About Us
Director/Teacher Anne-Marie Ryan
My professional history began as a parent. I have four adult children who live in Japan, New York, Oregon and Wisconsin. I do strongly believe that parents are the first teachers of their children. My career of working with very young children started as a parent-volunteer teacher for Sunday-school programs over a three year period in Seattle, and Yakima. I received my Montessori Institute of America (MIA) certification at Montessori of Kirkland in 1982. Since then, I have guided pre-school programs, including my French curriculum, in Bothell, Redmond, Beaverton, Oregon and Seattle. All positions were either as a co-teacher (guide) or head teacher. It was during my years at Little Flower, in Oregon, that the children chose to regularly call me “Madame”, rather than just on those days when the French curriculum was presented. I treasure it as a nickname and enjoy it as a less formal way to address me---and it is really simple for the children to remember.
June of 1996, after raising my family, I returned to college to finalize the remaining year of my undergraduate work. In December of 1997, I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Studies at Marylhurst University in Lake Oswego, Oregon. That major includes the core curriculum for The Montessori Method of Early Childhood Education conducted in a cooperative program with Montessori Institute Northwest, the regional Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) training center.
I returned to the Seattle area in December of 1997. In January of 1998, I started substitute teaching at area Montessori schools, including Discovery Montessori School, The Children’s House in Seattle and at The Montessori School of Seattle where I remained for three years leading the afternoon class as head teacher, while conducting the morning class at Medina Montessori. I also served as a long-term substitute Kindergarten teacher at The Villa Academy in Seattle; and as a Kindergarten/First Grade substitute teacher at Sacred Heart Parochial School in Bellevue.
Personally, I enjoy sports—skiing, tennis, cycling and walking. Gardening, sewing, reading and creating computer clip art are my active hobbies. I relax with word puzzles and classical music. Community involvement includes membership in Montessori Institute of America (MIA), Pacific Northwest Montessori Association (PNMA), North American Montessori Teachers Association (NAMTA), and the Washington Federation of Independent Schools (WFIS). I am an Associate Member of The Sisters of St. Mary of Oregon, a religious order serving the welfare of children, elderly, and the infirmed. (An associate means that I do what I can to support the mission of the Order; it does not mean I am a nun!) I also have many years of experience in other venues of the volunteer sector; and I am a Sustaining Member of The Junior League of Seattle.