Montessori Orff
Music
Inclusive Music and Movement
in the Montessori Classroom
ABOUT
Montessori Orff Music is based on an elemental approach to music and movement that is accessible to all. Like acquiring a native language or learning how to walk, the creative process emerges from primal musical instincts. Basic forms of movement, speech, body percussion, dance, and singing are playfully explored, using the natural human instrument, body and voice. The improvisational nature of this child-centred music-making is structured by traditional forms of Echo-imitation, Call and Response, or Question & Answer. Multisensory entry points – aural, visual, kinesthetic, and linguistic – can deepen Montessori concepts in the classroom, include different learners, and connect with other cultures and languages. Every individual contribution is welcome, and community is celebrated.
PROGRAMS
Level 1 provides a framework of fundamental skills: rhythm derives from natural speech patterns with transfer to body percussion and percussion instruments; walking modulations lead to creative movement and folk dance; singing progresses from the universal two-tone “childhood call” to singing games of one’s own and other cultures and languages. Classroom management, lesson planning, and social-emotional development are introduced from an original lesson manual.
Level 2 builds on regular classroom practice and introduces multi-layered ostinato, guided improvisation, independent group work, and the Laban movement vocabulary. The goal is to develop an embodied cognition of concepts in science, literature, visual arts, and other Montessori subjects.
ENROLLMENT
Training is offered in two formats: Whole School In-Service for professional staff development and Open Enrollment.
To schedule professional development at a specific site, please contact Inga Sieminski in the contact box below.
Registration for Open Enrollment workshops will be listed HERE, when they are offered to the general public or hosted by a Montessori school for the a wider community.
Training can be scheduled as an in-person all-day course or two 4-hour sessions. Level 1 is also available online (synchronous) in two 4-hour or four 2-hour sessions. For questions, please contact Inga Sieminski.
Inga Sieminski
Inga has enjoyed 35 years as a Montessori teacher for primary (ages 3-6) and elementary (ages 6-12) levels and worked as administrator in various capacities. She holds an M.Ed. in Montessori Studies from Loyola University Maryland and a Master’s degree in Arts Administration from American University, Washington DC. Based on her certification in Orff Schulwerk Music for Children and studies in Orff Music Therapy, Inga has always included an elemental approach to music and movement to support different learners and connect with multiple cultures. She has written a 230-page integrated lesson manual for implementation in the Montessori classroom and now gives training workshops around the world. Inga serves on the executive boards of Virginia Montessori Association (VMA) and Washington Montessori Institute (WMI).