+91 824 801 0258
info@montessori-india.org
Instagram
Product was added to your cart

Cart

Maria Montessori

IMF was established in 2009 to support and create awareness about Montessori principles among parents, teachers, educators and anyone interested in child development.

Dr. Montessori’s approach to education was based on observation of children from different backgrounds carried out in several countries around the world.

These observations led her to suggest that the development of an individual happens in 6 year cycles – infancy (0-6), childhood (6-12), adolescence (12-18) and maturity (18-24) leading to adulthood. The Montessori approach to education in all these stages, focuses on promoting independence, self-esteem, self-confidence and help children reach their full potential through purposeful activity for the hands and the intellect.

Although Dr. Montessori lived at the start of the 20th century and died in 1952, her intuitive understanding of the children and their development was ahead of its time. Today neuroscience is beginning to confirm that activity based education, an education based on the individual child’s interests that offers freedom and supports the child’s choices helps significantly in establishing cognitive functions and supports holistic development.

“My vision of the future is no longer of people taking exams and proceeding on that certification from the secondary school to the university, but of individuals passing from one stage of independence to a higher, by means of their own activity, through their own effort of will, which constitutes the inner evolution of the individual.”

-Maria Montessori  

What we do

IMF was established in 2009 in order to create awareness about Montessori principles and a common forum for anyone interested in child development. By supporting parents, teachers and schools, we support children by creating an awareness of the needs of children at different developmental stages.

We bring out two publications, the Touch Board and Montessori Matters to provide information on current events, issues and trends in education. We publish and publicise Montessori books, other journals and newsletters, educational materials and films to support the growth and strengthen the practice of Montessori education in society.

We organise talks, conferences and workshops on Montessori philosophy and current issues in education to foster dialogue and discussion on social conditions affecting the child’s environment among all stakeholders.

Resources

In this section we aim to gather a relevant and significant body of resources on Montessori pedagogy and related materials on child development. This is to serve both those looking for basic information as well as for those looking to update their knowledge. We believe that such resources will serve the community by generating dialogue and discussion around the important social questions around the child. We hope that as the community begins to access these resources people will write to us and share more links. 

KNOW MORE

Community

We hope to provide common platforms in which people with common interests can collaborate, debate ideas and share experiences. This will enable us to build a strong community of professionals sharing knowledge, which would help better the lives of children across all strata of society.

Montessori Schools
Job Openings
Alumni

Events

Indian Montessori Foundation organises three kinds of events – talks, workshops and conferences in all 4 cities – Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai.  The talks and workshops are held in different parts of the cities at various venues. The conference is held once every two years in one of the four cities. 

View all events

Donations

Donate generously to Indian Montessori Foundation!
Your donation will help us keep our work of reaching Montessori ideas to children and families alive.

KNOW MORE

Store

Visit our “Store” section to know more about the Montessori books and educational material we publish.

KNOW MORE

Endowment Fund

Your donations to this fund will be used to support the aspiring Montessori Teachers and Trainers offering scholarships based on economic need.

KNOW MORE

Get Involved!

The Montessori movement in India started with a small but influential group of individuals who became involved in learning about children and their development. Soon the word spread and in the decades that followed, the Montessori movement has grown from strength to strength, leading to the Montessori congress in 2009, from which IMF was born.  
A voluntary organisation, IMF is run by small teams of committed individuals across India and abroad. The work done by the organisation has brought together like-minded Montessori practitioners, educators and experts who are in service of the children in various ways.
IMF strives to create an awareness of Montessori principles in the classroom and beyond. We engage with parents, teachers, educators through our events and publications. If you wish to volunteer with IMF, write to us at info@montessori-india.org
GET INVOLVED
Menu

Hemalatha Rangarajan

Hemalatha Rangarajan, an AMI trainer, is a key member of the training team and the Co-Director of Training at Navadisha Montessori Foundation, Chennai. She holds an AMI Montessori diploma at two age levels. She trained at the 3-6 level under Zarin Malva in Chennai in 1995 and then trained under Ann Dunne to receive her 6-12 diploma in 2017. She worked with children for ten years in Patasala Montessori School, where she eventually served as Vice Principal. Hemalatha holds a Masters in Psychology. She is interested in helping teachers and has been involved in mentoring schools. She is committed to widening the scope of Montessori education through research. rangarajanhema@yahoo.com

Rukmini Ramachandran

Rukmini Ramachandran, leads the training team at the Navadisha Montessori Foundation. Rukmini
holds an AMI Montessori diploma at all the three age levels, 3-6, 6-12 and 0-3 years. She entered the
field of Montessori education in 1991 when she trained under Zarin Malva in Mumbai.

She has a Masters in English. She came into Montessori education with a background in journalism,
having started her career as Assistant Editor of a children's monthly. She edited the 1939 Montessori
lectures in Chennai into a book titled Creative Development in the Child in two volumes. Her most
particular interest lies in publishing for children. She currently serves as the Managing Trustee of the
Indian Montessori Foundation.

Ms. Madhavi Gaddam

Ms. Madhavi Gaddam is an AMI trainer at Elementary level. She has a bachelor’s degree in commerce and in education. She holds Association Montessori International (AMI) 3 to 6 and 6 to 12 diplomas’ and has done her Orientation for 12 to 18. Madhavi initiated Medha Montessori School in Hyderabad, India, which has primary, elementary and adolescent environments with a farm setup. She has a vast experience working with children at elementary level. She has conducted many Elementary orientation programs in India as well as outside India. Currently she is working as the director of training at Medha Montessori Training Institute. madhavireddyhyd@gmail.com

Neelima Mhaskar

Neelima Mhaskar is an AMI Trainer at the Primary Level. She completed her AMI Montessori Diploma in 1989 under Ms. Zarin Malva at Mumbai. She went on to work closely with children in Montessori schools in Mumbai and Pune. She has vast experience of over 19 years of working with Children. --- She joined the AMI Training of Trainers Programme and became a certified Trainer in 2016. Additionally, she has done Certificate Courses at 0 – 3 and 6 – 12 Levels. She has served on the Training Team at the RTI Montessori Course - Mumbai, at Hangzhou, China and was a faculty of the Navdisha Montessori Foundation team at Thrissur, Kerala.

She has successfully conducted several AMI Certificate Courses at different centers in India, China, Taiwan and Vietnam; and has served in the capacity of National Examiner and AMI Examiner at the AMI Primary Exams. She is currently Co-directing the AMI Primary Training Course at the AMI Montessori Chinese Taipei Center and is a faculty member for the Training Courses at Shenzhen and Chongqing, China. She loves to travel, is an ardent nature lover; likes to watch and eager to acquire knowledge about birds and butterflies. neelimamhaskar@gmail.com

Pavithra Rajagopalan

Pavithra Rajagopalan has worked with children since 2000 in formal, non-formal and informal settings. She is an AMI Primary Trainer. After gaining her AMI Primary diploma In 2005, she worked in Montessori schools in India, the US and New Zealand. Pavithra is faculty at the Sir Ratan Tata Institute, Bombay, India. She is also part of the faculty for the Diploma course in Taiwan. She has conducted Assistant/ Orientation courses in India, Singapore, China and Israel. In addition, Pavithra works closely with the Gandhian Institution, Shanti Ashram, India, where she is involved in strengthening pioneering projects related to Early Childhood Education in vulnerable communities. She has also co-led Ethics Education training in India and Sri Lanka for children, young people and educators. pavithra.rajagopalan@gmail.com

Ramya Sridhar

Ramya Sridhar is an AMI trainer at Navadisha Montessori Foundation. An alumna of the first course of the institute, Ramya now holds an AMI diploma for two age levels. She received the AMI 3-6 diploma in 2005 and the AMI 6-12 diploma in 2017. She has assisted on the courses at Navadisha since 2012. She has served as an examiner and presented talks and workshops. Ramya entered Montessori work as a teacher at Navadisha Montessori School where she began her work in this field. She holds a Masters in Psychology. She takes a keen interest in current research trends in the field of developmental psychology. She has also been closely involved with the editing and publishing of the IMF Montessori books. ramyasridhar4@yahoo.com

Teenaz Reporter

Teenaz Reporter is an AMI Primary Trainer at the 3-6-age level. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Commerce from the Osmania University, Hyderabad and an AMI Primary Diploma, from the Montessori Training and Research Trust, Hyderabad. After completing her primary diploma, she worked as a teacher in India and the United States. Teenaz completed her Trainers Training under the mentorship of Mrs. Lakshmi Krishna Kumar and Ms. Rukmini Ramachandran. As an AMI trainer, she has served on the faculty of the AMI courses in India and China. Teenaz is currently the Director of Training for the AMI Primary Diploma Course run under the auspices of the Montessori Training and Research Trust. She is also on the faculty of the AMI courses in Shenzhen and Chongqing, China. She has served as an AMI External Examiner in India and as a National Examiner in India and abroad. Teenaz is interested in creating awareness and reaching a wide demographic with regard to supporting the needs and protecting the rights of children everywhere. She is passionate about the role of Education in creating Peaceful humanities. teenazreporter@yahoo.com

Vibhuti Jain

Originally an MBA graduate, Vibhuti Jain became interested in Montessori Education while volunteering at her son’s Montessori School. She earned her AMI diploma at the 0-3 level in 2009. Subsequently, she set up an Infant Community in Mumbai, India where she worked for 8 years. She joined the Training of Trainers program in 2017 where she was attached to TMI Denver, USA for 2 courses and then to Chongqing, China for the third course. She is also attached to the 0-3 Seminars at Vic, Spain. She earned her Trainer status in February 2022. She is passionate about working in the area of 0-3 Montessori Education and strongly believes that this is the foundation for a better world. She currently lives with her family in Bangalore, India. vibhuti.a.jain@gmail.com

Zarin Malva

Zarin Malva obtained her AMI 3-6 Diploma and taught for many years in India, Canada and the US. After many years of work with children behind her she then became an AMI 3-6 trainer and returned to Mumbai, her native city, as an AMI trainer in 1987.

In 1988 the JMS Montessori Training Course was established in Mumbai and then in 1995, Ms. Zarin Malva was invited to run the AMI training course at the prestigious location of Sir Ratan Tata Institute. Ms. Malva had worked abroad under senior AMI trainers – Ms. Estela Palmieri and Ms. Hilla Patell. She also worked for a year under Mr. S. R. Swamy, then AMI Trainer of the Indian Montessori Training Course. Ms. Malva brings to her work her rich and varied experience with children. Besides her excellent work in the field of teacher education, she also guides and supports the staff of the Montessori schools in the city. zarinmalva@gmail.com

Sumana Sharma

Team : Montessori Matters
Role : Research Assistant

Holds AMI diplomas at 3-6 and 0-3 age levels. She received the AMI 3-6 diploma in 2011 from the Navadisha Montessori foundation Chennai and 0-3 diploma in 2021 from Montessori Institute of Bangalore. She has worked in Navadisha Montessori School at the primary age level for seven years. She is volunteering for IMF and is currently working with the Montessori matters team. She holds a Masters degree in biotechnology and has worked in the research and development in Food and Pharma sectors before choosing the Montessori path. She enjoys reading research articles related to Montessori philosophy and education. Her other interests are bird watching and going on nature trials. She currently resides in Mysore.

Mehak Hemnani

Team : Montessori Matters
Role : Editorial team

Completed her Bachelors in Psychology from St.Xaviers College, Mumbai and her Masters in Counselling Psychology from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara. Later on, she acquired a AMI Primary Diploma from Sir Ratan Tata Institute (RTI), Mumbai. She has worked in the areas of Counselling, HR Consultancy and is currently working in the area of Montessori with the IMF. Prior to joining IMF, she worked under Ms. Zarin Malva, the head of training at RTI, for a year. To pursue her passion of working with children and to put into practice what she has learnt, currently, Mehak has been taking Montessori classes at home and incorporating the principles of Montessori while teaching various subjects to students from non-Montessori schools.

Tarunya Gouthaman

Team : The Touch Board
Role : Editorial team

Born and raised in India, she has a degree in Business Management and a postgraduate degree in Public Relations. She shifted careers to pursue my passion for teaching, trained with AMI at both the primary and elementary levels and worked in Montessori schools across India and Canada for nearly a decade. She loves her job as she believes that working everyday with the children is truly rewarding and a great learning experience.

Roopa Sundar

Team : The Touch Board
Role : Editorial team

Has been part of the Editorial Team of the IMF newsletter TouchBoard since 2013. She worked in the Children’s House for 5 years after receiving her Primary (3-6 years) Diploma in 2012. She also completed the AMI Diplomas at the Elementary (6-12 years) and more recently the Assistants to Infancy (0-3 years) levels. She is an amateur birder and a composting enthusiast with a keen interest in waste management. She is currently part of the Primary faculty at Navadisha Montessori School, Chennai.

Priyanka Kumar

Team : The Touch Board
Role : Layout Designer

Various opportunities to be around people who either came from Montessori backgrounds, or had a deep sense of commitment towards their work in the field of Montessori Education inspired Priyanka to get trained and work with children at the 3 - 6 and 6 - 12 age levels. Having worked with children at both age levels in schools in Chennai and London, she currently hold the role of Pedagogical Administrator at Navadisha Montessori School, Chennai.

Vidhya Ramalingam

Team : The Touch Board
Role : City Reporter

A post graduate and a Master of Philosophy in Nutrition and started her career as a lecturer. Later, she acquired interest in early childhood education because of her children and have been working with young children since 2010. She obtained her AMI Primary Diploma from MTRT, Hyderabad in 2016 and currently, is working as a primary directress in Bhavishya Montessori House of Children, Hyderabad. She has been volunteering for the IMF since 2016 through the IMF newsletter, The Touch Board. She feels privileged to be a part of IMF as it is a great learning experience and helps her contribute whatever little possible to the wider Montessori community.

Meera Ghelani

Team : The Touch Board
Role : City Reporter

A Montessorian at Heart, Meera has been in the field of education since 20 years and worked with children of all age groups as a class teacher, music teacher, French teacher and a primary directress. She is AMI trained and has a diploma in 3 to 6 and is also a certified assistant for the toddlers and elementary children.

Aditi Ganesh

Team : The Touch Board
Role : City Reporter

Primary Montessori Directress, working at Redwood Montessori School, Chennai. She believes that nurturing young minds and watching toddlers evolve has been a great joy in itself. With an experience of 6 years in this field, Aditi finds this method of teaching holistic. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and musician. Enjoy all forms of music, love to paint and find it therapeutic and enriching for my creativity.

Rachna Gupta

Team : Events

Did BSc.Home Science ,M.A Social Work (1999 ,DU) and AMI (3-6)diploma in 2012 from Navadisha. She us currently serving schools, NGO's, communities since 2002 as a teacher, storyteller, life skills facilitator, counsellor, volunteer, community organiser. Lived in Delhi ,Mumbai ,Chennai and Japan and the professional trainings helped her in community outreach. She enjoys music and movement ,theatre, creative games /activities and wish to learn and serve more.

Rachita Romani

Team : Events

A Law graduate and has worked in the field of Corporate Laws and Arbitration for almost 7 years. Her passion for working towards creative methods of teaching made her pursue the AMI Diploma course for 3 to 6 years. After the course she worked at “Ratan Tata Montessori School” as a head Directress under the guidance of Ms. Zarin Malva. She has also pursued her Assistant Certificate course for 0 to 3 years directed by Ms. Julia Hilson. She is currently working with "Da Vinci Montesorri" as a Montessori Directress.