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Transition From Casa to Elementary

Biff Maier

Description

In our interview with Biff, we talked about the transition from Casa to Elementary. Biff answered some of the most important questions:

  • What are signs of readiness for the child to transition from the Casa environment to the Elementary environment?
  • Does the child have different needs at this stage?
  • What is the role of the adult during the child’s transition to Elementary?
  • How can the Adults (parents and teachers) guide/aid the child in the transition?
  • How can the teacher prepare the parent for the change?
  • What is the process involved in transitioning a child from Casa to Elementary
  • What are some hindrances or set backs that the child and their adults may encounter when moving into an Elementary environment?
  • Is there a possibility of delaying a child’s move to Elementary? What would be the reason for doing so?
  • How does the role of the Casa teacher differ to the role of the Elementary teacher during the child’s transition from one environment to the other?
  • What kinds of lessons can we offer to a child who is transitioning?

Featuring

Biff Maier

William (Biff) Maier is Director of Faculty and Curriculum Development at Lexington Montessori School in Massachusetts. He co-directs the Montessori Elementary Teacher Training Collaborative (METTC) in Lexington, MA Biff also works with the Center for Advanced Montessori Studies in Vancouver, B.C. and the International Montessori Education Institute in Taiwan.
Involved with Montessori since 1974, Mr. Maier is a seminar presenter, consultant and mentor to Emerging Leader Fellows for the American Montessori Society. As former Chair of the AMS Teachers’ Section, he served on the AMS National Board of Directors. He received the AMS Living Legacy Award for 2020. Biff earned his B.A. in psychology from Duke University and his M.Ed. from Xavier University, where he also received his AMS Early Childhood and Elementary 6-9 credentials. He also earned an AMI 6-12 credential from the International Center for Advanced Montessori Studies in Bergamo, Italy.

Mr. Maier is married to a psychiatrist who practices privately in Arlington, Massachusetts, and they have two adult children who are Montessori graduates . Ida is a linguist and novelist living in Paris. Ted is a recent college graduate who works in litigation consulting in New York City.

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