Exactly 25 years ago today, Alexandra Franco opened the doors of the Casa de los Niños Montessori in Escazú, the kindergarten that today is called Hometwo. This long journey triggered the modern Montessori movement spread throughout the country in early childhood education. At this point some may ask: What does this publicist know about this? Well, a little bit because Alexandra is my wife. <3
Around 1926, it was Carmen Lyra who opened the Montessorian Nursery School for pre-school education along with Luisa Gonzalez and Margarita Castro. This kindergarten was installed in the Edificio Metálico in San José, and was a pioneer in all of Latin America. They were the first Costa Ricans to bring the pedagogical system created by the famous Italian doctor Maria Montessori at the beginning of the last century.
In the late sixties, Mimi de Chittenden also had her Montessori kindergarten in Los Yoses and was a great pioneer of the system. Her passion for philosophy led her to train her three daughters in Montessori in London, under the auspices of the AMI.
If you want to know more about Montessori, I invite you to spend 3 minutes in this video, in which you can also learn the basics of the world-renowned method.
After the closing of the first Montessori school in the country, over the years there were several noble undertakings in Costa Rica, although without remaining for long. In fact, the repeatedly interrupted continuity caused uncertainty and nervousness regarding the new kindergarten. However, Alexandra made up her mind and opened doors in Escazú with 20 children, Montessori material imported from Mexico and Holland, with her preparation, experience and illusion. Thus, with a lot of hard work she turned that initial illusion into a consolidated success and full of plans for the future.
Hometwo finally detonated into what today is a huge and powerful Montessori movement, with dozens of excellent kinders following Maria Montessori’s philosophy. Along with some of her first guides and assistants, including Gloriana Granados, Alexandra brought in her mentor, tutor and inspirational teacher, Dr. Feland Meadows, and they soon set up a major guide training center under the umbrella of the Pan American Montessori Society (PAMS). To date, they have trained, qualified and certified over 120 Montessori guides.
In parallel, many other Montessori enthusiasts have also driven the wave of expansion that has been generated, among whom Marcela Hío stands out as a great leader and influencer in the public sector. In a demonstration of commitment and dedication, the movement was also promoted in Panama and Nicaragua from Costa Rica.
Alexandra Franco graduated as a Montessori Guide in Mexico, where she also took her first steps as an educator. She was certified by PAMS and Dr. Meadows. When she opened her kindergarten in Costa Rica, she discovered her passion: educating children at an early age, preparing the environment and guiding them to discover their innate pleasure in learning. I admire her dedication and perseverance, and with this note I wish to honor her wonderful contribution to the country, to thousands of children and hundreds of guides throughout all these years.
With these paragraphs, I applaud the effort of 25 years at Hometwo Montessori. I believe it is the best in the world. 😉 I also applaud the efforts of dozens of Montessori kinders around the country, all inspiring and committed to positively influence the formation of our children. To all of them, standing ovation.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap and many more claps.
