The Centre, located in the idyllic Swedish countryside near Sätila, provided the perfect setting. Its peaceful farmland, forests, and wide-open skies reminded everyone why this site has long been such an inspiring place for adolescent study and work. The familiar rhythm of life at the farm, the enjoyable and delicious meals and fika, combined with the warmth of old colleagues and new friends, created an atmosphere of both renewal and belonging.

Jenny Höglund (AMI trainer 6-12 and 12-18) guided the participants as they engaged in three rich reading seminars, including two texts by Maria Montessori drawn from lectures she gave in The Netherlands in the 1930s. In them, Montessori reminds us, "The most practical and substantial way to help mankind it to help the new generation." Life and life's needs must be placed at the center of education. Although an individual has many "lives" (cultural, religious, moral, etc.), each individual is only one person. Thus, education must unite and embrace all aspects of life.

Participants were also honored to exchange ideas, share experiences, discuss challenges and celebrate successes with two guest lecturers.

Elena Bosi, herself a participant in the refresher, shared her thoughts on how to inspire adolescents to discover and explore, drawing on her extensive experience as a scout leader. We must offer the right environment, including real adult work with various peers and adults; and, we need to be present while providing opportunities for adolescents to make decisions and take risks for themselves and the community.

John McNamara, with over fifty years of Montessori practice, once again inspired participants with his wisdom and passion, reminding everyone to stay grounded in Montessori principles, not to take shortcuts, and about the importance of having healthy relationships with parents. Also, we must never put obstacles in the way of the child and adolescent. Rather, the most important thing is to listen.

Being back in Sweden carried a special significance. For many, it was a chance to reflect on their original training and see how far their journeys had taken them. For others, it was an opportunity to reconnect with the heart of adolescent Montessori practice—rooted in work, land, and community. The sense of continuity and tradition, paired with fresh insights, made the gathering especially meaningful.

As the event came to a close, participants left with renewed energy, inspiration, and a strengthened network of colleagues. The farm, once again, had offered what it always does: a place to reflect, to learn, as well as to live and grow together. And everyone departed with a reminder from Camillo Grazzini: "You cannot be half Montessori."

Linsengericht-Geislitz, Germany, 2026

Grace and Courtesy: Reflections from the 2026 Adolescent Refresher Course.

What is Grace and Courtesy? The 2026 Adolescent Refresher Course, held in Linsengericht-Geislitz, Germany, began with this essential question. From 4–6 September, Montessori practitioners from different parts of Europe came together to explore this question deeply and thoughtfully: What did Dr. Maria Montessori mean when she spoke of Grace and Courtesy, and what might these principles mean within Montessori adolescent environments?

Guided by Jenny Höglund, AMI Trainer for both 6–12 and 12–18, we began by approaching Grace and Courtesy from different perspectives. Working in smaller groups, we explored the many dimensions of the concept and the ways in which it might be understood within an adolescent community. Words such as respect, dignity, integrity, virtue, and justice emerged throughout our conversations, inviting us to look beyond simple definitions and consider how these qualities are cultivated and lived within a community.

What does the adolescent need in order to mature? What kind of environment allows this development to take place? And what is the role of the adult in creating such an environment?

These questions continued into our reading of Chapter 5 of The Education of the Adolescent, "Ascending the Mountain of Morality," based on Montessori's Kodaikanal Lecture 51. Here, we explored the adolescent's path toward maturity, or what Montessori describes as sublimation. Montessori writes, "This sublimation is a construction by means of the individual exercising himself." The idea invites us to see maturity not as something simply given to the adolescent by the adult, but as something the young person actively constructs through experience, effort, practice, and participation in life.

The discussion brought forward ideas of responsibility, perseverance, and determination. These qualities are not merely ideals to be taught; they are developed through lived experience. The adolescent must have opportunities to exercise themselves in meaningful work, to make decisions, to encounter difficulties, to contribute to others, and to discover their own place within society.

Via video conference from Ohio, John McNamara once again shared his insights with us. Having spent five decades at Ruffing Montessori School in the US as a teacher and principal, John has accompanied children and adolescents through many stages of their development. His reflections were grounded in the practical realities of Montessori education and in a deep understanding of the adolescent's preparation for adult life. He reminded us: "It's not about what you are good at, but how you are good." His words offered a simple but powerful way of returning to another question at the heart of our weekend: Why do we do what we do? Our work is not only concerned with what adolescents know or what they are able to accomplish. It is concerned with the formation of a person who can understand, exercise responsibility, make meaningful choices, and participate constructively in society.

Our adolescent hosts at the Freie Montessori Schule made the weekend particularly memorable. They took responsibility for our accommodation and meals, allowing us to experience their work as an integral part of their community life. Sven Burger, head of the secondary school, also invited us to join him for evening walks after dinner. We followed paths through the beautiful surrounding forest, where the peace of the landscape gave us time to continue our conversations and reflect on the day's work. As the sun set over the horizon, we were reminded of the importance of place, nature, and community in the life of the adolescent.

Throughout the weekend, our discussions returned to the relationship between the individual, the community, and the environment in which the adolescent develops. We reflected on how the adolescent's own construction is supported when they are given meaningful opportunities to work, to exercise responsibility, to develop their moral understanding, and to participate in the life of a community.

The course participants left reenergized, with renewed inspiration and hope for the work ahead. We returned to our own adolescent communities with new questions, new perspectives, and a strengthened sense of purpose: to create environments in which young people can develop inner strength, a strong sense of self, and the capacity to become active agents of peace—within themselves, and in the wider society.

The weekend concluded with a passage from Maria Montessori's Citizen of the World: Key Montessori Readings:

"We must help him to develop within himself that which will make him capable of understanding. It is not merely words, it is a labour of education. This will be a preparation for peace—for peace cannot exist without justice and without men endowed with a strong personality and a strong conscience."

— Maria Montessori, Citizen of the World: Key Montessori Readings, p. 38.