News

We were fortunate to be ahead of the curve when the COVID-19 policies began to hit states across the US. Harvard University had sent our founder Julia (who helps teach a course there) their advice and guidance for minimizing disease spread during the pandemic. We started following it right away.

So, before it was required in Massachusetts, we ramped up our hand hygiene, began working separate shifts, started wiping down all high-touch surfaces, and stayed out of the office if we were symptomatic in any way or thought we may have been exposed.

We've continued and formalized these policies, adding them to our employee handbook, so we thought it made sense to share them with you.

• Stay home if symptomatic
• Stay home if exposed to someone who is diagnosed with or suspected to have COVID-19
• Continue staying home for an appropriate quarantine period after you/your loved one feels healthy
• Wash your hands upon arrival, after eating, after toileting, and after blowing your nose/touching your face (we also have hand sanitizer available in easy to access areas for use throughout the day)
• Keep the air circulating by opening doors/windows and/or using fans/ventilation devices
• Wipe down all touched surfaces with disinfectant at the beginning and end of each shift
• Work staggered shifts
• If you must be in the office with another employee, wear PPE (our sewing specialist made us wonderful masks to help in this regard)

We are also aware of research that shows that the virus may survive on surfaces for some time. For this reason, all of our materials go through a waiting period after we make them and before we ship them. This waiting period is, of course, further augmented by shipping times from our office to your location.

Our intention in formalizing these procedures is to protect our employees and our customers while still allowing us to make beautiful materials that help children thrive. Please let us know your thoughts on our approach or any innovative strategies you are taking yourself. We love to hear from you!

Are you interested in the bilingual brain? Teaching/learning foreign languages? Come join Maitri Learning's founder Julia Volkman and an incredible line-up of plenary speakers at this Tokyo-based FREE online event on June 19 at 8 PM (EST).

Julia will be presenting on "Stress and the Bilingual Brain." Her session will include a quick overview of and lively conversation about the role of stress in learning (both helpful and problematic), the role of executive functions in language acquisition, and quick tips on how to use this knowledge to improve your teaching, both online and in-person.

Julia's presentation is just one of four rather extraordinary offerings. Don't miss this FREE online event! Register for free at the JALT website.

This event is sponsored by the Japanese American Language Teachers (JALT) Association and TESOL International (formerly Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages), two amazing organizations dedicated to the teaching of languages around the globe. We were going to offer it live in Tokyo but, of course, had to switch to an online event. Keep your fingers crossed that we can do it in-person in Tokyo next year!

We have exciting news to share from our local AMI training center. The summer-format AMI primary/early childhood training program is on!

MTCNE is offering the first summer (starting in June, 2020) online so that the course can go forward safely in the midst of the pandemic. How wonderful! We've included their graphic with details below.

If you want to become a Montessori early childhood educator or train someone on your staff, this is the course for you. This course is led by AMI Director of Training Connie Black. You will find this course enlightening, comprehensive, and transformative. Don't settle for less than the best!

You can find course and registration details on the Montessori Training Center Northeast's website.

While most Massachusetts business are closed, Maitri Learning is still open! (We fall under the list of essential businesses because we support K-12 schools). We are operating on a separate shift schedule so that no two employees are in our offices at the same time. Although it hasn't happened yet, we understand that this may slow down our ability to fill your orders. Most orders are still filled within a day or two. We will contact you if it will be more than one week before we can ship your order to you.

We are also rigorously cleaning at least twice a day and all of us are frequently washing our hands. No one with any signs of illness or who has been knowingly exposed to COVID-19 has been in the office during the pandemic.

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns related to the pandemic and our operations. We are missing working physically together every day but we are keeping our spirits up through virtual communications!

We wish you all health, calm, and wisdom in these confusing times.

This year we couldn't attend in person so we are sponsoring the AIMS annual conference by going completely green! Check out the "AIMS Virtual Conference Tote Bag" where we offer a special discount code for AIMS attendees.

We hope you have a great day at the conference!

 

 

We are proud to be a sponsor of the Cincinnati Montessori Society's annual conference. If you go, you'll find a fun flyer in your tote bag from us. It has a special discount code for conference attendees AND it gives you a sneak preview of some of our upcoming product releases! You can check out the front page of our flyer below if you want to see what we're up to. More news on our new product releases coming soon, ...

 

 

We sent two boxes full of goodies down to the MEPI conference in South Carolina. We couldn't come in person this year but we wanted you to find a treat in your tote bag. So, look for a special gift from our Sales items. Let us know if you like them!

 

Maitri is coming to Seattle for the AMI/USA 2020 Refresher course! We are very excited about attending and have several new products that are in the final testing stage. We hope you'll stop by our table, check them out, and offer your comments/feedback.

We also sponsored the notepad for the conference. 100% Recycled goodness ready for you to capture your thoughts, revelations, and friend's email address :) Enjoy!

PS: Be sure to check out our Free Shipping coupon on the Whova app!

 

Join Julia Volkman (Maitri Learning's Founder/President) Saturday, January 11 at the annual MSM conference for a lively workshop on Enacting Research in Your Classroom!

Whether you want to publish your results or just solve a problem you are facing, scientifically designed research can help. This workshop will walk through several research examples and then brainstorm/design studies that match the needs of your situation.

Maitri Learning will also be exhibiting at the conference. We are planning on bringing oodles of discounted and special materials. So, review your budget and get ready to shop!